Gold Tested in Fire
by truephan
Summary: After PP. Vlad has finalized his dark plans to break the hero part of the young halfa. And he's willing to put Danny through the entire inferno of the Ghost Zone to achieve it. DxS, TxV, OCs
1. Chapter 1 The Plot Unfolds

**A/N: Welcome, dear readers! Thanks for tuning in! Have you ever wondered how each ghost in the DP world compared in power level to Danny? I always thought it odd that the show never mentioned any ghost's power level except for Danny's; you know, that he was at a power level of 'seven' when he was fourteen years old.…So, I started wondering…..hmm. How would the other ghosts measure up against Danny at that time? And then I started musing even more with my muse, Ms. Hyde…Hmmm, dearie! And then we, uhm, I mean,****_I_****, yeah, I also knew that Vlad Plasmius would also have been compiling that kind of information as well, all with the purpose of using it against our hero. So I just had my wonderfully evil muse, Ms. Hyde, smuggle that info out and then I ran it past a distinguished panel of other Danny Phantom writers who agreed that the list was good. But more importantly, the panel also thought our conniving older half-ghost's evil plan was pretty good, too. So, that is what this story's all about!**

**However, in this story, since all my stories form a continual series over all…—Okay, I'll stop here, since I just KNOW what you're thinking right now! Yes,****_Seeing is disBelieving_****is the exception, but really, you could say it is…uhm….in actually a****_past_****memory of Danny's recorded by two people (me and my MEGA- cool co-author, pearl84) rather than a****_truly_****out-of-sequence story... Ahem, well, you didn't****_expect_****me to admit that I would do such a thing as put my stories out of order, would you? And, uhm, really, I explained about that little detail in****_that_****story's beginning, you know! But this story is sort of a sequel to****_Seeing is disBelieving_****more than any other story following another. But it takes place about a year after Sid.**

**_Anyhow,_****since all of my stories form a continual series over all, this one will carry on the tradition, even though the format will be a little different: it'll be a mixture of most all of the genres and I'm letting my imagination run on Red Bull, uh, even if I don't like Red Bull—-but it's as IF I had some Red Bull...Darn, I think you know what I mean! Anyhoo, that is why I labeled it as Suspense/General and gave it a "T" rating. Just a 'heads-up' on that. You know how I notice stuff like that!**

**Ahem, getting sidetracked—again! Sorry! Anyhow, like I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by my brain, since all my stories form a continual series over all, it might be best that you read them. But I'll make it easy for you:****_Bewerewulfed, His Own Worst Enemy, Shadow of a Doubt, TrueHeart_****, and, yes, even,****_Seeing is disBelieving_****(with major spoilers in here, so be warned!) are the closest stories to this one; so if you want some background to some references I will definitely make in this story, take a peek at them…and send me your thoughts for****_them_****in the form a love review letter as well, of course! (Yes, shameless commercialism, I know, and I'm proud of it!—after all, it's all because of the fact that evil 'pure genius' part of me (AKA as Ms. Hyde) is fighting to get out! OUCH! That hurt!)**

**Anyhow, enough of that. But before we start, I would like to wish my good friend, Angelus-alvus a MEGA-COOL and SUPER Happy Birthday today! And I dedicate this entire story to you not only because you're a true friend, but you have been my most faithful reader through good times and bad-from the very beginning. Thank you! And thanks, as always for helping me out with the summary. YOU. ARE. AWESOME! Happy Birthday!**

**Ahem. Back to the story. I just go off like that you know, but then again I KNOW you KNOW that I KNOW you KNOW…Uh, or something like that. Anyhoo, it's time to give you a little background that might help you gel the theme of this story in your head….So, the prologue is going to give you a little science lesson for ya (Yeah, can't get away from school even here, can ya?)…..**

**Here is Chapter One. Don't forget my mantra: 'IDNOAC' (translation: I do not own any (Danny Phantom) characters). However, besides the ghosts you will definitely recognize, there are some OC's in this story that are****_totally_****mine, some that totally****_aren't_****mine or some that are****_almost_****totally mine. You'll see and I'll explain them as their chapters come up…**

**So, are you finally ready to have me shut it and get on with the story? …Okay! I can take a hint! GEEZ! So, here ya go with Chapter One…And enjoy it, of course!**

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><p><strong>Gold Tested in Fire<strong>

(A Golden Opportunity for Horror!)

**Prologue**

**Gold is a dense, shiny, yellow precious metal. Its unique qualities have made it attractive to mankind since earliest times. Not only is its color and brightness attractive, but it is also durable to the point of virtual indestructibility. It also does not tarnish or corrode. It is highly malleable and is usually found in nature in a comparatively pure form. A highly desirable substance, no doubt.**

**But, of course, the refined gold that we value and desire does not start out that way. It is mined like any other mineral, and when it is, it is intermixed with all sorts of impurities. Therefore, gold must be processed and put through a series of purifying steps before it gets to that point when it is considered a thing of beauty and admiration.**

**One such method to purify the gold is by burning off its impurities, which is called a fire assay. Cupellation is the name of the technique that forms the first part of the fire assay process, in which lead is added to the unrefined gold material. The mixture is heated in air to between 1,830°F and 2,010°F (1,000°C and 1,100°C), at which point the gold-containing metal dissolves in the lead. All base metals, including the lead, are oxidized to form a lead oxide slag. A gold-silver bullion, which also contains any platinum group metals present, remains. If pure gold is required, additional refining steps are necessary to separate out the gold…[1]**

**There it is; now you know all about how gold is purified. And the same, I daresay, can be said of one's character when it is tested in fire…**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 1—The Plot Unfolds<p>

"Finally! All my hard work and time spent on this is about to pay off! And ha! You could even say that it is as good as a golden opportunity handed to me on a silver platter!" the red-eyed, fanged ghost hybrid gushed as he carefully put down a small black microchip on a table in his lab just before reaching for a strange looking grey gadget that was also on the same table.

But before he grabbed that gadget, his eyes drifted over to another item he was going to use in the near future. He grinned smugly at that mostly long and thin beige object as he continued, "And, oh, I must say this is the best—and most ingeniously diabolical—plan I've come up with so far. And this time, I know my Master Plan 285-MP and all its sub-components will work just to my specifications. In fact, now I have all the perfect ingredients and it is the perfect set-up in achieving my main objective!"

He smiled a bit just before he reached for that object. He had long gotten over the melancholy of having lost something very important within the last year during one of the most intense events he had ever endured….Or so he thought. But the truth that the man couldn't admit to himself was that he had devised this plan precisely because he was still not satisfied about the status quo. And he still had a bitter taste in his mouth and heart from it. No matter what he would or would not admit, he was driven by a dark desire for both revenge and conquest because of it: and all of it centering around one…person…Though it had taken longer than he had thought to plan and set everything up, he was patient and ever meticulous with it, grooming it as carefully as if it had been a surrogate…son. After all, he had to be this careful in order to be successful this time.

Vlad Plasmius cautiously picked up the grey gadget—which really was in fact a grey _helmet_—and brought it to eye level so he could inspect it once again. It certainly wasn't a plain helmet. It had blinking lights and wires all over it, and two antennas. And each of the antennas was exchanging bolts of electricity between them as if they were playing tennis with each other. He made certain that he was careful not to touch any of the electrical components of the helmet as he continued to admire it.

His attention was then momentarily drawn to a nearby white cat that had just come into the room and meowed when her feline green eyes met his glowing red ones. He smirked when the cat quickly ran up to him. Though the warmth his ghostly body generated overwhelmed hers, he could still feel the pleasant pressure of her arched up back as she rubbed her side up against one of his legs. With a slight chuckle, he quickly and yet gently scooped her up and placed her on a small table near where he had been still working.

"And as you'll agree, Maddie," he emoted, speaking to the cat with a wicked smile, "This plan will work where the others obviously haven't. I just wish you would've told me that all my other plans wouldn't have worked in the end so that I wouldn't have wasted my time with them…"

The cat just blinked in confusion and curled its tail around its torso just as it sat down on the small table next to him.

"But of course, I couldn't blame you, Maddie," Plasmius said, turning the helmet off and momentarily placing it down next to the small black microchip and long, thin beige rod-like object with an eerie-looking top before turning back to his cat. "After all, I know you meant best. And I did learn from those failures. I now understand you were merely going about it all in the wrong way. Couldn't you see, for instance, that I haven't been able to break Daniel using the direct approach, though I've come close? Sure, some of his powers make it hard for me to do that, especially when that one power….Hmm, Maddie, what silly name does Daniel call it?"

He paused and looked at his cat. She was stretching, her claws now fully exposed.

Vlad suddenly laughed in delight before he said, "You are so clever for reminding me of his newest power arsenal, Maddie! That's what he calls it: his _wulf claws_! Yes, well, I was sort of responsible for his getting that particular ability, now wasn't I, since I did sic Wulf on him that one time?"

He briefly paused, then added with a more thoughtful frown, "Hmmm…Still, even when those little needles are impressive, they really haven't given him any physical edge over me…" He frowned even more at his next thought before he suddenly vowed passionately to his empty lab, "Not that it would matter in the end—as I will succeed, Daniel!"

But then remembering himself, he coughed and said, "...Ahem. Nevertheless, just like the past, I'll have to be careful how much force I use to try to break Daniel physically, because if I had tried even an ounce more of force to try to get him to yield physically, that would have only meant that I would have had to kill him—and, of course, that's not what I want to do."

The cat began to lazily lick her front paw, but the ghost hybrid didn't give it another thought as he became more irritated with his next thoughts, which actually had drifted to the things he had tried in the past and not what had most recently happened between him and the boy. After all, if he had completely won the boy over before their most recent ordeal together, he might have been able to come out of that without all of these…mental scars…So, it was indeed frustrating that he had wasted so much time, especially when he had come so close to breaking Daniel's will the last time he had tried. _So close_… He had almost created the perfect clone of the boy and used it to break him all at once! Confound it! If only he had been able to get him under his control then!

He suddenly growled in more frustration at that thought. But then drumming his fingers on the work bench, he forced himself to calm down and be reasonable again. After all, he had indeed learned from his mistakes. And that cloning incident, although hard-learned, had reaped some good.

He chuckled with that satisfying thought. "Yes. And I did get some useful information about Daniel in the end that I will be put to good use now... And I do tend to rectify that 'control' part."

He looked at his cat and she glanced briefly at him before looking immediately down at her front paw once more. She lifted it and began to lick it again.

Just then, a new light on the mainframe blinked and the cat flinched before jumping off of the table and landing softly on the floor.

Still, Vlad was not daunted by his pet's reaction as his mind had suddenly focused back on his more recent memory, the one where he had the very last encounter with Daniel. He continued, "Oh, yes, and there was that whole 'Observant and Iluzisto' affair…. Sure, I did manage to get him partially over to my side during that whole thing—and I could have possibly gotten more from him since I know a lot more about him. After all, we came very close to…"

He suddenly drifted off, his mind flashing with the memories of how it had almost succeeded:

"_I'm so tired of this, Vlad," the teen muttered sadly, his back hunched forward and his arms resting on his thighs. "I'm tired of always having to fight against you. I'm tired of having to search for some underlying meaning to everything you say and do. And… I'm tired of you acting one way with me one day and the total opposite on another."_

_Danny finally looked up at Vlad with troubled eyes and asked, "Did… Did everything that happened in the prison mean nothing? Was it just an act because it benefited the both of us? Is… this our reality, Vlad? To fight each other for the rest of our lives?"_

_The boy's voice took a desperate tone when he got no answer, and instead voiced what he really wanted to know. "What is that you really want from me? To be your son? To follow your dark path? To be your chess pawn?"_

But Vlad also remembered what he had told the boy later…

_"When I first met you, I used to see you as a pawn I could use against your father," Vlad answered soberly. "But… as I began to discover your qualities, I wanted to test them, rival them. Somehow, though, that has also changed over time. You have become very important to me—like a son. All I want is for you to be my side, but… there is so much between us, Daniel."_

His thoughts suddenly fast-forward a bit, thinking about their _very_ last encounter after defeating Iluzisto, just before they returned to their own homes back then...But, he just as quickly dismissed the thought, though there was a frown now on his face as he muttered, "Daniel probably would have objected about it in the end. After all, we both knew that we were forced into that alliance. Besides, had things worked out differently, he would always want to do the right thing in the end as well. Foolish boy. But now is the time to rectify all of that."

He paused a moment before looking down at his feline, which was now sitting on the floor, watching her own flicking tail. "At least I can say that the boy is predictable, which will also play well into what I have planned for him…," he told Maddie. "And that includes his intellect. It certainly hasn't been the least bit of a challenge to me, even when he has been able to pull a couple of good ones on me. But that was pure luck, wasn't it?"

He frowned at the animal when all she did was lick her fur. He then had to admit, "Well, maybe. After all, his grades have been coming up…Hmmm. No, that hasn't mattered at all."

He paused.

The white cat looked up when his voice stilled and meowed.

"You're absolutely right, again, Maddie!" he said with a satisfied chuckle, patting the inert grey helmet in between the inactive antennas. "But now, if I twist and turn and then break him _mentally_, then he'll be putty in my hands. And everything else will fall like dominoes. He'll be so helpless, his infernal will won't stand a chance to resist any offer I make him this time!"

He then walked over to the mainframe, mulling over his plans again.

"Oh, Maddie dear?" he finally asked the empty air as he began to study the readings flashing on the computer.

When he said that, the white cat meowed and came toward him at the sound of her name, just as a holographic image suddenly appeared near the man and just beside the cat. She looked even more like the 'real' Maddie Fenton now that Vlad had been able to improve upon the program enough to make the personification of his computer solid and give her features depth. The facsimile was nearly flawless—creepily so.

"Yes, my most handsome and brilliant apple dumpling?" the computer image purred, before spying and then scowling down at the white animal right next to her.

The cat meowed again and the holographic Maddie shooed it away with a quiet hiss, "He wants me now, you filthy flirty fur-ball!"

This time, Maddie the cat bared her teeth and claws and hissed back in threat.

But Maddie the hologram instantly grabbed a nearby magazine and tossed it at the animal, sending it to the other side of the room in quick retreat.

The computer-generated image then turned on her heels, flashed a large smile, and floated over to where Plasmius was.

Fortunately, the ghost hybrid hadn't pulled his gaze off of the computer readings during the whole time, and hadn't noticed that little interaction.

The female facsimile sweetly asked, "And what can I do for you, muffin cake?"

"I need you to check over these readings to make sure they are right. I cannot have any errors in them."

The holographic computer analyst quickly began to push some buttons and scan the readings. A few moments later, she announced, "As always, your calculations and conclusions are perfect, pumpkin. The roster of ghosts, which includes the ghost of your objective, is complete and in order; and the ghosts' calculated power levels are accurate. And all the materials you need to initiate Master Plan 285-MP are ready and in the queue for activation."

Vlad looked at the readings over her shoulder and replied with a smile, "And just in time, too. The sensors indicate that Daniel's energy power hasn't been at a 'level seven' for quite some time. Not that I had expected him to remain at that level, especially since he's still growing. After all, his inner energy core is very dynamic as it is mysterious, and he is older….In fact, how old is he now?"

Before the hologram could answer him, he continued, "Sixteen? Yes, he just turned sixteen in June, which was only a few months ago."

But what Plasmius didn't know about was that Danny was really over _**seventeen **_mentally, all because of that time change during his fight with his evil self over their fight for Clockwork's staff now well over a year ago.

"That's right, dumpling," Maddie the hologram agreed with a giggle. But then, she added, "Actually, he's at a power level of eight-point-five-three_ fantomos_** [2],** and in general, that level is _**rising**_. However, there are fluctuations in those readings that are paradoxical."

Vlad frowned at the Maddie copy before replying, "Yes, I know. I want to see what all that means. It could be good and bad. Bad, because that means that he is getting even closer to _**my **_power level than I want him to be. And the way it's going, it won't be too long before I won't have any more leeway in getting control over him. Blast it! Does he even know how powerful he's becoming?"

"From the conclusions on when you last had me analyze his current methods of fighting ghosts, I would calculate not, sweetums," the computer-generated Maddie cheerily piped in. "The ghost of your objective still uses much lower _fantomos_ energy than he has."

The older hybrid's eyebrows shot up in surprise, before oozing back down into a frown. "Then, he may not know…But then again, we know that Daniel also has that 'hero complex' thing practically ingrained in him; and so I wouldn't at all be surprised if he wouldn't use too much energy to subdue the ghosts if he didn't have to. Even so, I need to do something about him before he gets much older—or more powerful."

The female hologram never lost her smile as she listened to the half-ghost. She then said, "And what is the good news, sugar sweet tooth?"

"Sugar sweet tooth?" the older half-ghost echoed back, raising an eyebrow in bafflement. He then thought to himself, _"Looks like it's time for some computer maintenance!" _But he said instead, "Oh, yes. The 'good news'? It's good that he is more powerful, because, of course, _**when **_I break him, he won't be just out of the way of any future plans of mine. He'll finally be at my side when I plan them—as my most ideal and powerful…son! And then, I can finally fulfill my life's dream."

"Oh, how wonderful, muffin doodle!" Maddie the hologram gushed just before she pushed a few more buttons. She then frowned and whimsically said, "Oopsie, lamb chop! According to this later data that has just been fed into my system, your future 'most ideal and powerful…son's' power level just went up by 0.025 _fantomos_."

Vlad's eyebrows shot up in surprise again as he uttered, "It _**has**_? Then, it's time to get on with my plans!"

He paused a moment as a light bulb suddenly brightened his brain with excitement. Everything he had worked so hard on was about to unfold!

He reflexively glanced at the long, thin beige object with its eerie top before continuing, "Hmmm, that's right...Daniel may not be aware or concerned about his rising energy level, but I know exactly _**who would be**_ very concerned about that, even with all their blather otherwise! In fact, no matter what has happened in the past, they are going to play nicely into this plan of mine!"

Maddie's replica smugly replied, "And a most excellent plan it is, sugarplum. Not only will it achieve your objective, but it is the only way to find out how your future most ideal and powerful…son gained so much power so quickly."

Picking up and admiring the still de-activated helmet once more, Plasmius smiled and replied, "Yes, you're right, Maddie. I must know about that. And I have a few theories that may explain that. But all in due time, since that is only part of the whole plan. But, you know, you are right to make it an equal priority. Knowing exactly how Daniel is rising on the _Fantomos Ecto-Scale_ may actually makes it even easier for me to finally get him to succumb and be at my side. Though, in the end, it won't matter because I _will_ have him at my side."

He then put the helmet down and picked up the black microchip. He smirked at it. This, too, along with all of his latest inventions would be the key to breaking the boy. Yes, a few of his new tools had needed some modification for his dark purpose, but all was ready.

Skulker had also been much help, as usual. Well, he did complain this time around about the extra labor he had to do. But Vlad was hardly bothered by that. In fact, he was sure the hunter enjoyed all his tasks, especially when he had given him his _Plasonar Modulator _to use.

Vlad grinned, adding mentally, _"Yes, he did enjoy it_…_I could tell by how much grumbling he did for each task!"_

But it wasn't like Vlad had not also done his share—if not more—work than his ally. After all, there were all those careful and meticulous samples, tests and such he had to do on the fruits of Skulker's work…

"_Yes, in the end, all that sweat and toil on both mine and Skulker's parts was well worth it," _he thought with satisfaction.

He suddenly chuckled at his own genius and added out loud, "Oh, Maddie, this plan is so delicious that I can almost taste it!"

"This plan of yours is edible, cupcake?" the hologram queried with confusion now reading on her face. "My memory banks don't record that."

Vlad then frowned and said, "Never mind, Maddie. I don't want to overload your circuits trying to explain that one!"

"Oh, good one, honey muffin!" she gushed.

"But there is that other thing I need to check before we begin this scheme, Maddie dear," the older ghost-hybrid said before walking toward the entrance of the lab. He could see that the cat was sitting there as well.

"And what is that, apple-dumpling?" the hologram asked with a sugary smile.

Vlad replied, "Well, as you know, _you_ have not been able to form without interference in that special room of mine. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that this is nearly a facsimile of the one at my mansion in Wisconsin. It is newer than ever, including all of its specialized and sophisticated features that I recently installed. In fact, it doesn't even look the same as the one in Wisconsin, so you probably wouldn't have recognized it anyways."

He paused and smiled sadly at her, adding, "I wish I could have had you share my excitement over the improvements, but you know I had to have all of the computers in that room off-line until I could complete the computer upgrades. And I hadn't been able to finish that until just a couple of hours ago. So, I think that program is ready and it will now be possible to have you there at my side. Just give me a moment, and I'll show you," Vlad casually remarked as he scooped up Maddie the cat.

Maddie the hologram narrowed her eyes in irritation when she saw the cat in the man's arms, but instead, she sweetly replied, "Of course, dearest. I will await you with bated breath."

The hybrid quickly retreated and floated up the stairs to the top floor of his mansion. He hurried to another part of his mansion until he came to the entrance of the place about which he had been referring with his Maddie computer hologram.

Still cradling the cat in the nook of his elbow, Plasmius slowly opened the door and flipped on the light switch. The light instantly flooded the room.

It was obviously some kind of control room. The bottom half of the far side of the wall contained multiple panels full of instruments, buttons and switches. Some buttons were lit, but most weren't. There was a large window just as long as the control boards imbedded in the top half of the wall just above the panels. But at the present moment, the window was darkened and nothing could be seen on the other side. In fact, all that could be seen in the window was Vlad and the cat's reflections as they moved further into the room.

And as Vlad and the cat came into the room, a small noise suddenly emitted from a coffin-like shaped dark grey receptacle the billionaire had installed quite some time ago. It, too, was one of many improvements he had made on this room, and would be serving his purpose—if needed—in the not-to-far future.

But when the cat had heard that noise, she arched her back and hissed in threat at the receptacle.

The half-ghost, of course, had noticed the change in the white animal and chuckled, "Don't worry, Maddie. Our 'new friend' is very safe and secured. I would not have had Skulker go to such detail and care in the receptacle's safety features when he had installed it if I thought it weren't absolutely necessary. And, believe me, what's _inside_ that receptacle right now needs all the secured containment as possible."

Vlad placed the cat down on the floor just before he walked past the grey receptacle and over to the control board that contained the lit buttons. He quickly scanned them, his mind whirling in sync with their calculations.

"The systems are on stand-by, as they should be," he said to himself with a satisfied nod. He then glanced at a green button, which triggered another thing that needed to be done. "Ah, yes, there is that other important matter that I must set up," he continued before pushing that green button, which instantly lit up under his fingertip.

Not more than a few seconds later, the hybrid silently smiled when he recognized the deep familiar voice he had just summoned.

"Sir?"

Plasmius turned and instantly smiled at his ghostly employee. "Ah, just the ghost I wanted to see. I see you had no problem making it here from Wisconsin, hmm?"

The male ghost smiled back. "It was fairly easy to find your portal with the instructions you gave me. But…does that mean you would like me to carry out your orders at last? Is that why have summoned me?" he asked, an excited glint in his eyes.

Plasmius chuckled. "Eager as always. But, yes, I am just about ready for you to verify my findings. I will alert you when to proceed."

The male ghost nodded. "Yes, sir. I will stay close and be… ready…"

"Exactly what I want to hear," Vlad acknowledged with a smug smile. "Very good, then. You may go..."

"Yes, sir," the ghost replied before he quickly exited the control room.

Plasmius just hummed with satisfaction before turning back to the monitors and pushing a blue button this time.

The holographic image of Maddie Fenton just as instantly appeared once he had activated that button.

She sweetly said, "I missed you, honey doodle. And, oooh, I just love how you have decorated this wonderful room…So technical and ingenious, just like my sugar lump! Now, what can I do for you?"

Vlad smiled. The program worked! But he was quick to reply, "Please run down a diagnostic for this room and the other room it controls, Maddie dear. I want to make sure everything is perfect before we move on."

The computer image immediately began her task. But then she spied the cat right next to her foot and frowned. In the next instant, her face flashed a restrained wicked smile just as she quickly and quietly booted it toward the door.

Maddie the cat meowed in protest as it unwittingly slid across the slick floor, but Vlad didn't notice. He had been checking on some more instruments and was thereby distracted.

Before long, Maddie the hologram reported, "All systems are in order, angel cake."

"Including its capability in being ghost-proof?"

"Especially its being ghost-proof, lamb chops!" she purred back.

The evil hybrid felt a content smile pull on his face. It felt good. Very good. He knew that once he got Daniel here using that beige weapon, he would use that microchip, that upgraded helmet he had modified when it had mysteriously come into his possession a while ago, some other things and the special room just beyond the window in front of him to finally get Daniel to be by his side. And that would be only the beginning…

His smile never dimming, Vlad then walked up to the small console just under the window. He pushed a red button and immediately, light flooded that area just beyond the window. He looked upon it as an artist his work, even though it looked like a plain, white room that was merely connected to this control room. In fact, the window from which Vlad was currently looking out was more than a one-way mirror into that adjacent area. Indeed, it was very much a stealth window, for anyone in the room on the other side of this window would never detect the window at that vantage point. Not only that, no one would guess from its unpretentious façade what evils lay hidden within it...

Vlad smirked. Yes, this special room—his simulation room **[3]**—was his masterpiece and would be the ultimate key to his plans...

The man then walked quickly over to a television-type monitor which was busily calculating and displaying data. He quickly pushed the button in that area and once the screen went blank, he replied to his computer, "That is good, Maddie. All systems are a 'go'. And getting the boy here and under my control will have to be done carefully, to be sure. We both know that the direct approach has not worked in the past. He cannot suspect that it is me and my pawns behind what he will have to endure. But that will be time well spent. After all, to do it right is to do it slowly, like bringing the perfect recipe to a perfect boil under the perfect fire…"

"But I do not see any stoves in here, honey muffin," the holograph protested in confusion.

"You're right, my dear. But there still will be some fire shortly," the half-ghost replied with an evil smirk, not noticing the hologram's confused frown.

But that smirk melded into a self-satisfied grin again at the thought. He knew the time was ripe.

He finally told his holographic Maddie, "Now, the first step to getting the boy here is to see what he's up to right now. But, of course, we can't have him know that we're checking up on him, now can we? And so there is only one purely ingenious way to do that, hmm? So, shall we get on with it, Maddie dear?"

"Of course, pumpkin," the hologram said as she pushed the control button, which activated one of Vlad's spy bugs…

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><p><strong>AN: [1] The process of purifying gold was found on the internet. But since it took me forever to look it up, I can't remember all of the websites and forgot to write most of them down except one, which FF won't let me publish out right but I will try: w/ w/ w/ e/ how dot com. However, this information is not my own, and I give full credit to the author of this piece.**

**[2] **_**Fantomos**_** are used to measure the power level of ghosts and spirits. They are equivalent to our own units of measuring energy, like Btu's (British thermal units) or joules, only that fantomos are more powerful. In fact, one level of fantomos (therefore, a power level of 'one' for a ghost) is equivalent to over 1.0 megajoule. Quite impressive! And I want to thank one of the experts on that consultant panel for this bit of information. But, you know who you are and we'll keep it at that! *winks* And, BTW, the 'Fantomos Ecto-Scale' is totally made-up.**

**[3] Based upon the 'simulation room' invented by FanFiction writer pearl84 in her awesome epic **_**Checkmate. **_**Used with permission from the author.**

**Of course, I hope you like the start and since this is the month of love, that would be wonderful to send me a love letter in the form of a lovely review. **


	2. Chapter 2 Scoping It Out

**A/N: Hello, everyone and welcome back! Thanks again for all your support. You make writing a joy! I also want to thank Ms. Frizzle for her additional comments about how gold is processed. I just LOVE the fact that I have a very astute scientist at my beck and call! Maybe she can help Vlad with all those mad experiments! JK of course. And I'm happy to have cheered you up, Ms. Fizzle... But, heh-heh, lookey! It's time for an update! Vlad continues to need a bit more time setting-up for his plans for Danny, so let's just take a look on what he has on his mind at this moment, shall we? So, here is Chapter 2. And, oh, yeah, forgot: I do not own Danny Phantom, also know as IDNODP. Enjoy!**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 2—Scoping It Out<p>

Vlad was still in the control room of his simulation room with the holographic Maddie—which was linked with Vlad's small spy bug. The once blank video screen in front of them was momentarily cluttered by random static energy bouncing all over it until the screen finally cleared. They could then see through the screen that the tiny spy device was hurriedly heading towards its designation.

But upon seeing the sights of the little town flutter by as the spy bug continued, Vlad had a slight change in plans.

"Just a moment, Maddie," he began, "I want to check one thing out first. Have the spy bug head towards Central Park."

"As you command, sugarloaf," she sweetly replied before rapidly punching on a few command keys.

The little mechanical insect veered sharply to the left after the computer had inputted the last set of instructions. It flew high enough to avoid any people and made haste toward its new objective. As it flew on, it deftly and hurriedly steered around various buildings until it came upon a patch of trees and bushes. It slowed considerably down after that and weaved in and out of other thickets of trees until Vlad and his computer-generated-image saw the clearing that marked Central Park.

The spy bug scanned the area, slowly circling it and taking pictures of it at different angles, deftly relaying back its findings.

Vlad smiled as he surveyed the status of the object in which he was interested. He remarked, "Ah. It's coming along as I planned. Very good. I just wanted to be sure before we went any further, Maddie."

"But what is it? The unfinished structure looks out of place among the vegetation and plant-lined walkways," his computer remarked.

"Indeed," he cryptically replied, before adding even more mystery to his tone, "That is what the 'good' citizens of Amity Park think is a new fountain for the park. It was approved by their silly City Council without fanfare, especially since I offered to pay to build it 'out of the civic goodness of my heart'.

The solid hologram merely blinked in slight acknowledgement but did not question the man any further about it. Instead, she merely asked without a hint of emotion in her voice, "Is the surveillance of this area sufficient enough for you for now, apple strudel?"

"Yes, it will suffice for now, Maddie. Go ahead and have the spy bug return to our original objective."

"Right away, honey muffin," the computer cheerfully said before she pushed the appropriate buttons.

The spy bug dutifully pulled itself into a steep turn upwards before flipping over and righting itself until it was headed 180 degrees from the point where it had come into the park.

Soon, the little mechanical insect was darting between rows and rows of buildings, heading for its new designation. It slowed again a short time after and Vlad could see the front of Fenton Works getting closer to the camera.

The solid holographic female next to him then pushed another button, and the spy bug became invisible and intangible before it darted forward, silently and hurriedly digging deeper into the Fenton home searching for its target.

Finally, it reached Danny's bedroom and found the boy within it. It stealthily anchored itself against a dark corner of the ceiling before rematerializing. Instantly, it jutted out its camera-imbedded eyes and then dutifully focused its lens on the boy below. In no time, it was clearly displaying its findings to Vlad and his computer…

Still in his pajamas, the teen was half-sitting up and half-lying down on his bed. His legs and feet were straight and on the bed, but his upper torso was propped up on pillows which were in turn propped up against the headboard of his bed. And his chin rested against his chest. But he wasn't asleep. Instead, he was frowning and looking down at his hands and oddly fidgeting with them. Then he quickly rubbed the back of his head before he shifted in his bed and went back to fidgeting with his hands again.

Vlad could see that the boy didn't look happy in the least. He uttered with a confident smile, "Hmm, something is clearly bothering the boy. Good! That may be the crack in the door that I need to barge in with my plans. Go ahead and give the signal to my 'messenger', Maddie. In the meantime, I want to check a bit more about Daniel."

Maddie the hologram nodded with a slightly confused smile, but continued to push the appropriate command buttons.

Just then, however, there was a knock on Danny's door, and the bug's cameras zoomed out and Vlad scrutinized the scene more intensely.

"C'mon in," Danny barely mumbled.

Danny's mother opened the door; and at that moment, Vlad's heart skipped a beat and his smug smile crumbled into an envious, saddened one at the sight of her. She had her hazmat head gear off and she looked as stunning as ever.

"Maddie," the man pined with a hush, not realizing that with the sudden pang in his heart, he had reverted back to his human self. Still, he couldn't help but listened in on the scene.

The woman-of-Vlad's-dreams slowly came into the room and as she approached her son, she gently said with an encouraging smile, "Come on, sweetie, you have to get ready for school. It's not the end of the world, you know! One day, you're going to be leaving home, too!"

Danny stopped fidgeting with his hands before looking up at her. He sighed, knowing to what she was referring. After all, they had just been talking about that at breakfast before he had come up here to change. But, really, that wasn't the only thing bothering him.

He finally replied, "I know, Mom. I just didn't think having Jazz go off to college would bum me out like this. Part of me likes the quiet and should be celebrating, but the other part kinda misses her 'butting-ins'.

Maddie quietly chuckled. "I know what you mean, honey. But she'll be home for Thanksgiving."

Danny glanced at nothing in front of him and said, "Yeah. But that's not all of it, either." He paused. He really didn't want to get into the other matter that was bothering him right now. Instead, he said, "I was sorta getting use to the thought that she was becoming a great sis. We were getting so close, and now she's gone. And though it sounds kinda funny, I feel like I'm losing part of, uhm, _our_ team."

Maddie sat down on his bed next to him, gently scooped up one of his hands into hers and then softly patted it. She finally replied, "It's not like she's abandoned you—or us, for that matter. That kind of bond is never broken by distance. Besides, with today's technology, she's really only just one pushed button away; so in a way, you can 'see' her almost anytime if you both want…In any case, just try to think of this as a 'prep' for adulthood, honey. You know one day she'll graduate from college, get married and have a family of her own. And so will you. Some changes in life are never easy, but most are inevitable, sweetie, so we just have to roll with them."

Danny looked up at his mom again. She did have her moments when she actually sounded sane—and right. He smiled weakly before remarking, "But who else can I talk to who'll psychoanalyze the heck out of me?"

Maddie laughed, "Well, I don't know about that, but your father and I are pretty good about _psyching you_ _out _with all our craziness!"

This time, Danny chuckled, "Oh, c'mon, Mom. You and Dad aren't all that bad!"

Maddie smiled, and affectionately patting his hand again, replied, "Thanks, sweetie. But, seriously, you know we're always here for you…" She paused only a moment before adding, "And of course, there's Sam and Tucker, and Valerie, too. So, really, you still have a great team on your side."

They both paused, knowing that she was right.

Danny then thought about that other thing that was bothering him more than the fact that he was missing his sister. Maybe this would be a good time to bring _that_ up as well.

But before Danny could respond, his mother gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

He was unaware of his crooked smile as he said, "Thanks, Mom! I'm feeling better already. And I better get ready for school. My 'great team' won't think of me as so 'great' if I make us all late!"

Maddie softly smiled, secretly happy that she was able to help him feel better, even if, in reality, she was as sad as he about Jazz's going off to college. Yes, even though she knew that Jazz was just a pushed button away, and yes, even though it was part of life, it was still also a bittersweet one. Still, she got up and just as she was about to head out of his room, she turned back and said with an odd smile, "See you later, honey. I hope you have a ghost-free day at school today!"

Danny caught that bit of mischief behind his mother's smile. So, that's where he got his own mischievousness! But he replied with a chuckle, "Heh-heh, thanks, Mom!"

Maddie left and just as Danny got up and headed toward his bathroom, Vlad turned off the spy camera….

The man paused a bit at this little bit of information before he said, "Hmmm. Again, that's good that Daniel is a little down in the dumps. This might be the window of opportunity knocking on my door after all."

Maddie the hologram frowned at his remark and this time commented, "I did not know that windows could knock on doors, dumpling."

Vlad frowned before immediately smirking, "Another one of those things I don't want to twist up your circuits trying to explain, my dear. But please be a good girl, and…"

"Yes, apple cake?" she interrupted him with an eager smile.

This time, he frowned a bit at her over-enthusiasm given the circumstances. Nevertheless, he replied, "Make sure that my 'messenger boy' is on his way. I want to have one more tangible check on Daniel's current power level, and my employee has a knack for sensing that. And be sure to remind him to report back to me immediately afterward."

"Right away, sweet pea," she practically giggled as she pushed a button.

Ignoring her last bit of histrionics, the man calmly commanded, "All right. Now let's double check all the preparations for File 285-MP, especially all its sub-files, and on the status of Formulas 286-psi-1 and 286-psi-2, shall we?"

"Yes, muffin," the facsimile of Vlad's unrequited love added with a worshipping smile.

A moment later, she reported, "All is in order, save two things, sweetcakes."

"Oh?" Vlad said with slight worry.

"Yes. After the final task of your 'messenger boy' ghost, you have programmed me to remind you that we need to get rid of the boy's pesky little helpers before we commence with the main program...And, of course, to bring your 'future most ideal and powerful…son' here."

Vlad smiled at the reminder. Oh, yes. 'Getting rid of Daniel's pesky little helpers'….that, of course, was exactly his next step…

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><p>Danny was finally on his way to school. As he left his home, he was greeted by the soft, cool winds of mid-fall. He smirked a little when he saw the impromptu, slow ballet of some brown and orange leaves as the wind swept them up in a rhythmical whirl. And it was so mesmerizing that he was momentarily caught up within their dance and forgot his woes as he walked toward his and his friends' rendezvous point, feeling his spirits lift a little with each step.<p>

Finally, he caught sight of Sam and he smiled a little more. But, then, all of the sudden, he felt depressed all over again. He really wanted to talk about how he was feeling with her, but now that he could see Tucker and Valerie approaching, he would have to wait.

He forced a smile on his face and waved at them. The others returned their waves and stepped up their pace toward the teen.

But as soon as Danny reached his friends, Sam and Tucker immediately noticed that all was not well with their friend. They exchanged a slight glance with each other, and Tucker motioned with his eyes and slight nod of his head for Sam to find out what was wrong just as he said, "Well, looks like we're all here! So, let's not waste any more time or else we'll be late!" He quickly took the lead and, after taking Valerie's hand, walked ahead.

Sam then reached for her boyfriend's hand. He took it, and they started to walk side-by-side. But Sam purposely let their pace slow until Tucker and Valerie were well out of earshot.

Once they were essentially alone, Sam quietly asked, "Are you okay, Danny?" But her tone was definitely one of that she had sensed something was wrong.

He smirked at her a little. He really couldn't hide anything from her anymore and, really, he was glad about that. "Sorta. I'm just a little down."

"About what?" she asked as she heard and felt the crunch of dried leaves under their feet as they continued onward.

"Well, for one thing—and I know it's crazy—I'm a little depressed about Jazz being gone from home."

"Oh," his girlfriend replied, now really at a loss for words. But then, she said, "Well, that's kinda hard for me to understand, you know. Being an 'only' child does have its advantages when it comes to the 'sibling angst stuff' department."

Danny frowned in irritation this time.

Sam frowned back in apology and said, "Sorry. Just kidding!"

He sighed and replied, "Yeah, I know! I guess I didn't really think about it before she went, but, darn it, Sam, I miss her! I didn't think I would. But now, I have to admit that having her around…helped me a lot more than I thought. I'm really sorry that you can't understand what it's like to have a sister who tries to understand you and is there to back you up."

"Yeah," Sam slowly said, thinking about what he said. Maybe she did kind of understand, because she was feeling the same 'sisterly' way about Jazz. She then replied, "I guess I can kinda understand it, too, because I thought Jazz and I were getting to be great friends. I mean, she still had, you know, her bossy ways, but…I was getting used to them."

"Exactly!" Danny said, feeling a hint of a smile meld back onto his face.

But then his mind shifted and he knitted his forehead in worry this time before he added, "But I'm not just bothered about Jazz. I've been feeling, well, all weird lately. Like my powers are out of control again, or something. I feel jittery a lot lately and it's like all this weird-feeling energy is pulling itself from inside of me before it crawls all over my skin and up and sometimes down my spine. And then for some reason, I feel drained before it happens and sometimes during it or afterward…I haven't felt that way since…when I first got my powers. But, in a way, it's still not the same. I must somehow be changing, or something. I don't know."

"Now, _**that**_ I get!" Sam said with a wry smile, as she reflexively pushed away a fallen leaf that had drifted toward her. "I've had all sorts of strange feelings ever since, you know, only, I don't feel drained all of the time when I get them. But, of course, it's all different with me. So, I think I get what you mean. "

She was referring to her own new powers that finally surfaced in their last encounter with Spectra.

But then trying to be encouraging, she added, "But really, Danny, we're all still changing, you know. Part of the package. After all, we're not quite there with the 'being done with puberty' thing. I mean, you're obviously taller and…" She suddenly stopped, embarrassed by her next thought.

Danny noticed her blush and teased, "Yeah, you're definitely changing, too, Sam! In all the right ways."

"You better stop there, mister! Red is not my favorite color, you know!" she objected, knowing and feeling that her face was very flushed.

He chuckled, "Okay, Sam, I won't go there…even if it's true! But, you started it, you know. And I have to say that you're changing in all the beautiful ways anyhow!"

Still holding his hand, Sam affectionately nudged him slightly away from her with her shoulder this time. She knew he was kidding her, even if it made her blush. But she also knew that he wouldn't say anything else right now to embarrass her more.

They both had the same mindset about their limits.

As she pulled him back toward her, she finally said with a crooked smirk, "Okay. You're right. I did start it. But, maybe it's not that bad since it seemed to put you in a better mood now."

Danny smiled. He did feel a little better. But then, he felt a strange sensation rush through him, like he had felt during all those other times. He unconsciously frowned and his muscles tensed as his next thoughts focused back to his concern about his powers.

Sam immediately noticed his sudden edginess. In fact, she frowned when for some odd reason she could actually _feel_ _his_ anxiety herself. Once again, she quietly asked, "Hey, do you still want to talk about that weird thing with your powers? I didn't mean to throw the subject completely out just now."

Danny smiled weakly before replying, "Well, I really don't know what else to say about it, Sam. It's just brings back all those creepy sensations and even the…insecurities I had when I first got my powers. I don't like those feelings at all. I thought I was over them! And I don't know what all this means. I mean, I don't even know if my powers are…permanent...After all, I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to having ghost powers, you know."

Though what he said did concern her, Sam smirked slightly at his last remark, trying to be encouraging once more. At first, she remained silent as they continued to walk on. But then she squeezed his hand a little and said, "Well, maybe things will work out like they finally did before. Maybe it's nothing to worry about. But in any case, you know that you can always tell me about them, no matter how crazy it might come out."

Danny smiled again and squeezed her hand back. He knew she would understand no matter what. He finally replied, "Yeah, I know, thanks. Now I'm feeling better. Honest. And we'd better catch up with Tucker and Valerie before they think we _**really**_ wanted to be late for school!"

Suddenly, however, Danny felt a cold blue frost race up his throat and out of his mouth.

His 'ghost sense' had been activated.

"Uh-oh," Danny added. "I guess we really _might_ be late for school because there's gotta be a ghost around here."

Sam looked quickly around. Though she didn't see anything, she still replied, "Well, you know what to do. And just call if you need me, okay?"

He smiled at her knowingly before he darted into a nearby alley.

No sooner had he entered the alley then he willed forth his transformation rings. He immediately felt the familiar cold rush as he morphed into his alter ego; and didn't hesitate to launch himself upward into the autumn sky.

Once airborne, he scanned the horizon. And he rolled his eyes when he immediately saw them.

Danny instantly darted toward the pair while charging up and then cupping a ball of his vibrant green ectoplasmic energy in each of his hands.

Just as he came upon them, he yelled out, "Hey, Spectra! Don't you think it's a little too early for being the complete jerks you are all of the time?"

Spectra and Bertrand twisted around and saw the Ghost Boy heading their way.

"Right on time," Bertrand grumbled under his breath as the young hybrid narrowed the gap between them.

"And _he_ better time it right," Spectra tersely said from the side of her mouth to her male companion, not referring to the Ghost Boy.

Still, neither of them moved even as Danny was well within range of shooting them with his ghostly rays.

In the meanwhile and even as he quickly approached the two aggravating ghosts, Danny frowned in bewilderment. It wasn't like these two to just stand, er, well, _float_ there as if they were waiting for him.

But the boy couldn't be any righter because the two were indeed waiting for him…for a reason, of course.

Suddenly, Danny's ghost sense alerted him again. He frowned, wondering why it did that since there were already two ghosts here. But as if to answer his question, another male ghost just as suddenly appeared right in front of him.

But as soon as the two locked eyes, Danny felt woozy, and even a little nauseous at the strange sensation and the energy balls in his hands dissipated. He felt as if he was floating right toward this ghost, even though he was still a few feet from him. But Danny also felt as if something was telling him that he not only _wanted_ to keep his eyes on this ghost, but that he should actually come _nearer_ to him.

Panic suddenly seized the boy at that thought and Danny actually wrestled both his head and his eyes away from the ghost. As soon as he did, Danny felt the sensation leave him.

But as soon as he looked back at the ghost, that awful feeling grabbed hold of him again, except it was…different. Danny almost felt at that moment that his heart and lungs had constricted. And for some strange reason, he suddenly felt terror threatening to squeeze his heart and lungs even more!

No sooner had the boy felt that way when Danny was surrounded by some kind of haze and he felt his muscles just as suddenly freeze under its affects! And, in fact, he felt he was no longer hovering but was actually suspended in mid-air!

"What the—?" Danny tried to say, only to realize that his voice was also constricted!

The boy silently grunted, willing his eyes to slam shut again as he tried to pull himself away from the force surrounding him. Once again, Danny felt his body being released and that haze poofing out of existence.

But then now more worried that he now had _three_ ghosts to contend with, Danny immediately pulled back when he was released, creating a healthy distance from the ghost with the freaky eyes. Still, he wanted to be extra sure that he wouldn't look at that ghost by mistake, so he opened his eyes only when he knew he was fully turned away enough from him. He wasted no time in searching for Spectra and Bertrand's location. Danny frowned internally when he could see the annoying pair's wicked smirks just before they darted away from the scene. There was no mistake. Danny could tell from the faces of those jerks that they had succeeded in setting him up for some kind of a trap.

_"And I walked right into it. Er, okay, technically, I flew right into it!" _Danny grumbled to himself. "_But what's their game and, more importantly, just who is this other jerk of a ghost that they must know and what does he want?_"

As if to answer his question, Danny's ghost sense fired off. But it was too late! Before the boy knew it, that same creepy ghost appeared right in front of him again, his now flaring eyes seemingly drilling themselves into his own.

Once again, Danny felt every fiber in his body freeze; and once again, Danny tried to pull away. Only this time, he suddenly felt more helpless than the first time this creature looked at him!

_"What is this ghost doing to me and why?"_ he furiously thought as he continued to struggle—to no avail.

Then, inexplicably, that same aura surrounded him, only this time it seemed like a blanket laden with terror was suddenly being draped over him. It was all the boy could do to not lose it right then and there at the suffocating dread that was trying to drive itself into him. Once again, Danny tried to break free. But now it seemed that the more he struggled, the more he couldn't move!

While never losing eye contact with the young hybrid, the older male ghost began to drift to the ground, willing the force-field-like aura still surrounding Danny to bring the boy downward as well.

Now feeling that actually moving could give him a chance to try to jerk free, Danny immediately put more effort in his struggles. At first, he didn't move; but then he was encouraged when he could feel a small bit of movement against the tight grip holding him. But it was not enough to make a difference as he was forced downward.

Finally, the boy was brought to the ground and held steady. Danny couldn't even move his _eyes_ at this point to scan around him.

Suddenly, the boy felt his ghost sense begging to eke out in desperate warning again. Only, even that was being held in check and because it was for all intents and purposes caught within, it actually was cold enough to _burn _him right now. So, at this point, whatever ghost had him, had him _good._

But Danny had no more time to think about it, for in the very next moment, that same unknown male ghost moved too close for comfort. Once again, Danny felt his heart and lungs constrict. But there was _more_. The way that ghost looked at him this time, Danny almost felt as if that ghost's stare was as a hot, sharp dagger which had not only plunged suddenly itself right into his chest, but had also let in even more terror with its cruel blow.

But the boy was only partially right. He wasn't able to see past the ghost's eyes enough to see that the ghost had actually sent a finger-like extension of the aura into his chest to check his energy level as instructed.

Not even being able to swallow much less speak with the ghost right now, Danny nevertheless concentrated, digging into his inner self in an almost panicked effort to try to break free.

However, the boy's concentration was broken when the ghost finally spoke.

"You know, little one," he said with a calmness that somehow sent chills of ominous threat up Danny's spine. "Even though I am disappointed that you didn't put up a better fight, I can sense that you are more powerful than I imagined. That is actually a delicious discovery…and a discovery that you will actually be able to _feel_ very soon! Still, I find it almost impossible to resist, and I must have a sample to…"

But the ghost couldn't complete his thoughts because suddenly he was being repelled away from Danny by a powerful red beam. The male ghost couldn't help but feel his body tumbling uncontrollably through the atmosphere.

The aura immediately dissipated from around the boy and Danny actually fell to the ground with a fit of coughing in trying to get air back into his lungs.

In the next moment, however, Danny was momentarily blanketed by a shadow from above. When he looked up, he saw the Red Huntress upon her hover board zooming past him in pursuit of the other ghost.

When Valerie finally caught up with the male ghost that had captured Danny, she aimed her gun at him and smugly said, "How about that? Two ghosts for the price of one! Thanks for getting that other scum of a ghost to sit pretty for me until I can finish him off after I'm through with you!"

She promptly fired at the male ghost again and the impact sent the ghost twirling uncontrollably in the air once more.

In the next moment, however, a portal suddenly opened not too far from the ghost, which actually intersected with the trajectory of the unplanned flight of the offending male ghost. Less than a heartbeat later, the ghost had penetrated the portal before it quickly and resoundingly closed.

The Red Huntress promptly angled her board tightly to the left and downward to the spot where she had left Danny….But by the time she had returned, the Ghost Boy was gone!

"Darn it! I should have taken him out when I had the chance!" she grumbled out loud before heading to a nearby alley to change.

But what she didn't know at the moment was that Sam had finally caught up with Danny and had helped him to another nearby alley where he could change back into his human side and rest a few moments.

While her boyfriend was still recuperating, Sam quickly went to the entrance of the alley. She scanned all around from out of the alley and smiled before she returned to her boyfriend.

A few moments later, an obviously winded Tucker and Valerie practically fell into the alley to join their friends.

"Are you okay? And who was that?" Valerie anxiously asked Danny.

Danny weakly smiled and said, "I think I'm okay. But I don't know who that ghost was. I've never seen him before…But anyhow, thanks for _both_ saves!"

"Well, you can thank Tucker on both counts," Valerie wryly replied. "He finally convinced me not to totally give up my 'extra job'. After all, he's right. I can still help you and still give everyone else the impression that I'm after you."

"Yeah," Danny agreed with the same crooked smile. "I think I might nominate you for an academy award since you're still can be quite convincing —and creepy — when you're in a 'Red Huntress' mood."

The foursome chuckled a bit before Valerie continued. "Well, I'm just glad I could pull it off. And I have to admit that I did miss being the 'Red Huntress' a little. But, now it's different since I've now got a team behind me. In fact, that's the other thing that I wanted to mention. I was very impressed with that portal you created, Tucker!"

"Well, you did all the hard work, honey," Tucker piped in, speaking to his girl.

Sam finally said, "And I'm glad she came when she did. I didn't like what that ghost was doing at all. And, darn it, I was too far away to help."

"Hey, all that matters is that we beat the ghost, so thanks, guys," Danny said in both assurance and appreciation. "But I'm going to make sure I'm ready for him the next time I see him, especially when I know all my friends will be ready as well!"

Nothing else really needed to be said as the foursome smirked at each other.

Suddenly, Valerie gasped, "Oh, no! We're going to be late to school!"

"Not if we take the 'Phantom Express'," Danny wryly said as he willed forth his transformation rings. "Any takers?"

"You bet!" his three friends said in unison.

Danny quickly grabbed a hold of them and took off, quickly activating his 'supersonic flight' power. Before the four friends could talk any more about that new ghost, they had arrived at their school in just enough time not to be counted as being tardy.

They all knew that their conversation would have to wait. In the meantime, they composed themselves and changed their mindsets.

They quickly entered their school, ready for what would turn out to be a routine rest of the day—including for it to be dull and even ghost-free…for now…

* * *

><p><strong>AN: *truephan scratches her head* Well, dear readers, what do we have here? More shenanigans from Vlad, of course, but then, who is this strange ghost that had Danny in such a precarious state until the Red Huntress could come to his aid? Don't worry. You'll know soon enough...**

**And, BTW, for those readers who have not read my other stories-tsk-tsk-Valerie is now a friend of Phantom and yet tries to keep the facade of being his enemy in order to help him—just like his parents. Just so you know and understand what the background is, OK?**

**In the meantime, I'm nervous what may happen to—**

**Ms. Hyde: What are you blabbering about, dearie? You know very well what's going to happen because you put ME in charge of this story.**

**truephan: Gah! I know, Ms. Hyde. My point exactly!**

**Ms. Hyde: *whipping out her sharp hat pin* Did you say 'point'?**

**truephan: Uh-oh! Gotta go, everyone! Hope you still get to push that lovely button down below! Thanks for reading! YIKES!**


	3. Chapter 3 Getting the Ball Rolling

**A/N: Hey, gang! Glad you were able to tune in. And thanks for all of your wonderful reviews. They rub me the right way and my back arches up because of them! Heh-heh! Well, I'm sure you rather read an update than fire off any more brain cells thinking about that last comment! But, oh, before we go on, my resident scientist-on-demand pointed out something to me and so I just fixed it today to be compliant with her astute observations. Thanks again, Doc! Now here is Chapter 3. Enjoy!**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 3—Getting the Ball Rolling<p>

Finally, school was over. After agreeing to meet up after dinner, Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie all went to their respective homes.

Danny immediately went to the kitchen when he got home. He placed his backpack on the empty table, ready for a light snack. And just as he was helping himself to one, he noticed the note on the counter. He picked it up as he took a bite of his apple and immediately recognizing the handwriting, grinned as he began to read it:

Danny,

Your mother and I have gone to get some ecto-terrain samples and raw  
>materials from the Ghost Zone. We shouldn't be long. And don't worry<br>because we've brought plenty of all those neat ghost weapons! Hope we get  
>to try them on some≈≈≈≈≈≈Uh, sorry about that pen scratch, your mother bumped into me! Heh-heh.<p>

We're just taking the ghost weapons, just in case, okay? Anyhow,  
>your mother made sure that <em><strong>she <strong>_was the one to program the mapping  
>system this time so that we won't get lost like the last time!<p>

In any case, your mother wanted to make sure to tell you that you  
>might have to have a frozen dinner tonight if we get back too late...<p>

Danny stopped reading and lowered the paper for a moment and sighed in relief. At least his mother hadn't left anything that _**glowed**_ for dinner! He then picked the note back up and continued to read:

That's all for now, son. We hope you had a great day and can't wait  
>to show and tell you all about what we found—uh, when we find it, that is!<p>

Love,

Dad…and Mom

"Wow, that would mean that it's going to be even quieter in here for a while," the boy suddenly muttered to himself. He _**had been**_ feeling better about what had depressed him today. That is, until his parents' note just emphasized once again just how alone he was right now. But this time, he shrugged it off with a slight sigh. "At least the guys will be over here later. So, it won't be that bad. Oh, well, might as well do some 'exciting' homework before I get bored to tears waiting to eat dinner!"

He promptly took another bite of his apple, grabbed his backpack, and headed upstairs. As he walked along, he was suddenly aware of something…odd. Man! Did this happen all the time or just now? He had never noticed before how his movements caused so much echoing within the area until now—when it was dead quiet.

And it didn't help any when the teen's eyes drifted into the room he was just passing: Jazz's. The room was still full of items that had her touch on them—only that they were no longer warm with her touch... His gait inadvertently slowed to almost a crawl as his mind drifted back to all those discouraging thoughts he had been trying to shake all day. And then, suddenly, that odd chill yanked itself from his inner core before it raced up and down his spine again, only this time it was more intense as he came to an abrupt halt.

The boy hitched in a gasp and the hand around the strap of his backpack tightened before whitening as the now cold burning pain shot throughout his body. Several agonizing moments later, the pain quickly dissipated to a slow, dull throb. But the intensity of that initial pain had left him sweating and panting.

He swallowed while trying to control his breathing and then he was aware of something…wet. He looked at the hand that been holding the apple and saw that in his reaction to that awful feeling, he had squished the fruit to a pulp.

"Yech! I don't like applesauce, 'hand-made' or not!" the boy groaned before sighing. Well, what else could he expect if his powers were going all wonky?

But then he wondered…He willed a purposely weak aura around the hand holding the squished apple. He smiled slightly when he didn't feel that much different when he did that. Sure, there was still something odd lingering. Nevertheless, he then smirked mischievously at his next thought. He quickly activated his full powers and the green aura brightened before quickly engulfing the apple goo. With a hiss, the mess rapidly and completely evaporated, leaving his hand clean.

"Heh-heh, beats soap and water any day," he chuckled to himself, though he frowned a bit when that odd feeling crept up again—not as intensely as moments ago, but unpleasant enough. Still, he moved on to his room.

That momentary lift came practically crashing down as soon as he had entered his room and his thoughts shifted gears once more. Without any hesitation, Danny plopped discouragingly onto his bed. Darn this crazy thing about his powers! And darn it! He must be crazy that he actually missed his sister! True, he had his friends, especially Sam. They were definitely a big plus and a lot of help for him for most everything. And he wasn't really comparing them at all with how he was feeling, since each of his friends and his sister had their own special place in his heart….But, there was something about the way Jazz could encourage him that had worked every time. And he sure needed that right now, especially when he was still very much aware of this uncomfortable feeling that was still surging through him.

He sighed in frustration. He hated being this down! He usually didn't let things bother him! Heck, he _**had**_ to let things slide, or else all this madness in his life about ghosts, his powers and just plain everyday life would have driven him insane way before this! He chuckled a bit at that thought, but he just frowned again. He still felt upset!

Danny unzipped his backpack and pulled out his chemistry book. Maybe doing some homework would help distract him. His face scrunched up. Or maybe not. But then, an idea formulated in his mind. He knew what would make him feel better! He glanced at the clock. He had plenty of time before his friends would be over. And he really wasn't hungry any more since eating and pulverizing that apple _and_ being depressed took care of that. So, dinner could wait, too.

Even though he was a bit more encouraged at his idea, he suddenly frowned, irritated with himself. He couldn't make up his mind about this decision, either! Just which of his ghost friends should he visit? He hadn't seen any of them in quite a while. And maybe they could help him figure out what exactly these weird feelings were all about. After all, his ghost friends were definitely much more experienced with their powers than he was….

In the next instant, however, his eyes unconsciously drifted to his bureau. He impulsively rushed over to it, pulled open one of its drawers and reached in.

Just then, a stray ray of sunlight filtering through his window kissed the gem of his small Spectre amulet as he pulled it out and up. Its sparking face silently laughed in delight at the boy's greeting, instantly tickling him with the colors the sunlight's soft touch had sent back.

Danny unconsciously smiled. It was indeed a very beautiful gem. And he was glad that he had it. With it, he could quickly get to that very far away Spectre Realm—or call his friend right away. So, contacting his friend Spirto, who was the ruler of all of the Spectre, was practically a heartbeat away.

Suddenly thinking twice about it, the boy unconsciously wrapped his hand around the amulet. He hitched his mouth to the side and frowned, disappointed with himself. He was making too big of a 'to do' about all of this. And Spirto might be too busy right now…Still, his friend did invite him to come at any time. And he had visited the Spectre leader a few times already, and they had become good friends….Still, maybe Spirto couldn't help him. After all, the Spectre Realm was a very uncomfortable place for him even with the magic of the amulet; and the Spectre had _**very**_ hot central cores and might not understand what he was going through….

But then, he thought about who maybe _**could **_help him: Frostbite! Why hadn't he thought about his Far Frozen friend first? After all, he was having trouble with his ice powers as well as his other ones. But the weirdest feeling he was having was definitely on the cold side. Surely, Frostbite would help him.

Danny smiled, encouraged now that he finally had decided what to do. And without giving it another thought, he absent-mindedly shoved the Spectre amulet into his pants pocket…

Coincidentally, just as soon as Danny had put the amulet away, Vlad's spy bug, which had kept itself concealed in a darken corner of the ceiling, had been reactivated. It dutifully projected what it was seeing onto the computer screen in the control room of Vlad's simulation room. Vlad smiled when he saw that Daniel was still in his room.

Perfect!

The man had already gotten that vital piece of information from his ghost 'messenger boy' he had sent after the boy earlier. And Vlad was pleased to know that Daniel's power level was actually much _lower_ than what the other data his computer had provided. Though the conflict was a little puzzling —and something he was bent on investigating—Vlad knew that this couldn't be better news.

But there was more good news. The results of his employee's encounter with Daniel had actually served two purposes. One was, of course, to determine the boy's true power level. And the other was to make the boy susceptible to that ghost's powers in the future—if it were needed. Of course, Vlad hoped that would not be needed, as he planned to have the boy under his control long before that.

In any case, the man knew that he would be able to make his move soon now that Daniel was right where he wanted him to be at this moment.

In the next instant, however, the boy perked up and turned toward the door at the next sound.

"Danny!"

The teen smiled before heading right to the door and opening it. Without hesitating, he yelled, "Coming, Dad!"

Immediately forgetting his woes, Danny went through the door and disappeared from the electric eye of Vlad's spy bug.

Vlad frowned and growled, "Blast it! I was hoping he would be here long enough for me to complete the first step of my plans. I can't have him gallivanting around or else that might make things…complicated."

But then, he got a hold and himself and smiled in self-satisfaction. He would not chide himself when all this did _**was**_ give him the cue to start the ball rolling.

He turned from the screen which was still displaying the spy bug's viewing area—which was, of course, Daniel's now empty room. The man then raised his voice a bit and called, "Maddie?"

The holographic facsimile of Vlad's heartthrob immediately appeared next to the computer with a cheery smile. But then, Maddie the cat also bolted into the room at the sound of her name.

"Yes, dumpling cake?" the computer image gushed before her face fell into a scowl after catching sight of the cat.

But since Vlad was still looking at what the spy bug was displaying, he didn't notice the change in her face after she had seen the cat. He continued, "Have you rechecked those small electronic devices for me? I want to make sure that their batteries will hold out until a more permanent solution is in place."

The computer-image's programmed smile was as sugary as ever as she replied, "I always carry out whatever plans are in my queue, O-smartest-angel-cake-I-know."

One of Vlad's eyebrows hitched in surprise. He hoped he could put off the computer maintenance for the duration. Then again, he could still wait since he was sure he would be successful in record time.

He calmly replied, "Well, yes, but the point is to check those devices, my dear."

Her smile never dimming, Maddie opened a nearby drawer and pulled out three small devices. Each of them looked exactly alike in design, but was different in color. She hooked them up to three nearby USB plugs and typed out some diagnostic commands. In hardly any time, she had disconnected the small electronic items and deftly handed them to the apple of her computer-optic eye.

Vlad smirked in satisfaction as he turned on one of the units. "And how long will each of the batteries last, Maddie dear?"

They are designed to last three weeks, four days, twelve hours, thirty minutes and fifteen seconds, love," she replied without taking in a breath—especially when she didn't have any.

"Hmm…" he grunted, "That should be more than enough time. In fact, if all goes well, I may just leave them where I put them all together."

"As you command, muffin," she emoted. "And I think the colors you picked for them go very well with the décor of each of your targeted placements!"

Vlad narrowed one eye in confusion but he immediately brushed it off and further asked, "So, now that _that_ is taken care of, I am to presume that you must have Formula 286-psi-1 ready as well?"

"Why, of course, O brilliant sweetheart," she replied before turning toward the console and immediately pushing some buttons.

She looked toward the small machine that was right next to her keyboard. The device, which actually looked a little like a small coffee maker, was about a half-foot tall and about half that wide, with a hollowed out area that only contained a slender, solid metallic tube which projected downward a few inches from the top of the device, not unlike the hot steam pipe in an espresso machine. And it also had a receptacle plate under it that was surrounded by the walls of the machine.

A moment later, that slender pipe retracted into the top of the machine just as a small lever arm attached to the machine inserted a vial so that it was now suspended above that receptacle plate. The long pipe then slid back down and penetrated the empty vial before a small clamp that had thrust out of the back of the machine wrapped itself around the vial and secured it in place…Not a moment later, the end of the pipe began to steam and that was quickly followed by a stream of a thick, hot, black liquid, which could have easily been mistaken for very strong coffee if it weren't for the fact that it was _**glowing**_.

Maddie the holograph pressed another button to retract the pipe while picking up the vial at the same time. She quickly capped it and didn't hesitate to turn and hand it to the billionaire.

Vlad smiled as he took the small oblong jar, not surprised in the least that it had already cooled. But just as he did, the white cat jumped up on the counter and immediately pressed her side into his, purring in content as her back arched upward with the touch. He, in turn, unconsciously stroked her on her back and the cat meowed, arching her back even more.

The computer-generated Maddie's scowl deepened at the sight. But when she immediately looked back up at the man, a smile returned to her lips.

He was still admiring the glowing substance—Formula 286-psi -1—within the vial she had made for him.

Still turning and inspecting the glowing beaker this way and that, the man finally remarked, "Ah, yes. This will do nicely. _Belladonna_. Such an ironical name, hmm? It means 'beautiful lady', yet in small dosages, can be as deadly as a scorned woman. Yet, I perfected a derivative from it to suit my purposes. From the ghostly—and deadly — _nightshade_ plant family, isn't it, Maddie dear?"

Maddie the holograph nodded, and then threw him a huge grin when he stopped petting the cat and walked toward her.

The cat, in turn, promptly lay down and watched on as the computer-generated solid facsimile and the man continued to speak to each other.

He then said, "In fact, it looks like a perfect brew from the berries of this ghostly plant—modified, of course, to be perfect for my plans."

The hologram sweetly replied, her voice very sing-songy as she piped in, "Yes, pumpkin. As instructed, I formulated this potion from exact derivatives of the ghostly plant _Atropa belladonna_ of the _nightshade_ family that you obtained from the Ghost Zone. But I am sure you know that this brew is much more potent than any brew from the same plant if it were taken from the European area of the Real Word—if it is given to ghosts. But as you also inputted into my commands, I intermixed it with the Real World plant of the same name so that the ghostly plant would enhance yet also control this potion's effects—on humans. So, it should do the trick…And, I have been programmed to remind you that this is a very dangerous substance. If you are not extremely careful, then even you, honey muffin, can be affected by its fumes….So, remember you must extract the most exact micro-droplet needed to fully incapacitate the family and friends of your future-most-ideal-and-powerful…. son, including ensuring that it is diluted accurately within its intended solvent. Otherwise, there will be no total control of where the fumes flow and its effects could harm even you if even a bit of it gets to you. You will be instantly placed into a permanent comatose state."

Holding the vial up and looking at the glowing substance once more, Vlad frowned before asking, "So you made it _**that **_potent?"

Maddie the holograph scrunched her eyebrows together and wrinkled one side of her mouth at his confusing comments. "Why, of course I only made it as potent as the data you inputted into my system, lamb chop."

One of Vlad's eyebrows hitched, but he smiled back, "So I did, Maddie dear. Well, yes. I must have been more enthusiastic than I thought when I calculated that formula. Still, I will probably not be able to control all the variables when I actually need to use the formula. So, then, can you adjust its potency a bit so that I can handle it without risk to myself? But it still must be able to either make those humans comatose permanently, or at the least, render them unconscious. I mean…"

But he stopped in mid-sentence when he saw the facsimile of his love frantically pushing buttons. And before he could continue with his thought, she was handing him a smaller capped jar of a glowing, but _grey_, substance.

His smile widened as he grabbed the beaker. He blurted out, "Maddie, I love you!"

"Yes I know, honey-muffin," she said with a huge grin before narrowing her eyes in reassurance at the now sleeping cat. "And now I also know that you must love me more than that cat!"

He frowned a bit in confusion, but she distracted his thoughts with her next comments. "The grey batch that you hold in your masterful fingers—Formula 286-psi-1_**A**_, that is—is potent; but not enough now for its fumes to affect you. And it will not fully incapacitate your targeted humans—unless you want it to... Now, when each droplet is in the correct proportion with its solvent—one part to five-thousand parts, or two-hundred parts per million, with a margin of error of ten percent, you know—the final solution will keep the humans asleep for a least a week. And if you want more, you need only add another drop in order to lengthen that time by another week. So one drop will mean one week of sleep when mixed correctly."

The three-dimensional image giggled a bit before adding, "Or, if you want them to be comatose permanently, all you need to do is add more drops. But, of course, if you add too much, they will sleep their way into their demise, honey-kins."

Vlad smiled and replied, "Yes, that is good. And you have made it so that once mixed, it will be completely absorbed through the skin and its effects instantaneous? And that it has essentially those other same qualities as the original formula? And that it will be completely undetectable by its intended targets? And, oh, that you will make sure all of the follow-up needed after exposure is completed?"

She nodded, but carefully noted all of his questions, "Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. But it must be left undisturbed in the solvent in which you put it before it becomes effective."

"Oh, I don't remember that part," he said, with a slight frown. "Now how long will it take to become effective?"

"About thirty minutes, love."

"Thirty minutes, eh?" he asked again, frowning a bit more. He paused a moment before his face brightened at his idea. "Hmmm, well, then we'll just have to give it time to set, right? And I know what to do and whom I'll get to do that!"

He immediately began to scribble on a notepad that was on the counter.

"I had no doubt that your superior mind would find a way, sugar pie," the facsimile of Maddie beamed as she looked over his shoulder at what he was writing.

"Well, yes, so glad that at least you noticed, Maddie," he replied with a smug smile before giving her the note.

But she didn't take it.

"What's wrong, my dear?" he asked, perplexed with her action.

She smiled and replied, "Nothing, honey muffin. I have already sent that message you just wrote to your minions."

He smirked, "How could I forget that you don't need a note to get the job done? Thank you, my dear….And now is the perfect time for the cogs of this well-oiled machine to turn!"

The hologram skewed up her face and remarked, "I'm sorry, lamb chops. But according to my memory chips, this part of your plan has no mechanical parts in it."

He rolled his eyes. But he then answered her with a weak smile. "Once again, my dear, do not burn out any of those memory chips worrying about that, all right?"

Though still trying to process the reasoning behind his last statement, the computer facsimile looked up at him and immediately cueing in on his smile, returned it with her own weak one.

Her holographic face lit up at the activation of her memory chip and she gushed, "Oh, sweet-ums, don't forget that other formula, Formula 286-psi-**2**. You'll be needing it soon for that extra protection."

"Oh, why, yes, Maddie, dear. How sweet of you to remind me," Vlad said with a smile as she handed him the spray can. "What would I do without you?"

"I don't know, lambkins, maybe talk to yourself?" she queried, but with a confused smile. Her memory bank couldn't really comprehend his question.

Vlad frowned slightly at her remark, knowing he would definitely have to do that computer maintenance _very_ soon. But then he said, "In any case, it is almost time to go."

"Just as you planned, O most masterful sugar-pie," the computer-generated female excitedly said before she rechecked the computer monitor. But then she added, "But do not forget that protection formula, Formula 286-psi-**2**, only lasts one hour."

"Oh, yes, I had forgotten. Remind me to work on that formula, will you, my dear?" Vlad asked in reply.

The holographic Maddie stopped in a blank stare for only a moment before she replied, "Noted, O wonderful honey-kins."

She scanned the results just before she turned off the calculating program. Her smile broadened as she turned back to Vlad and giggled, "All right, then. Everything is in order; and the tracking timer is set. Have fun contaminating those humans, pumpkin!"

Vlad frowned at her strange remark, but still nodded silently before morphing back into his alter ego, Vlad Plasmius. He sprayed his cape liberally with the protection Formula 286-psi-**2** right away. A moment later, he placed the spray can down and then put both the black and grey glowing jars into a pouch and then attached the pouch to his waist. But before he turned to go, he said, "Oh, Maddie? Do be a dear and keep an eye on Daniel's whereabouts. If he should leave his home for any reason, please tell me right away, all right?"

"Everything's always not 'all right'**,** but _**perfect**_ with you, sweet pea," she gushed before adding, "And I will inform you should your 'future most ideal and powerful…son' leave his domicile."

Vlad smiled weakly at her response, but said no other word to his computer or cat. He quickly turned both invisible and intangible; and disappearing in a puff of pink smoke, teleported away, eager to put this part of his plan in motion…

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><p><strong>AN: Yes, I know, dear readers, you can go ahead and hate me. I don't mind! You KNOW how much I love cliff-hangers! In fact, I now realize why I do…It's called envy. Uh-huh, that's right! You see, I've never had very strong arms—ever! In fact, you remember those 'alternative' athletic tests they gave to non-athletic kids like me to pass those 'fitness tests'? Well, I FAILED those, too! I could never hold onto any bars PERIOD. Another thing about that envy thing. Remember all those movies where the heroine is hanging on a tree or rope or something over that cliff waiting for her hero to rescue her? Well, I would be LONG DEAD before the jerk came because I can't hold onto bars or tree branches or rope of ANYTHING! So, you see, I'm envious of those heroines…so I get back by making cliff hangers! *permission to scratch your heads in confusion* But that's the way it is! And oh, another thing about the chapter… Vlad is being very meticulous in his plans, so it's going to be a bit longer for the main event. Thanks for tuning in and please shut off your screen by pushing that little blue button down there. It will ask you to review this chapter before it will allow you to completely turn off your computer! Yeah, envy strikes again! HAHAHA! Talk at you soon!**


	4. Chapter 4 Machine in Motion

**A/N: Hello everyone, and thanks for your wonderful reviews! And because of your awesome thoughts, I want to wish y'all a Happy St. Patty's Eve! ****Beannachtaí**** ort!**** -which is a Gaelic wish for 'Blessings on you'! (Yeah, I looked it up. I don't know any foreign languages except English! Heh-heh!) I only have a wee bit of Irish in me-on mi father's side- but I count that as 100% on St. Patrick's Day! So, don't forget to wear green tomorrow or I might pinch you. Hey! That's better than Ms. Hyde poking you with that wicked hat pin of hers, isn't it?! Heh-heh. Oh, ahem, that's right, it's time for an update! Remember when I sent Ms. Hyde over to Vlad's place to get the list of ghosts and all kinds of stuff? Well, she found out the names of some recurring characters! Yep, that's right! And I'm so glad, too, because I find it irritating when characters that show up more often than not have no names! And now I can tell y'all who those characters are and their names! Finally, it's time! But a little PM to IJ: hope this is more exciting for you! Here is Chapter 4. Enjoy!**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 4—Machine in Motion<p>

When Plasmius reappeared after teleporting from his lab, the pink smoke that had surrounded him quickly dispersed into the crisp, clear night. He purposely teleported close to the hangout of the three vultures he often used in his plans, but not near enough to be seen or heard by any of them at the moment. He wanted to alert his other employee before he would speak to those three loons, er, vultures.

He quickly brought up his arm and pushed a few buttons on the watch-like device on his wrist. **[1]** This was the quickest way to contact that someone before meeting up with the vultures. And he knew that it wouldn't take long at all…

Once he got a connection, he hurriedly said, "Skulker….."

A couple of minutes later…

"Yikes!" Norbert, the leader of the group of ghost vultures, yelled just as Plasmius suddenly materialized in front of them in another puff of pink smoke. He immediately swooped up his fez that had fallen off in his startle and plopped it firmly back on.

Though they had already received a message that their boss was coming, they were _**never**_ ready when he would do that 'teleporting' thing.

"Geez, boss, ya nearly gave me a heart attack!" the second ghost bird named Ruben chimed in before realigning his sunglasses.

"Ya don't have a heart!" Willie, the third vulture, pointed out.

"Yeah. I know. But if I did have one, I vould be having an attack right now!" the second vulture replied.

Plasmius rolled his eyes and growled, "Look, you three, I don't have time for this! You got your message. Now, I want you to go right now and turn off those three main lines. Then wait exactly thirty minutes before you turn them back on. And make sure no one interferes with what you need to do, got it?"

"Yeah, ve got it!" the leader said. "So, let's go, boys!"

They immediately took off and the conniving ghost hybrid then teleported to his next destination.

In no time, Plasmius was at the Mansons' home. And even though he was still invisible and intangible, he stayed in the shadows.

"Now, let's see if those idiotic birds got it right!" he finally said, touching part of the building. And as soon as he had touched it, that section became invisible.

It only took a quick glance with his ghostly vision to see that the ghost vultures had done their job after all.

"Perfect!" the half-ghost sneered with delight before pulling out the small beaker containing the gray substance from the pouch at his side. He then retrieved the dropper from the same pouch and quickly siphoned a small amount of the glowing gray formula.

Plasmius knew that he couldn't really trust any of his employers for this next very delicate part. He carefully squeezed the dropper before he turned the dropper intangible and plunged it into the large water pipe.

There. It was done! And if his calculations were correct, he knew that as soon as any human skin came into contact of the properly mixed formula, it would osmose right through it and be absorbed right into the bloodstream. Then, its effects would be immediate.

He chuckled a bit even as he thought, "_I can't afford to have Daniel's girlfriend do what she would undoubtedly do, which would be, of course, to interfere with any of my plans. And, of course, her entire family must join her in her 'big sleep' so that they won't suspect that it's the girl who is really my target."_

He pulled out the dropper out of the building and looked at it before saying with a wicked smile, "That should do the job nicely. Hmmm, and, oh, how clumsy of me! Two and a half drops equals two and a half weeks….Heh-heh!"

He suddenly frowned a bit. He certainly hoped he wouldn't need that much time to break Daniel, but he also had to have some leeway in order to make sure that his friends didn't have any opportunity to interfere or be so weak that they won't be able to do anything about anything anymore...But then he smirked again at his next thought. It would be better yet if Daniel's friends were _permanently_ out of the picture. That might be enough of an effect on the boy that Daniel would ask him for help—which, of course, he would gladly give.

His thoughts, however, were interrupted less than a moment later because all the lights in this area—and really, the whole city—were suddenly snuffed out.

"Right on time as always, Skulker!" the half-ghost slightly chuckled. "We can't have anyone trying to fix this up before the formula is well mixed, now can we?"

Now satisfied that he was finished here, Plasmius quickly teleported to the Foleys' home…

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><p>Meanwhile, Sam had been in her greenhouse…<p>

"Man, sweating in here is so therapeutic! I can't think of anything better for the soul than smelling all this rich earth," Sam said with a smile as she turned over more of the soil with her small hand hoe.

But then, that same earthly aroma triggered another memory, a special one. One that she had shared with her one special guy when they were exploring the underground, just before they got to that underground cavern they both loved. Her smile broadened as she continued to tend to her plants. Maybe there _was something else_ better for her soul after all.

Once satisfied, she sighed and wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her right hand. "That'll do it for today! Time to get cleaned up. Don't want to be late for dinner…," And she added when a smile grew back on her face, "…or—more importantly—getting over to Danny's after that!"

She wasted no more time. She left the hothouse and headed right into her home, and up the stairs for the quick shower she knew she most definitely needed.

She entered her bathroom and blindly poked her hand through the bathtub curtains, groping for the hot water. But as soon as she turned the handle, no water came out!

"Huh?" the girl grunted as she pulled open the curtain to recheck the tap. But just as she was about to turn the handle again, the lights went out!

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><p>Plasmius could tell that all was ready for him at Tucker's home because the lights in this section were also out. So, it was time to deposit the same amount of sleeping potion into the Foleys' water system.<p>

But just before Vlad was going to make his hand intangible and phase it and the dropper full of the glowing concoction through the side of the building and into the main water pipe, he heard a noise very close to him. He instantly became totally invisible and intangible and even though he really hadn't needed to do it, he reflexively pushed himself closer to the building without phasing through it.

In the next moment, the half-ghost could see who it was and he frowned in irritation.

"_Curses! It's that meddlesome Foley kid!"_ Plasmius immediately thought.

Indeed, it was Tucker, ever equipped with his trustworthy, futuristic PDA that he had 'inherited' from Skultech 9.9 over a year ago. And he looked as if he was inspecting the area, which, in fact, he was. And in the next moment, as the boy inadvertently drew nearer to the hidden Plasmius, he was studying what his PDA was displaying.

And then Plasmius heard Tucker speaking to himself, since the boy, of course, thought he was alone.

"I don't get it! There's nothing wrong with the wiring and no transformers have been blown within the area I scanned," Tucker said, alternating looking at his PDA and surveying the surrounding area.

There was another pause before the boy spoke again, "And why would the electricity _**and **_the water be out at almost the exact same time? Wow! Wish I had those odds when fighting Kroger in that new video game I just bought! He's impossible to beat—heh-heh, for now!" Tucker chuckled before sobering. "Okay, dude, back to _this _problem. I wouldn't think that both the electricity and water would be out at the same time unless there was some type of horrific storm—or some idiots cut both main lines at the same time."

He shuddered. He certainly hoped that no idiot had cut both lines since he really didn't want them to find out how electricity and water so didn't mix well. Still, he looked up. Obviously the clear star-filled sky held no storm. So, what could have happened?

He continued to inspect the area when, suddenly, a red warning sign began to blink in the lower right hand corner of his PDA's display.

The beret-wearing boy gasped, "That's never done that before!"

When Tucker rechecked his PDA, however, he chuckled in embarrassment. "Oops! Sometimes even _I_ forget how complicated this thing is! I must have activated that program by mistake!" He pushed a couple more buttons and then uttered in bewilderment, "Man, that's a lot of power!" But then suddenly turning quickly around on his heels and scanning immediately where he was, he gasped, "But that would mean….!"

But the boy couldn't complete his sentence, even as he was reflexively programming his PDA into a defensive mode. In the next instant, he was screaming in pain as Plasmius' pink ectoplasmic energy beam lifted him up off of the ground and rapidly engulfed him. And not a moment later, Tucker was unconscious and his PDA had slipped out of his hands and onto the pile of soft leaves on the ground under him. The PDA quickly sunk within the leaves until it was completely hidden.

Plasmius didn't even pay attention to the small computer even as its red warning button kept blinking, and gave the pile of yellow leaves an intermittent dull orange glow. Instead, he dispelled his pink energy, catching the senseless teen within his arms before Tucker could fall onto the ground.

Frowning at this snag in his plans, the half-ghost muttered, "Of course, I couldn't let him alert any of his friends of whatever he had discovered! Still, this will work out anyhow. At least he'll be out long enough for me to get this potion into the water system. And then, I'll just have to come back to make sure he's given a more thorough dose."

Leaving the PDA where it lay and making both he and Tucker intangible and invisible, Plasmius then phased right through the outside of the Foley house and into what Plasmius could see was the boy's bedroom. He promptly deposited the boy onto his bed and phased right out of the room and to the outside once more.

Once he relocated the main water line, Plasmius just as quickly deposited the dosage he wanted into it; and without another moment lost, headed toward his next target….

Plasmius paused as he looked at the building to which he had just transported, not noticing the fact that the night had seemed to instantly swallow up the remnants of that puff of pink smoke when he did. Instead, he bit his lower lip with his slight indecision.

Now that he thought about it, maybe he shouldn't worry about the girl who lived here. After all, she still worked for him. Yet, she really hadn't done much reporting lately on the whereabouts and whatevers about Daniel. He had told her that under the circumstances, he had understood. But now, he was not so certain.

He suddenly smiled, no longer hesitant about his original decision. "So then, that settles it. It is because of those circumstances—that she's involved with Daniel's friend, that Foley boy—that I have to also include Miss Gray in this part of my plan after all. I can suppose that she may not be a bother to me, but I cannot suppose that she won't be all bothered to see her steady beau a little—how should I say it?—indisposed? That might make her a little too willing to find out what has happened to him."

He then reached into that small pouch at his side; pulled out the beaker and dropper; filled the dropper; and quickly made it and his hand intangible. As he deposited the same dosage into the main water line of the Gray household as he had into the Mansons' and Foleys', he knew that he had perfect odds on not being bothered by Daniel's friends.

Once through, he smirked in satisfaction. But then, Plasmius looked at his watch and frowned a bit. He was still too early for his next step. However, he then grinned at his next thought. _"Hmm, well, looks like I might just be able to infect Daniel's home __**and **__have some tea before I have to make sure that Foley boy is introduced to that sleeping potion."_

He quickly transported over to Fenton Works. And as with his many other times, invading the home and completing his intended task was always all too easy …

Once he had infected the Fenton household, he headed back to his mansion.

While on the way, however, he paused and hovered in mid-air when one of the future parts of his master plan unexpectedly came into focus. Yes, if all went according to plan, the Central Park 'fountain' should be completed within the week. But, he had been so busy with this part of his plans that he hadn't yet checked on that other just-as-important part today.

He had to check on it every day in order to be able to insert the device at the right place and at the right time. He had thought of waiting until it was done and just use his ghostly powers to add that piece. But that was precisely the problem. The device was so delicate, he wanted to have plenty of time and definite ease to insert it or else there could be an increased margin of error for permanent damage to it.

He looked at his watch and smiled. He had plenty of time to check on his 'fountain', get back home and _still_ have some tea before he would have to return to the Foley home.

The older hybrid flew off in a new direction…

* * *

><p>Sam grunted in the dark. "Well, this certainly puts a damper on things!" She then sighed, "Oh, well, so the shower will have to be a little later and a quick one. No biggie!"<p>

She groped in the pitch blackness for the small drawer embedded under her sink, searching for the flashlight she knew should be there. And just as she smiled in triumph and began to pull open the little drawer, she screamed when she suddenly felt excruciating pain shooting throughout her.

The pain was so intense, in fact, that she thought she would faint from it. Now clinging to the sink for support, she continued to pant with the throbbing ache as she eased herself to the floor. And less than a moment later, it was over and she began to feel better. She swallowed hard at the ordeal, wondering why that incredible pain had come and gone so suddenly. She never had experienced anything like it before.

"Something's wrong," she uttered as she shakily pulled herself back up from the floor. But then, she shook her head in denial. "No. I feel better, it must have been nothing."

She frowned, not satisfied with her own answer. "Nothing? You just had a mega headache—and body ache—attack you out of the blue…." But then she slowed the pace of her voice down at her next thought, _"…that just as suddenly went away? And you're fine?"_

This time, her brow furrowed even more with her confusion. No, that wasn't it. She still had a dull headache from what happened and she never had trouble with this kind of headache before.

Still not mollified, she searched her mind….And then, she gasped at her next thought. She wondered if it was only a random thought, but she bit her lower lip. Somehow she knew it was true: _Something's wrong with Tucker!_

"_I have to call Danny!" _was her next thought.

But what she didn't know was that her boyfriend had also had a similar but not as intense pain shoot through him at the same time she had.

However, just as she was about to concentrate, bent on trying to connect with her boyfriend, she heard her name. The voice was muffled since it was coming from outside her bedroom door, but she immediately recognized it.

"_Samantha! Samantha! Are you all right? I heard you scream_!" her mother called through the door, jiggling the lock. How she wished she hadn't let her daughter keep her door locked more often than not! Still, she called again when she didn't get a response. "_Honey, answer me_!"

Sam immediately called out when she sensed the panic in her mother's voice, "I'm okay, mom! I just, uh, stubbed my toe on the tub when the lights went out. I'm okay now, though. But I need to get a flashlight so that I can come open the door. So, could you please give me a minute?"

Pamela Manson sighed in relief at hearing her daughter's voice before responding, _"All right, sweetie. But, of course, I can't get in right now. But please hurry, honey. I was so frightened! And I have an extra flashlight for you if you need one."_

"Duh! A lot that's going to do for me over there," Sam grumbled to herself, but instead, she called back, "I'm trying to get to the door, Mom! I'll be there as soon as I can!"

She groped for the flashlight that should be in the small drawer under the sink again.

But then her headache was gone; and as her head fully cleared, she stopped searching through the small drawer. A smug smile crept onto her face as she muttered, "Duh, part two...Well, it's been a while since I practiced…Okay, so in fact I haven't practiced _**at all**_ since the Spectra thing… But, I would say that needing light right now calls for this being the perfect time to do it!"

And even though she couldn't see it, she looked down on where her outstretched hand now was. She furrowed her brow in concentration. And then she gasped when a few moments later, a small ball of bright reddish-purple light lit up in and around her hand, quickly engulfing it.

She chuckled a bit under her breath, "Still not use to it, but still mega-cool!"

She then easily made her way through the bathroom and to her bedroom door, not realizing that the fuchsia-colored light had escaped under and around her bedroom door.

And that her mother had noticed it.

Nevertheless, Sam extinguished the light just as she reached her door.

She quickly unlocked and opened it, only to jump a bit at seeing her mother's face, which had looked hideously upset under the upward opposite shadowy effect of the flashlight. Still, the girl casually replied, "You said you had a flashlight for me?"

Confused by her daughter's remark, Mrs. Manson questioned, "Flashlight? But where did you get that strange colored light that you used just now? I saw it under—and around—your door just before you opened it."

Sam swallowed nervously, but was able to say, "Oh, that! Uh, that's from my… new laser lava lamp! But I turned it off with the remote just before I got to the door."

"But the electricity's out!" the women said, her face still scrunched with confusion, and now worry.

"That's because it runs on batteries, honey," another voice in the dark suddenly answered.

Both Sam and her mother startled slightly at the unexpected voice. But then, they calmed when they recognized it—and the sound of a battery-charged scooter that accompanied the voice—as the scooter, equipped with a tiny headlight, slowly drew nearer to the mother and daughter.

"I gave that to her some time ago, don't you remember, Pamela?" Sam's grandmother sweetly asked before throwing a side smile that only her granddaughter could see.

Sam, however, squelched a smile back and maintained that well-rehearsed poker face of hers.

Sam's mother frowned in confusion. She hadn't remembered any such thing. Nevertheless, she shrugged it off, chalking it up to another strange thing that seemed to involve her daughter more often than not.

An awkward silence grew among the three generations of female Mansons before they all gasped and squinted when light suddenly flooded the hallway.

"Well, at least that has returned to normal," Pamela flippantly said as she turned to go. "I need to finish dinner. See you in a bit, Mom and Samantha."

"Okay!" the oldest and youngest both said in unison.

After her mother had left earshot, Sam finally said, "Thanks for the save, Grandma! You know you didn't have to do that."

Millie winked at the girl before saying, "I know I didn't, bubele. But I do so love intrigue and mystery, even when it seems as if it'll never get solved!"

Sam unconsciously bit her lower lip. She didn't want to lie to her grandmother about what really happened, but she wasn't ready to blurt it all out yet, either. Now wasn't the time. But her indecision was finally decided for her….

"But then again, that's what makes it so exciting! So, I'll just have to say that it is so appropriate that I was—and still am—in the dark!" the old woman finally mused.

Sam weakly smiled and swallowed her sigh before radically changing the subject. "Well, I need to take a quick shower before dinner, then!"

Holding her nose in a tease, Millie replied, "I totally agree, sweetie!"

"Ha-ha," Sam dryly replied before leaning over and kissing her grandmother on the cheek.

Millie, in turn, smiled but said nothing more before turning her scooter around. And just as she began to scoot forward again, she called back, 'See you at dinner, kiddo!"

Sam watched the old woman a little longer until it was obvious that her grandmother was also on her way to the hall bathroom to clean up.

Sam then retraced her steps back to her own bathroom. She turned on the faucet to her shower and was happy to see that the water was back on.

"Must have been some kind of fluke," she muttered under her breath as she ran her hand under the faucet, checking the temperature of the water. But she jolted a little at the feel of the water. It felt as if she had received a small electrical shock from it! She frowned and uttered again, "Another fluke?"

Still, she turned the knob more to the 'hot' side, all the while checking the temperature with her free hand under the running tab the entire time. And each time, she frowned when that sharp electrical mini-volt returned when she first put her hand under the faucet. But then she shrugged it off as that tingling ebbed with the flowing water.

However, the more the water seeped through her fingers, the dizzier she became.

"That's weird!" she mused again, now getting a creepy feeling run up her spine.

But then, she startled when she heard a crash down the hallway…And it sounded as if it was coming from the bathroom where her grandmother had gone!

Ignoring her swimming head and the running water, Sam dashed back out of her bathroom and toward the hallway.

Once she got there, she hurriedly knocked on the bathroom door.

"Grandma?" she worriedly called.

But there was no answer.

Panicking, the girl turned the knob and was silently thankful that it was unlocked!

But when she opened the door, she met resistance. However, she hadn't yet realized that her grandmother's knocked-out body was what was blocking her from opening the door.

"Grandma?" Sam repeated more frantically, and then gasped when she finally caught partial sight of her grandmother's hand—on the floor just inside the door!

"Dad! Mom!" Sam instinctively screamed at the sight.

But, again, silence answered her.

"Mom! Dad!" she yelled more earnestly, but then her eyes widened in dread when she suddenly realized that she had called to her parents with hardly any breath.

She was feeling weaker by the moment! And she could no longer ignore her spinning head.

Now desperate, she mentally called out to her boyfriend. But before she could get out any semblance of a complete thought, her head spun violently and her vision blurred to the point that there was nothing but blackness before it.

And her unconscious body slipped to the floor….

* * *

><p>In the meantime, Plasmius had checked on the status of the fountain and knew he would have to install the device by the next day. He then teleported back to his own mansion on the edge of town to wait for the potion to 'cure'…<p>

Finally, the now human Vlad had finished his last sip of tea when he spied his watch. He chuckled smugly, "Time to check to see if Daniel's friends are indisposed before I do anything else."

He instantly morphed into his ghost form and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered what else he needed to bring with him. He wasted no time soaring to his nearby lab, and then snatched up the needed items. Checking all of them and smirking as his plans whirled in his mind, he quickly turned invisible and intangible before he disappeared in a puff of pink smoke.

The older ghost hybrid reappeared in no time in the midst of another small cloud of rosy smoke. When it cleared, the once invisible Plasmius rematerialized. He could clearly see that all was going as planned in the Manson home.

He quickly scanned what was obviously a kitchen and smiled. But that smile rapidly fell into a frown of concern when he could see smoke rising from a pan sizzling with angry fire on top of the stove! In an instant, he zapped the entire pan and fire out of existence. He then quickly soared over to the stove and turned off all the knobs.

Without hesitating, Plasmius turned right around and grinned again. Daniel's girlfriend's parents were slumped over and unconscious. The mother was at the foot of the sink with the faucet still running and her hand still wet; and the father was hunched over at the table, the spilled glass of water having slipped out of his hand after succumbing to the effects of that knock-out Formula 286-psi-1_**A**_.

Plasmius could tell by how peaceful they looked that they had not noticed the effects of the formula once it had affected them, just as he planned it to be. And, in fact, he was right. Most of the people he had meant to incapacitate would merely fall asleep.

But what he didn't know— nor did anyone else, for that matter—that only three of the others he had infected would feel a jolt of pain after having come into contact with the formula.

"Thank you, Maddie!" he uttered unconsciously to his holograph computer.

After turning off the faucet and placing the cup in the sink, he quickly scooped the pair up. He hurriedly searched the home. And after having found it, he brought them to their bedroom….

He continued to scope out the house and frowned in slight confusion when he saw an unconscious Sam lying in front of a cracked door in the hallway. How did the girl get out here?

But he shrugged it off as he easily lifted her up and searched for her bedroom. He found it in no time. But as he laid her on her bed, his ears perked up.

What was that sound?

But then, he smirked as he quickly located the sound and phased through the door in front of it.

"_That would explain how the girl was infected_," he thought as he turned off the faucet in the tub. _"But it doesn't explain why it took so long to incapacitate her."_

He frowned as he mused over that. But once more, he dismissed any reason as insignificant. All that mattered was that the girl was out-of-commission.

The ghost hybrid was about to leave for the Foley household when he stopped a moment.

"_Hmmm,"_ he thought with a pensive frown. _"Isn't there an old woman living here as well?"_

Now he was sure of it. He quickly soared through the rest of the house, inspecting each room near Sam's until he found the old woman on the floor in the hall bathroom. And when he did, he scooped her up as well and quickly deposited her on her bed. He then retrieved Millie's scooter and set it next to the old woman's bed.

Plasmius chuckled darkly as he headed to Tucker's house. "Now, when they wake up two-and-a-half weeks from now—that is, _if_ they wake up— they'll be so weak with hunger and thirst the last thing on their minds will be Daniel. And I'm sure, of course, they'll think they had some kind of awful flu as planned. Still, I don't care which scenario it will be. I'll take anything that'll work to my advantage over Daniel!"

When the older hybrid had arrived at the Foley home, he was pleased that he was welcomed with the same results as he had at the Mansons'. He had started at Tucker's bedroom, and had seen that the boy was still lying on his bed, indisposed.

Plasmius was quite pleased that all was going well.

He then quickly soared throughout the house, and found Tucker's parents in the kitchen, also quite out-of-it. He didn't hesitate to deposit Tucker's unconscious parents onto their bed.

Chuckling slightly that this went easier than he had planned, Plasmius turned to leave. But then, he suddenly remembered something. Sighing in relief, Plasmius uttered, "Glad I didn't forget that little detail!"

He quickly soared back to the kitchen and retrieved a cup. And even though he knew that his gloves would protect him from being infected, he still carefully filled the cup with water from the contaminated faucet.

An instant later, he had teleported to Tucker's bedroom. Smiling that all was still going well, the ghost hybrid floated over to the teen. He pulled the boy up to a sitting position and gently said, "Here, dear boy, drink this!"

Tucker, who hadn't regained his senses enough from being zapped by the older half-ghost in the first place, didn't comprehend that it was Plasmius speaking to him. Instead, Tucker obliged the command and started to sip from the cup. But no sooner had he begun when he jolted. The water seemed to catch his throat on fire! He immediately pulled back in protest, but it had already been too late. Not a moment later, the boy's head fell completely back. Tucker was now fully within the clutches of the effects of the infamous Formula 286-psi-1_**A**_.

At first, Plasmius frowned at the boy's negative response. _"That wasn't supposed to happen,"_ he mused. _"Maybe it __**did **__hurt the others?"_ But he didn't think so.

"Oh well. Just a small trifle. Still, two homes down, two to go!" Plasmius said shrugging that thought away before smiling wickedly as he lay Tucker back down. His plans were definitely back on schedule.

He flew over to Valerie's home this time. And seeing everything there as he expected, he quickly placed Damon and Valerie on their respective beds.

Sighing before grinning with satisfaction, Vlad looked at his watch and said with determination, "Good. Everything's set. I have enough of what I need to use against Daniel. True, I still have to get Skulker to finalize some of that, but that can come a bit later…..For now, though, it's time for the _**real **_show, which would be, of course, to retrieve Daniel!"

And a heartbeat later, he disappeared into a rosy cloud of smoke.

* * *

><p>While of all of his friends were being put out of commission, Danny and his folks hardly registered a blip on their 'alarm' radar when the rest of the city electricity and water supply had been knocked out. And that was because the Fentons had a back-up generator which had automatically kicked-in the moment Skulker had pulled the plug at the city hub.<p>

In fact, the only hint that the electricity had even gone out in the Fenton household was a slight flicker in the lights, which, really, for the Fentons—with the constant tinkering, lab explosions and the like—was more of a regular occurrence than not.

And so, no one in the Fenton household had noticed that things in their home were awry. And no one had any need to use the plumbing system—yet.

And in all that while that Plasmius was beginning to set his plans in motion, Danny had joined his parents in the lab shortly after Jack and Maddie had returned from their trip to the Ghost Zone. And now the adult Fentons had been in the midst of showing their son what they had retrieved from the Ghost Zone and how this substance was going to be used to improve the formula for their Ecto-Foamer…

Danny listened quietly as his parents argued over how they were going to begin the process of making the formula. In fact, he was listening a little more attentively than he realized. Now that he was taking more interest in chemistry—and doing well in it to boot—he had quickly gotten sucked into his parents' debate. But then, as his parents still ranted on, the teen leaned over the set of calculations for the formula and unconsciously started to check over them.

The young hybrid inadvertently frowned as he studied the chemical equation. But then—and still not aware of what he was doing—he picked up the paper and a nearby pencil and began to write on it. He frowned again when he briefly cued back into his parents' argument before returning to scribble on the paper. And then, he stopped a moment when he tuned back into their conversation once more…

He was still looking over the paper when he blurted out his thoughts on the matter before he knew it. "No, Dad, Mom. I don't agree with either of you. Neither sodium sterate nor potassium sterate, mixed into a yeast and hydrogen peroxide solution, are going to work, no matter if you got the elements for either solute in the Ghost Zone or not. If you mix them either of the ways that you have on this paper, the formula will foam only at first before it will become a gummy mess and will clog the Ecto-Foamer when it shoots outward. Why don't you two just go for something simple yet effective? You can use either a soluble potassium or sodium salt and mix it with plain water. Then use an ecto-yeast solution to yield the needed gas. Mix the two and you'll have a lasting and effective ecto-foaming solution that will do a decent job of fighting ghosts."

Maddie and Jack instantly stopped arguing as their mouths fell open in shock. Did _**that **_just come from their _**son**_**?**

But then, when Danny finally noticed the sudden stillness in the air, he glanced upward from the paper still in his hands. He instantly blushed when he saw his parents' faces and knew what had happened.

"Heh-heh," he chuckled a bit as he brought one of his hands up behind his neck and nervously rubbed it. "Uhm, yeah, well, I've been listening at school more, you know."

His parents, their mouths still agape, could only muster a silent and slow nodding of each of their heads in response.

But at that precise moment, Danny suddenly dropped the paper and winced under a wave of pain that had suddenly washed over him.

This time, both of his parents gasped in worry at his reaction and rushed over.

"Are you alright, honey?" Maddie cried.

"What's wrong, son?" Jack asked at the exact same time as his wife.

But the pain left Danny as quickly as it had come and his face relaxed. Instantly thinking it was his powers acting up again and not wanting to talk about it or worry his parents, he replied as casually as he could, "I don't know, but I'm all right now! Uh, you know how those school lunches are! Maybe something didn't agree with me. It happens more often than not, you know."

Not convinced, Maddie frowned. But she didn't challenge him. She knew he would only tell them the things he was ready to tell. Still, she didn't like how drained he had suddenly looked a few moments ago. But then again, he was looking better and better as she watched him. Maybe he was right.

"All right, sweetie," she finally said. "I'm glad you think you're okay. But in case it happens again, maybe you should take some Fenton-bismol later."

Danny gulped at the memory of having used that before. So not good. But he smiled weakly and replied, "Right, Mom. I will."

"Great, son!" Jack exclaimed in that boisterous tone of voice of his before turning to his wife. "And, now, sweetcakes, don't you think we should get ready for dinner? My stomach says it's half-past preparing at least the meat and we haven't even started yet!"

Maddie chuckled slightly as she replied, "Okay, hon. Let's go. You can cut up the salad, then."

Jack immediately frowned but then brightened at his next thought. He raised his hands up in a judo-like stance and excitedly said, "As long as we end it with my favorite dessert, my chopping hands are all yours, sugardoodle."

Maddie laughed gently at his remark. She knew very well that, really, _every _dessert was her husband's favorite—even if he claimed it was only fudge. But now, it was just a running joke since all that had changed recently.

"Anything I can help you with?" Danny honestly offered. After all, he wanted to be able to stomach something, and that something would be better if he prepared it.

"No, son, your mother and I got it covered! We have to clean up a bit down here and then we'll call you went it's ready, okay?"

"Oh, sure, Dad! And, uhm, thanks. And, oh! You know the gang will be over later, so I'll just go up and finish my homework, then," Danny added with a crooked smile.

"Not a problem, sweetie," his mother replied with a knowing smile.

After all, having Danny's friends over was now a routine in the Fenton household, a routine both she and her husband openly approved of—and for which they were truly thankful, for their son's sake...

Danny then turned to go up the stairs to the kitchen, through which he had to pass to get to his final destination.

But just as Danny reached the bottom of the stairs leading up to his bedroom, he was suddenly gripped by a familiar pressure in his mind. And for some odd reason, it made him dizzy even as he suddenly thought about Sam. But to add to his confusion, that sensation halted as quickly as it began and then was followed by an even stronger bout of dizziness.

"Uhhh," he said as he slightly lost his balance and reflexively grabbed his forehead with the feeling and the sudden spots before his eyes. But, once again, that sensation left him as quickly as it had come. He sighed at his next thought and muttered, "Not again! I wish all this craziness about my powers would stop—pronto!"

He shook his head in discouragement, and at the same time shrugged in resignation just before he started up the stairs.

He was unaware that those two bouts with all that pain and dizziness had come from his telepathic powers, which had tapped into what was happening to his two best friends…

Once he reached his bedroom, he wasted no time in getting out his chemistry book again. He turned to the page where the chapter review questions were. He then started on the first one…

Several minutes had passed and he sighed when he had completed most of the review questions. But this last one was harder than he expected. He glanced at the clock. It was time for a break. Besides, it was nearly dinnertime. He headed to the bathroom to clean up…

But in the meantime, Danny's parents had not gone right to preparing dinner while he had been doing his homework. In fact, just as he had decided to take a break, his parents had just gotten into the kitchen only a few minutes earlier, which meant that dinner would be late on account of that. And his parents had been late getting to the kitchen because they had gotten distracted in the lab checking over Danny's corrections to their formula calculations.

Danny turned on the faucet in the bathroom and placed his hands under it. In an instant, he felt as if the water was charged with electricity and he immediately pulled his hands back, reflexively wiping them off on his pants in an effort to quell that sting.

Ignoring the still running water, he once again growled in irritation, "I've got to get to the bottom of this whole 'my-powers-are-going-crazy' thing before it…." He then chuckled slightly before he continued, "Well, before it drives me crazy!"

He placed his hands under the water again, only to be jolted once more. Growling in irritation, he quickly turned off the faucet and dried his hands on the nearby towel.

However, he suddenly felt a little woozy. But that only annoyed him even more. He wasn't about to let his powers run amok and stand helplessly by! He gritted his teeth, determined to get a hold of himself. And then he thought he felt slightly better. Smiling in triumph, he finally got to his bedroom and was about to return to his desk when he heard a loud crash!

"What was that?" he cried out in alarm, his eyes widening and his muscles instantly tightening.

And then, suddenly, he heard his mother screaming his father's name!

However, just before the boy could turn into his alter ego, a cold sensation pulled itself right from deep within his chest before it sent shivers up his spine and choked his body with its intensity. Then, suddenly, another even more violent shot of cold lightening lit up his spine. He gasped at its effects, momentarily made dizzier by it. Before he knew it, he had stumbled backward and into a nearby wall.

The teen tried to ignore his panting and the still freezing pain as he concentrated into morphing into his ghost form. But then, another cold wave crashed upon him. He gasped as the onslaught seemed to rip through his spine again; but then he grunted with grit, irritated that it was doing a great job interfering with what he wanted to do. And a moment later, he finally succeeded in commanding his two bluish-white morphing rings to form at his midline before they fully surrounded him as each ring spread out from mid-torso toward his head or feet, respectively.

He panicked a bit when it was obvious that changing into his ghost form made him even dizzier! Still, he knew he had no time. His parents had to be in trouble! He was about to turn intangible when he was suddenly aware of an overwhelming temperature change.

But it wasn't cold as before. Now it was _hot_…No. It was more…painful, in fact, as painful as the cold sensations had been; only this pain was now blistering hot!

"Arrrghh!" Danny yelled in both pain and anger as sweat began to already trickle from his forehead and down his cheek. "I don't know what's wrong, but I don't have time to think about it!"

Once again, he attempted to turn intangible in order to plunge right through the floor and head toward where he knew his parents must be. But just before he did, he was suddenly reeling from what felt like a powerful punch to his face. Only that he hadn't been warned and hadn't seen the force that had thrust him into the wall just now!

He groaned in pain but immediately pulled himself up, his ghostly green eyes frantically searching the area. But he saw nothing, even though he was still feeling as if the heat would devour him.

And then suddenly, the boy felt as if _something_ had grabbed him. Before he could react, he felt a searing hot electrical bolt drive itself right into him. He immediately screamed as the pain riveted his body, helpless even as he knew he was being thrown across the room and crashing into his desk immediately afterward. His books, book bag and papers shot upward from the blow and then landed on top of him.

Danny groaned, now even more aware that his head was spinning more violently this time. Still, he bolted toward the ceiling, his eyes and now hands flaring with pure green infuriation at whatever was happening. He couldn't be certain whether his powers were responsible for all of this weirdness or not. But he also wasn't certain what was attacking him since his ghost sense had not alerted him. Still, in spite of that uncertainty, he had to satisfy his growing uneasiness—and suspicion.

"Who are you?" he suddenly shouted, raising his green glowing hands up in defiance and threat. "And what do you want?"

But as if he already knew the answer, silence greeted him. That was it! Even if he could no longer ignore his mounting vertigo, he wasn't going to fool around any longer!

However, once again, before he could do anything else, he felt his stomach cave in at another powerful blow. And it was so intense, that not only did it slam him into a wall behind him again, but it also knocked the wind out of him this time.

The boy slid down to the floor while he reflexively cradled his abdomen. His dizziness was now in a tailspin, even as he struggled to get air back into his hurting lungs.

However, whatever time this entity had wanted to spend on him had run out. In the next instant, Danny gasped when he spied a very familiar…weapon! And it was floating in mid-air and drawing nearer to him!

Now knowing that this was indeed some kind of unknown creature after him, Danny instantly put more effort into launching some kind of defense. He outstretched his left arm, commanding his ectoplasmic energy to charge forth. But much to his chagrin, he realized too late that his energy was barely forming and his vision was growing dimmer as the seconds ticked by.

Even still, the boy wasn't going to give up that easily. He violently forced himself upward, hovering nearly to the height of the ceiling as he readied himself with both of his hands now glowing with their ice blue energy. But once again, he found himself panting for air when all that did was tax his lungs and head even more. However, he knew he couldn't give into them. Now trying even harder to ignore those feelings, the boy grunted in defiance and shot an ice beam in the general direction of where that weapon had been, only to find that the weapon had disappeared!

But instead of stopping, he fired even more rounds of his ice beam in a circular pattern, as if his shots were like the firing pattern of a Civil War Gatling gun. To his dismay once more, however, each ray was weaker than the one before it. And his head was spinning so wildly he wasn't even aware that he was struggling to maintain his hover, much less produce the weakening rays. Nevertheless, that only made the boy angrier and more determined.

"All right! I don't know who you are or why you're here, but I'm going to make sure that I kick your butt back into the Ghost Zone! And someone's going to answer to me for your attacking me like this!" Danny yelled to the air just before he closed his eyes to concentrate, trying to dig into his inner strength. A moment later, he felt a surge of strength and a green ectoplasmic energy orb formed around his entire body.

But before the teen could burst it outward in a full-fledged ectoplasmic shock attack on the entity, he suddenly felt another biting chill rush down his spine followed by heat pulsating right back up it. He gasped as his eyes slammed open with the force and pain of that sensation. And then, he suddenly saw that same beige weapon appeared out of nowhere and aimed right in front of him and right at his chest level!

If the boy had not been so affected by his exposure to the sleeping Formula 286-psi-1_**A**_or his surging, barely controllable powers, his ectoplasmic orb would have shielded him and he might have been able to thwart what had happened next.

As it were, however, Danny's eyes widen in disbelief as the sharp, distinctive end of that beige weapon plunged right through the green orb. In spite of the fact that he immediately grabbed it in an attempt to counter its movement, he was feeling dizzier and weaker by the heartbeat and he unwittingly yielded to its force as it continued to shove itself forward toward his chest. He screamed at both its sharp, deep final thrust into his chest and at the intensity of the incapacitating hot energy it instantly drilled into his central energy core. With one more desperate attempt, the teen grabbed the shaft more firmly and tried to shove the weapon away even as its rays were countering him.

In spite of his efforts, the green ectoplasmic energy orb dissipated around Danny in the next instant. He fell unconscious, instantly reverting back to his human form as he plummeted from where he had been hovering to the floor.

But before he could hit the floor, his limp body was caught by an invisible force.

Vlad Plasmius immediately rematerialized with the senseless teen still in his arms. But he didn't look all that pleased. In fact, ice was still sloughing off of his cape.

He had taken the necessary precautions and sprayed his cape with Formula 286-psi-2 because he knew that he would have needed to be partially tangible enough to use the weapon that finally incapacitated Daniel_**. **_Indeed, the formula had done its job in protecting him from the boy's ice powers, but barely so. Still, he had never anticipated that in spite of that added protection and Daniel's obviously diminishing strength, Vlad had felt the icy blows even when he was invisible _**and intangible**_!

It only confirmed in his mind that he had to find out why all that data surrounding the boy's power level was so paradoxical. In the end, Daniel had to be getting more powerful or else he could not have put up this much of a fight after being infected by his sleeping formula. Or had the boy even been exposed to the formula? By how much of a fight Daniel put up, the man didn't think so. Besides, that beige weapon was more powerful than the boy and should have incapacitated him instantly if the formula hadn't….But it had taken _more_ energy to knock the boy out just now!

Vlad frowned with all the questions floating in his mind. This was not what he expected. And that only meant that Daniel must be getting more powerful no matter what the data said. All the more reason why he must have this boy at his side as his son.

But he wouldn't let the idea that Daniel was more powerful than he thought discourage him. In fact, his mouth slowly curled back upward into a wicked smile at his next thought: this could have been harder. Maybe the boy hadn't gotten infected by Formula 286-psi-1_**A, **_but he knew that the boy's parents had been since he had quickly checked on that before he attacked Daniel. Otherwise, they would have definitely been up here seeing what all of the ruckus was about. Sure, he could have countered Jack's ridiculous ghost weapons with that beige one, but it was always better to avoid such a distraction as he had.

A satisfied smile still on his face as he glanced back down at the motionless teen he still held, Plasmius floated over to the boy's bed. He lay Daniel down and then pulled open one of his eyes.

Satisfied that the boy was out cold, the older hybrid opened another pouch attached to his belt and retrieved a small gun-like device. He checked to see that it was loaded properly and then turned Daniel's head to once side so that the back of his left ear was now exposed. Plasmius pushed a button on the device and it turned intangible on its own power. Then, Vlad carefully eased the tip of the device toward the back of Daniel's head until it just penetrated the boy's skin.

Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

A small 'ping' sounded forth from the gun-like apparatus as it delivered its contents.

Plasmius frowned a bit when Daniel's listless head recoiled a little at the blow. But then, he quickly pulled the gadget away from Daniel just as the little gun materialized on its own. He inspected the area and could only feel a hardly noticeable small bump where the black microchip had been inserted, which was the same black microchip that Vlad had been checking at the beginning of his scheme.

Smiling that it was precisely what he wanted to see, the older hybrid quickly pulled up his left arm, revealing his watch-like device. He pushed a few buttons on it and this time he smiled when he saw Daniel's head twitch a bit when the older hybrid had pushed the last button on his watch-like mechanism. Now, just about everything was set.

In the next instant, Vlad scooped up the still senseless teen.

But before he soared back to his mansion with his prize, he looked down at the unconscious boy and said, "I wish it didn't have to be this way, Daniel. As you know, we had a small window of opportunity for us to do it the easy way before it was shattered by our last argument. But, you'll have to understand that this is how it has to be now…. And that everything is going all according to plan."

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><p><strong>[1] Another mega-cool invention by FanFiction writer pearl84 in her still awesome epic, <strong>_**Checkmate**_**. Still used with permission from the author**.

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><p><strong>AN: Well, well, dear readers, have a lot of questions, do we? Go ahead and ask me about them. I won't guarantee that I'll answer them, but ask them anyway. After all, since it's almost St. Patrick's Day, you might be in a wee bit of luck! But I can't answer them until you push that lucky blue button below! Thanks again and ****_Erin Go Bragh_****! (Ireland Forever!)**


	5. Chap 5 First Test & Final Preparations

**A/N: Hiya, everybodee, and thanks so much again for your support! It's better than chocolate and you know how much I love chocolate! And speaking of chocolate, looks like Easter will be here in no time, so I'm glad I was able to get this update to ya now! BTW, I'm getting **_**very**_** anxious to get things rolling, but alas, there has to be some more set-up happening; otherwise, I wouldn't blame you for asking all sorts of questions on how Vlad could do everything that's about to happen. So, might as well have this chapter give y'all part of that answer. The good news is that it won't be long for the REAL show, but the slightly bad news is that there's still a bit more prep to go. But, heh, it's not MY fault that Vlad is so scheming and meticulous! *winks* Okay, but before we go on, I keep forgetting to do that disclaimer thing. Don't forget that I don't own any (Danny Phantom) characters. (IDNOAC) If I did, I would still be having the show on the air! Now, here is Chapter 5! Enjoy! **

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 5—First Test and Final Preparations<p>

Once Vlad Plasmius had arrived back at his mansion with the unconscious Daniel, the older hybrid wasted no time in depositing the boy upon a twin-size bed located against and in the middle of the wall opposite of the viewing window of the control room of his simulation room.

But much to the chagrin of the older hybrid, Daniel began to groan once he was placed upon the bed. Vlad hadn't anticipated that the boy would have recovered this quickly. After all, the weapon he had used on the boy was powerful enough to easily incapacitate a level nine or higher ghost. He should know. He had swiped that long, thin beige weapon bearing a large green eye from the Observants long before he and Daniel had ever been brought to the _Realm Beyond Time_ or had defeated Iluzisto. In fact, he had had this weapon since the 'Vortex' affair, and made enough improvements on it using that _Timeless Magic_ energy cube Skulker had recovered after Iluzisto had destroyed his flying machine so that it would now do as he bade.

But then, his thoughts were interrupted when Daniel began to stir again, groaning once more as he struggled to regain consciousness.

Vlad stifled his surprised gasp, his eyes widening in some disbelief. The boy was even more powerful than he thought! But he wasn't ready for this complication.

He quickly teleported to the control room. He called out with less aplomb than he thought, "Maddie?"

"Yes, lumpkins?" the computer hologram said with an instant smile just as she appeared right in front of him.

"Quick! Activate the special microchip!" he hurriedly said.

But Maddie merely frowned in confusion and replied, "But, sweet-ums, all microchips are special!"

Vlad growled with his stupidity and said, "I mean the special microchip associated with File 285-MP. Activate Sub-File 287D! Hurry! We cannot let Daniel awaken yet!"

The female computer image immediately pushed all sorts of keys with precision and haste.

Even as he heard the humming and beeps as she set the commands in motion and knew she would be successful, Vlad still worriedly looked through the control room's window and at the stirring boy.

He let out a small sigh of relief when Daniel finally stopped moving. He could only presume that the boy had been sucked back into unconsciousness again. Still, he tensed with worry since he hadn't checked the monitors to be sure. He quickly glanced at the screens and relaxed once more when he could see that the data supported that the Maddie holograph had correctly used the black microchip behind the boy's left ear to alter his brainwaves in order to put him asleep. The teen's brain was now functioning in the _delta_ waves spectrum, which indicated that Daniel was in a deep, dreamless sleep. The computer-generated Maddie had made sure not to place him in the other deep sleep, known as the _alpha_ wave-induced sleep, which could have induced a coma if the Hertz frequency calculations weren't correct.

Now that Vlad thought he had Daniel under control, he had to finish his last bit of preparation before the main cog of his master plan machine would turn.

And now that he had reined in his momentary lapse in his emotions, he turned to his computer-generated image of his love and said with his usual calm manner, "Maddie, be a dear and make sure that the microchip continues to induce the _delta_ brain wave pattern, that is Sub-File 287D, until I return. I need to make sure that Daniel will not gain consciousness until the time is ripe."

The hologram instantly flashed a huge smile and replied, " 'Time is ripe'? Good one, muffincake, since time does in a sense 'grow'. Tee-hee. In any case, everything is as you command, O masterful lamb chops. It seems that you have already accomplished much of your agenda when you successfully secured your future most ideal and powerful…son's attendance here. And then, it will be no time before he is your _**present **_most ideal and powerful…son, pumpkin."

"Why Maddie, if I didn't know better, I would say that you could read my mind!" Vlad said with a grin.

Her face beamed at what she calculated was a complement. She readily replied, "If you use the blacken microchip for yourself rather than the subject in the simulation room, then that will be entirely possible!"

Vlad chuckled a bit at the irony of her words. He answered, "No, my dear, the very thought of it even scares me! But, we will delve into the very depths of Daniel's mind until he is no longer a hindrance to himself or me to become my son! And then, my ultimate plan will be a cinch."

"Which is, sweet pea?" the holograph probed.

"Ah, once again, it is best that you can't read my mind, my dear. But you will find out soon enough! In the meantime, keep Daniel happily in _delta_ sleep until I return, hmm?"

"Your command is my pleasure, pumpkin," she gushed just before she turned back to the monitor.

And with that, Vlad Plasmius disappeared in a puff of pink smoke….

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><p>The fanged older hybrid reappeared in front of the Foley household. He whipped out a small green contraption, and quickly becoming intangible, flew right into the home. A few minutes later, he phased back out.<p>

"That should do it for now, until I have that more _permanent_ solution. After all, this is only the beginning," he murmured before he teleported next to the Manson home to do the same; only this time, the contraption he used was blue in color.

And just as quickly, he instantly transported himself to the Gray residence and deposited a similarly shaped, yet purple, contraption in that home.

Finally, the eager half-ghost reappeared in front of Fenton Works, the rose-colored smoke swirling momentarily around him as if it were his white cape instead before it dissipated into the night. He glanced up at the sign atop the building and smiled, too excited to make a comment about its being tacky. He simply refused to spoil this moment for himself.

But then he refocused on the next step in his plan, musing to himself, "Let's see… I have Daniel; and his parents and friends are out of commission—and I have set-up a perfect smoke screen to keep busy-bodies at bay—such as they are. Still, there's the matter of making sure that everything is taken care of should that snoopy little sister of his calls home for any reason."

Vlad pulled out a tiny contraption that looked just like the others he had deposited at the other homes—except this one was black on the outside. It had a long red wire and a long yellow wire sticking out of it. He quickly turned intangible and then flew through the outside wall of the Fenton home and into the living room. He immediately spied the nearby phone and floated over to it. He opened a small drawer in that black device he had brought and placed a very small compact disc into it. The contraption immediately swallowed the disc and a small green light came on right after that. He then quickly wired it into the phone, as he done in the other households.

The hybrid glanced at his watch. "Good. Plenty of time. Still…" He smiled slightly as he pulled out his cell phone. "Time for that test," he immediately muttered just as he dialed the Fenton's phone number.

The Fenton phone immediately sang in recognition of Vlad's signal. But two rings later, and the light on the little black device to which it was hooked turned red and it was then that Vlad heard a click on the end of his phone.

Right after that, a voice which sounded a lot like Jack's said, "Hello?"

"Hello, 'Jack', this is Vlad," the hybrid said to what was actually a recording from the device he had connected to the phone.

"Vladdie? Is that you, Vladdie?" the voice excitedly replied.

Plasmius rolled his eyes when the facsimile of Jack's voice had his fat 'friend's' perfect tone and pitch. "I did have to have Maddie make sure it was that perfect, now didn't I?" he mumbled under his breath, referring to his computer holograph.

Still, he continued with his test. "So, I was just seeing how everyone was…."

"They are fine, V-man," 'Jack' began, "Jazz is doing well in school, Danny is growing like a weed, and, heh-heh, Maddie is as beautiful as ever, you know."

"Yes, well….Jack, speaking of Maddie, is she available?" Vlad said, not hiding the irritation in his voice. He hadn't realized how believable the digital interactive recording was.

"Well, I don't think so. She's in the kitchen right now," the interactive Jack excitedly said. "I can go check and get her in a jiffy, you know."

"No, that's all right, Jack. I really called to speak with Daniel."

The facsimile voice of Danny's father replied with a chuckle, "Oh, he's in the bathroom, doing who-knows-what. You know how teenagers are!"

Vlad rolled his eyes again and asked the ultimate test question for the interactive device. "Yes, you're right about that, Jack. So, is Jasmine available, then?"

At first, there was a pause on the other end. Vlad frowned, thinking that the program did have a bug in it that would have to be fixed before he could leave the device. But then, he heard that loud, boisterous laugh that unmistakably belonged to Jack—or, he should say, a good copy of that laugh.

"V-man, your jokes are always so funny!" 'Jack' said, still laughing.

Vlad frowned again. What had he said that was so funny? But then, the voice continued….

"Are you trying to get me to go up to her room and check to see she's there when you and I both know she's away at college? Good one!"

Vlad pursed his lips in irritation. Yes, just like Jack's humor—strange and irritating as well as a usually private one that only his fat friend got.

The program was perfect.

Still, the older hybrid wanted to be sure, so he pressed a bit more, "Well, yes, Jack, you kill me—though I'd rather it be yourself!"

'Jack' immediately replied, "What was that V-man?"

"Oh, nothing, Jack. But do me a favor, will you? I would like to speak to Maddie if she is available."

'Jack' eagerly said, "Okey-dokey! Give me a minute and I'll see if she can come to the phone."

Vlad could hear what perfectly sounded like the phone receiver being placed down. Then, there was a long pause after that, one that Vlad expected. Finally, he heard a slight sound that seemed to be the same as if someone was picking up on another phone.

"Hello?"

Vlad's heart reflexively jumped a beat before it melted, "Hello, my dear."

"Hello, Vlad," the voice said a little tersely. "I was in the middle of cooking dinner, so I hope you don't mind if I make this quick?"

"No, of course not, Maddie," Vlad warmly said as he glanced at his watch and smirked when he saw that it was nearly the dinner hour. The program was working perfectly! Still, he added, "I just had a question for you."

"Oh, all right. What is it?"

But the man was suddenly so forlorn with how realistic the voice was and thinking he could talk indefinitely to it, he refrained from his original test question and, instead, impulsively asked, "Are we still friends?"

Once again, there was a pause before the voice answered, "We have always been friends, Vlad. Why would you think otherwise, especially when you saved Danny from that horrible ghost king? That is something that certainly helps me overlook the 'DALVS' weekend thing, even if it will be the _**only**_ time I will overlook it, if you know what I mean. So, with that said, we are friends from this time forward, okay?"

Even though Vlad was satisfied in many ways that this would have been what he expected the program to respond to him, in some ways, the words stung. Still, his heart lifted a bit at his next thought: his plan would rectify all of that.

He finally replied, "Yes, everything is fine now, now that I've heard it from you, Maddie. So, I don't want to keep you any longer from making that gourmet dinner of yours!"

The voice on the end giggled a bit before saying, "I don't think 'leftovers' qualify as 'gourmet', Vlad. But thanks for the sweet compliment just the same."

"Anytime, Maddie," he practically whispered in a hush. But he then said, "Ta, my dear."

"Bye, Vlad," the facsimile of Maddie replied, before Vlad heard the disconnecting 'click'.

Vlad sighed a bit, slightly thankful he hadn't asked 'Maddie' the _real_ question he had planned to ask her, which was if she loved him. But even if he had asked and had expected the interactive program to respond negatively, he hadn't really wanted to hear the 'true' answer, even if were merely a simulation of the love of his life's voice. It would have been too painful. Nevertheless, he slightly smiled at the next thought, even though he still had a twinge of pining. The interactive device worked as perfectly—_too_ perfectly in some ways— as the others did. But he knew that this would throw Jasmine off enough to keep her from getting suspicious that anything was askew in the Fenton household. It was the best plan, even if there was always the possibility that Jasmine would not even call within the next few weeks. He just had to be sure—just in case.

His vague smile then turned wicked... Now, it was time to clean up the rest before he would return to his mansion.

He quickly flew to room where he knew he would find Jack and Maddie, since he had already, yet briefly, checked on them before he had attacked Daniel in his room. He unconsciously scowled as he floated above the scene.

Jack was lying unconscious face up on the ground and very near the sink, whose faucet was still spewing water. He was also on top of what was left of the demolished Fenton kitchen table, and surrounded by pieces of the table and an array of raw vegetables. The large man had obviously fallen on top of it once he had been infected with Formula 286-psi-1_**A**_. But in the fall, he also must have somehow injured his head, because it was still bleeding a bit. And when he had crashed—rather loudly Vlad imagined from the look of the place—Maddie had screamed her husband's name and that is what Danny had responded to before the boy had been attacked by Plasmius.

Vlad frowned in disgust at the senseless man above whom he was hovering. He could see that the man was still holding a head of lettuce which he probably had just cleaned under the sink.

The older hybrid sneered, "Oh, even in forced slumber you manage to get your hands on some food, don't you, you fat oaf? Hey, Jack, at least this time the food was good for you!"

But then, Vlad's eyes drifted over the other still form in the room. His eyes immediately soften as he gazed upon the silent love of his life. But then, his pupils narrowed in irritation. The woman was not only partially lying on her husband, her face shielded by her red hair, but she was still holding a wet, now soiled, washcloth she had obviously used to attend to the man's head wound.

Plasmius growled in hate when he realized she had to have become infected with sleep Formula 286-psi-1_**A**_—all because of Jack. If she hadn't gone to his aid right away, she would not have had to suffer this fate. Once again, the fat man's only ability just seemed to be to dole out accidents to those whom he cared about.

But then, he sighed as he pleaded with the senseless woman, "Oh, Maddie, can't you see that Jack can't protect you like I can? But I promise you, my love, that you will see this about me soon enough and then you will understand that you belong to me!"

With that vow, he quickly soared over to her and scooped her gently into his arms. But now that she was in his arms like this, so close and so…vulnerable, he trembled a little in fear. He bit his lip and instantly turning both of them intangible, flew up through the ceiling to her bedroom.

They both rematerialized as soon as they were through the flooring of the bedroom. Still carrying her, he walked over to the bed. When he got there, he began to place her down. However, as he laid her gently in bed, her listless hand accidentally brushed his cheek just before it fell upon her chest. He jolted a little at the touch and looked down at her. Though he could see she was still unconscious, he also noticed that her full lips were slightly parted. The rhythm of her soft breathing was as inviting—and dangerous—as the sweet, alluring music of the mythical Sirens in the Greek epic, _The Odyssey_. And then suddenly, he yearned to scoop her back up into his arms and smother those inviting lips with his tender kisses.

But then, he shook his head, dispelling the temptation. He would not have it this way. He had the chance many times to snatch her as easily as did the legendary Romans abduct the Sabine women long ago, but he knew deep down that Maddie would never have accepted him like that then—or now. He wanted his love to want him willingly, and not because he had her within his power. No, he refused. And he would continue to wait until the time was right…

He darted away; and turning intangible, soared back down to the kitchen.

Once more, he scowled at the still-unconscious large man near him as he turned off the sink. The older half-ghost was so loathed at seeing his former friend that Vlad hadn't even noticed something different about the incapacitated man.

Vlad uttered in disgust, "You just don't deserve her, you know. You never have and you never will. And now that the opportunity so easily presents itself, I should just do Maddie the favor of obliterating you out of existence. Goodness knows that the Earth could certainly do with one less pox marring it—and a tremendously blimp of a one at that. Still, you have me at a slight disadvantage, Jack. But not out of any friendship that I regret we ever had. No, after all of these years, I have finally decided I will not be directly responsible for your demise."

He walked closer to the man, preparing himself to carry out what his current plans demanded. He began to zap the debris all around the unconscious man, both with the need to leave no evidence behind, and while toying with the possibility that he might 'accidentally' hit the man in the process.

The older hybrid smiled in satisfaction at that fleeting thought as he mused out loud, "You see, Jack. In spite of your having an ace of a resistance and defense against me—and that would be Daniel, and not anything you could muster—it would be ridiculously easy to take you out. And you're too stupid to even be aware of that."

But concerning that comment about the boy, what Vlad didn't know was that Jack _**had **_known about Danny's secret ever since the Poisoned Ghost War, but had purposely kept it under wraps for his son's sake. And Vlad had been caught up in that time shift as the result of that ghost war, so he would be totally oblivious to that fact and to the fact that his former fat friend had even gone so far as to continue 'hunting' his son under that ruse. Furthermore, that same time rift kept Vlad from knowing that Jack even knew about the _older hybrid's_ secret, yet also kept up the façade that they were still best friends in order to continue to keep Vlad in the dark.

"But I haven't acted upon that desire—though it was _**very**_ hard to resist—for two reasons. And those would be Maddie _**and **_Daniel. Imagine how hard it would be for me once Maddie and I were together to look into her beautiful eyes and lie that I didn't kill you—when I had?"

The older hybrid quickly turned both of his arms intangible and thrust them right through the center of the Jack's chest before he retrieved and pulled several large pieces of the demolished table that had been underneath the incapacitated man. The moment the debris was clear of the man's body, Vlad zapped them out of existence.

But as he scanned the area for any other signs of what had happened from the Fentons' being exposed to Formula 286-psi-1_**A**_, he continued to explain to the senseless man, "And as for Daniel? I could never be a good father to him if I had wasted you outright. I am sure that Daniel would suspect me, but I would only prove him wrong when all the investigative articles that I could easily generate would undoubtedly clear me of any guilt. Besides, I would make sure that I would not be even a remote suspect in your demise—I am much too clever for that."

He smirked at his own compliment. How true. Still, he added, "And so you see, Jack, I would have to make sure that Daniel would not suspect me in the end. After all, whenever the time would come when he felt the need to talk about your memory, I would not want to taste any bitterness in my mouth as I consoled him. I wouldn't be a good father to do otherwise."

Vlad paused at that thought before he looked at the unconscious man under him. Jack's head wound had finally stopped bleeding. He flew over to the sink and filled a small glass of water. He then pulled out the small grey vial and its droplet. He quickly squirted several more drops of the grey solution into the glass before he poured the liquid over the man's face, making sure it was quite drenched.

Vlad's face smiled when Jack didn't even twitch from the watery assault. The older hybrid was about to reach for him and lift him, when he stopped and then spoke to the man on the same train of thought. "So, don't worry about any of this, my fat former friend—as if I really care one way or the other. Because, you see, I'm leaving you to Fate. I know I helped Fate along when you were exposed to Formula 286-psi-1_**A**_ earlier and now, but that is the end of it. No one will know what happened here wasn't a natural cause."

He darkly smirked at the thought. He had made sure being infected with the potion would seem natural. Formula 286-psi-1_** A**_ was formulated to purposely mimic the infection of a virus. And all other properties and traces of it would be completely gone from the plumbing system of all of those infected homes in less than an hour from now. He frowned at the man and growled, "So, whatever happens to you, it is _Fate_ in the end which will decide whether this is the time for you to die or not, and, of course, I hope the former!...So, you see, you dumb fat oaf, it will be out of my hands. And then, I will be finally free to woo Maddie and win Daniel over."

He then roughly grabbed the large man, slung him over his shoulder, made them both intangible, and He then roughly grabbed the large man, slung him over his shoulder, made them both intangible, and shot upward to the man's bedroom. After he reached the bed, he virtually slammed the man's body in bed as a wrestler would knock a foe down on the mat. Still, the older hybrid was careful not to have Jack touch Maddie with the movement.

Finally, after briefly scowling at seeing Maddie next to her husband, Vlad turned intangible and soared out of the house.

* * *

><p>Plasmius' dissatisfaction waned the nearer he came to his mansion; and he unconsciously smiled at his next thought. He had only a few more tests to complete before he would finally start his main plans…<p>

And those, of course, had to do with Daniel…

"Your-most-ideal-and-powerful-son-turned-test-subject continues to be in _delta _sleep as you commanded when you left, sugar-pie," Maddie the computer holograph gushed when she detected Vlad's presence in the command room of Vlad's simulation room. It didn't matter to her sensors that he had already morphed back into his human form.

She turned from the monitors and glanced at him, before adding with a pearly smile, "And what is your next command, sweetheart?"

Plasmius pursed his lips a bit at her comment, struck by how she had said the word 'sweetheart'. It reminded him so much of…. Maddie…. The _real_ Maddie.

But suddenly, Vlad walked up and got very close to the facsimile of Maddie. He leaned closer toward her and studied her face a moment.

The hologram just blinked, at a loss of computing what he was doing.

But before she could make any comment, the older hybrid mused, "Hmmm, maybe I need to tweak the program. She is far more beautiful when up this close."

He paused, his brow knitting and his heart fluttering with a slight yearning. He was growing more aware of the fact that no matter how many tweaks he did to his Maddie program it would never be the same as the _real _Maddie…Never.

Once again, the computer-generated image was about to say something when Vlad abruptly brushed his thoughts away and interrupted her computation again, "Well, never mind about what I just did, Maddie. You're right and it's time for the final preparations to my plans."

But then the man frowned. Why was he so uncertain all of a sudden? True, he had to admit that he was excited that things had gone so perfectly so far. Yet, there was something else: his heart was still pining, which clouded his mind more than he wanted to admit at the moment. Still…there was _something_ missing. But what? Trying to refocus, he said, "And first of all, let's check the list of programs we will use to make sure that it is complete."

"We have already done that, sugardoodle," Maddie replied with a slight frown. "And everything is in order."

He frowned a bit more in indecision. "You are right, my dear. But still….," he began, only to have his voice drift away with the last vibration of his heartstrings. He suddenly realized that his mind had not been in the game since he had left Fenton Works. He just couldn't get the image of his carrying the love of his life in his arms out of his mind!

He half-smiled in slight self-reproach just as his mind snapped back into its methodical mode. And the first thing he had planned to do once he had gotten Daniel here finally came into focus.

Now more determined, he continued, "All right, then. Let's check the microchip embedded behind Daniel's ear for its functions and accuracy, shall we? But before we do, we must _**slowly**_ change his brain waves to the cusp of _alpha_ and _theta_ waves of sleep. We want him to be between wakefulness and slumber, but not so much toward the 'wakefulness' side. Setting the controls between the seven to eight hertz frequency range using File 287-AT should do it, Maddie. But again, you must be careful and deliberate."

"Piece of cake!" she retorted and then giggled at her next comment, "Isn't it delightful that I could calculate and generate an appropriate food pun this time, lambkins?"

Vlad smiled weakly at her response but then scowled slightly before motioning with his hand for her to continue her task without further interruption. After all, he knew he couldn't afford to get emotionally sidetracked from this point on.

He walked up to and looked out of the control room window and immediately located the boy still in repose in the bed. He patiently waited for the holograph to complete the commands. When he saw Daniel's head twitch a little, he knew that Maddie had been successful.

In the meanwhile, Maddie had kept her smile on even as she continued to reach for a small nearby brown dial before slowly adjusting it. A few moments later and she happily reported, "Accomplished seven-point-five hertz, at the _alpha/theta_ threshold according to File 287-AT." Then she winked before adding, "Piece of cake, sweetheart!"

For the first time, Vlad frowned, irritated with his hologram's mannerisms. He had felt another slight twinge in his heart after hearing the way she had said that same last word—'sweetheart'. That had sounded too much like the _real _Maddie—again! And worse, he was aware more than ever that his hologram would never be enough! So, hearing his program 'sweet-talk' him felt like stabbing insults when they never had before! But then feeling his emotions swelling out of control even more, the man gritted his teeth. No, he needed to stop! He had to remember his plans. He couldn't continue to let himself get distracted.

With a little impatience echoing in his voice this time, he remarked, "That will be all with that kind of sweet talk for now, Maddie. From now on, address me more formally. We have serious work to do.

The facsimile copied his frown before she replied, "As you command, sweet—uhm—sir. Shall I then proceed with protocol test items 285MP-T, one through ten, sir?"

"In one moment, yes. But be sure to carefully record the data generated by this test, Maddie. We will have to make sure that it is within acceptable standard deviations on how Daniel will be during the actual commencement of my ultimate plan. For that, he will need to begin in the _delta_ waves, Sleep File 287D, that is. And then we will need to change his brainwaves to the cusp of _delta_ and _theta_ brainwaves. I want him coming from a deep sleep every time before we wake him for the actual steps of the plan."

She quickly pointed out, "But if he has _theta_ brainwave activity that would mean he will not be alert during the commencement of your ingenious plan, sir. He will most likely be groggy and disoriented for several minutes."

"Precisely," the man quipped back, his voice laden with a dry, sinister tone. "There is a reason for that as well, which I will explain as it occurs."

She did not compute and frowned. Still, she went right back to the monitor and began to input more commands.

In the meanwhile, Vlad had paused in thought, the cogwheels of his mind masterfully turning with all the steps of his ultimate plan. But then, Maddie the hologram momentarily put a brake on those wheels…

"Sir, then shall I proceed with protocol test items 285MP-T, one through ten, now?"

The man didn't respond right away. Instead, he pushed another black button. A screen immediately popped out of the console and dutifully displayed a split screen. One side of the screen showed a black silhouette of Daniel's body and the other half depicted another black silhouette close-up of only his head. Some kind of green holographic graph overlaid on top of those silhouettes, carefully mapped out as if the representations of Daniel's body parts and head were a country. The man then turned a small brown dial and the graph-covered silhouettes of both Daniel's body and head rotated in different directions, so that he could inspect any and all angles that he wanted.

Finally, he scanned a set of icons that were displayed at the bottom of the graphs. His eyes narrowed as he scanned them.

One set would display and identify what area of the graphs he would click on, as if cross-referencing the coordinates on an atlas. Another set would show him the boy's vitals such as his heart rate, respiratory rate, and the like. And finally, another would record the pattern of brainwaves in which the boy might be placed, and how they responded to his plan.

The man smirked as he clicked on the icon that would tell him about the boy's vitals. At least the microchip was doing its most basic job of recording them. He could plainly see that Daniel's rate of breathing, heart rate, blood pressure and all other vitals were on the low-normal side, which he would expect now that the boy was essentially unconscious.

But then he frowned a bit.

Except for one. He especially noted the boy's body temperature. It was the typical human body temperature, namely: 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 37.0 degrees Celsius. He unconsciously bit his lower lip. That didn't seem right. He would have guessed the boy's human form temperature would have been lower because of the boy's cold central core and all the long past data he had compiled in his other….studies using the data he had gotten from Valerie Gray's ghost hunting outfit.

Nevertheless, Vlad was satisfied with the preliminaries. He then looked up at the computer-generated image and finally answered her, "All right, Maddie, it looks like the Somato-Map, the Brainwave Recordings and Vitals' Gauges are running efficiently. Begin test protocols, one item at a time, with at least sixty seconds between the end and beginning of each protocol."

She immediately pushed a purple button.

The older hybrid watched the written command pop up on the screen in front of Maddie-the-holograph to verify what was inputted. He then glanced at the silhouette map with eagerness and he smiled in satisfaction when one of the grids lit up with a green hue. Next, he gazed out the one-way window at the teen still indisposed on the bed. The man reflexively held his breath, as if he was anticipating something, which, indeed, he was.

A moment later, Vlad scrunched his brow in disappointment.

Daniel was not responding.

"What is wrong, Maddie?" the man asked, turning to the computer projection.

"I do not know, sir. All readings indicate that the test subject should be responding. But it seems as if his sensory receptors are being blocked for unknown reasons. Shall I run a diagnostic?"

The man didn't answer her at first. His mind had fallen into deep thought again. But then he brightened a bit at his idea. He then said more to himself than his computer, "It is possible that….hmmm, but I don't think he was because he put up such a good fight when I was first trying to subdue him in his home. Still, I think he might have been, and it wouldn't hurt to…"

"Sir?" Maddie asked, interrupting him.

That was enough for Vlad to focus on the matter at hand. He then cleared his throat and replied, "Sorry, my dear. But I think we have to give Daniel the antidote to Formula 286-psi-1_**A**_. It is possible that he might have been exposed to it after all. But it really doesn't matter one way or the other if he has. He won't be affected by the antidote unless he was exposed to that knock-out formula. But if he was affected by it, then that would explain why he's not responding to the test items. And so, Maddie, go ahead and give him the antidote before we go any further. I cannot risk waking him later if he has been affected."

Even though she had already formulated the antidote shortly after making the adjustments to the newer knock-out potion, the computer-generated image asked with a confused look on her face, "But I thought you wanted him groggy and disoriented later."

"Yes, I do. But I mean _**later**_, not during these tests. When that 'later' time comes, I want him groggy and disoriented through the _**real**_ steps of what I have planned, but I want that by natural means, not due to the effects of any exposure he may have had to that knock-out Formula 286-psi-1_**A**_. If he was exposed, then what I want to accomplish will not work if his grogginess is masked because of the formula, you see."

Well, really, the computer didn't compute that, but she just nodded a bit and pushed an orange button to activate the antidote.

Immediately afterward, a canister supported by a long, slender mechanical arm popped up out of the floor near Daniel's bed and sprayed him with a reddish-orange mist, which quickly blanketed the unconscious teen. It covered him for a few seconds before completely vaporizing into the air.

Then, unexpectedly, at the precise moment the mist was enveloping the boy and especially after it had dispelled, Vlad noticed that _all_ areas of the mapped out silhouette of Daniel's body lit up momentarily before the monitor returned to its original state. And all his vitals had briefly risen a bit as well before they, too, returned to their original baseline. Except for one. His body temperature had _**dropped**_ to 97.0 degrees Fahrenheit, or 36.1 degrees Celsius, way below the typical human body temperature—just as the man had originally suspected it would be.

Vlad hitched an eyebrow in both surprise and when he realized what had happened. He blurted out, "I can't believe it! He _**was **_exposed to Sleep Formula 286-psi-1_**A**_! So that meant that he was running a fever earlier! If that is so, then why wasn't he knocked completely out when I got to him?"

He paused before he shook his head when his next thought answered him. It really didn't matter right this moment since he had still managed to get Daniel here. And he didn't think it would affect his plans in the end. Still, it could be important, and he wouldn't overlook _anything _now_._ He finally added, "Maddie, I'll have to…."

"Yes, sir?" she sweetly said, interrupting him.

He turned briefly to her before he glanced back at the Somato-Map of Daniel's body silhouette. While still looking at the graph, he then replied, "Nothing, my dear. At least, for now. When we have more time, I will just need to have you recheck the specs for Formula 286-psi-1_**A**_ to make sure it was properly mixed, and…."

Suddenly, the man heard a 'ding' and turned immediately toward it. Just as he did, his computer-generated image of Maddie handed him a piece of paper.

He immediately began to read it over and frowned a bit before smirking from his mixed emotions. He was both concerned that the formula had been correct and that his virtual computer analyst had fulfilled his musings even before he could comment any further on the subject, and a little creeped out by the latter information. He didn't like it when it seemed as if she could read his mind.

Nevertheless, he added, "Thank you, my dear. We'll have to study all of this in the future, then."

"As you wish, sir," she answered with a smile.

He smirked back and then turned back what they had been doing. He then continued, "Okay, Maddie, begin the test protocols again."

"From the top?" she inquired.

"From the top," the man simply replied as he turned back to study the various monitors. He saw a slight change in them once Maddie commenced in activating the test protocols. He hitched his breath in anticipation once more as he glanced out of the window and to the younger hybrid still in forced slumber in the simulation room.

This time, Vlad let his breath out in both relief and satisfaction a moment later. Even though the boy was still essentially unconscious, he reached up and scratched his nose in response to what the microchip had induced, namely: an itch on his nose. And the grid that had lit up on the silhouette of Daniel's nose matched the command perfectly. But not only that. The silhouette that represented Daniel's head also lit up at where the brain cells of the somatosensory cortex of both sides of his brain for his nose would be.

Vlad then commanded, "Great! The Somato-Map is working perfectly! And even though I have built in some tangible components to each program I plan to use—and then some—we have to double check the microchip for accuracy and dependability. So, all right, Maddie, let's move through the protocol test sequence slowly for the microchip's functions."

"I am sure all the subject's responses will both be accurate and favorable, lamb—uh—sir," she replied with a slight gulp at her malfunction in words.

The man hitched an eyebrow in slight irritation, but said nothing. But then, he nodded for her to continue.

And then one-by-one, Maddie the computer checked for all of Daniel's responses to the various sensations induced by the microchip.

Vlad kept quiet with his lips pursed and his brow furrowed as each test commenced, so serious that he was actually studying the commands, the glowing graph of the boy's body, and Daniel's reactions all at practically the same time.

Daniel dutifully reacted to each of those sensations—though he was not aware that he had. And each time, the maps corresponding to a particular body part and brain site lit up in that same green hue before Daniel would respond.

And the young hybrid responded on cue….

That is, the boy scratched artificially-induced itches and rubbed and winced at imaginary painful areas. A moment later, he sweated or shivered to the correct cues. Next, his head jerked and ears perked up a little with computer-produced auditory stimulation. His eyes fluttered a bit with the same kind of faux visual prompts not too long after that. Then, his mouth and jaw moved as if he were tasting something. And he either smiled and breathed deeply in or scrunched his nose up in disgust, depending on whatever his olfactory bulb was tricked into perceiving from the fake smells the microchip dutifully delivered from what the computer generated.

In other words, the microchip successfully instilled real sensations in the younger hybrid through the link with the computer program and the corresponding sensory areas of his brain. It was a virtual and total sensory program so real that that any competing virtual-reality game program would be laughable in comparison.

Finally, after all the test items indicated positive results in all areas, and the boy had been returned to a neutral state of sleep, Vlad finally sighed in relief and smiled. He then said, "All right, this was the easy part. I would think that testing Daniel's human half would end satisfactorily. But now, we have to check his _**ghost **_side, which is going to be very tricky. However, we're going to put that 'on hold' for the moment until we check out another thing….Activate File 287T, my dear."

Though she didn't have a calculated clue what was on his mind, she replied just as she slowly began to turn a brown dial while pushing a green button, "As you command, sir."

A moment later, she reported, "Subject is now in _theta_ sleep, ready for subliminal input."

"Very good, Maddie," the man replied as he put a small headphone on with an attached slender microphone. "Just as well that I thought of this, my dear. We would have needed to test this in the end anyways."

The holograph just looked at him in silence.

"And be sure to download whatever is pertinent to my questions, all right, Maddie?"

She smiled this time as she replied, "Always at your command, sir."

He half-smiled at her response and then pushed a button which activated the headset. He knew that the boy's mind was very open to suggestions right now, since he was in a _theta_ state of mind….Pausing only a moment to gather his thoughts, Vlad pushed another button, which brought up the list in which he was interested.

Now satisfied, he looked outside the one-way window at the boy and then clearly spoke into the microphone, "Daniel?"

The man smirked when the boy's ears perked up a bit even as his frowned in slight irritation. Nevertheless, Daniel still replied, "Yes?"

"I'm going to read you a list of ghosts and I want you to tell me if you know that particular one by either nodding or shaking your head, understand?" Vlad continued.

"Yes," came the simple reply.

The older hybrid then slowly read off the names of the ghosts one-by-one, waiting to see if the boy either nodded or shook his head after hearing each name. Vlad smiled when Daniel had acknowledged every name on the list.

"Very good, my boy," the man said, before acting on his hunch, "Now, Daniel, is this list complete?"

"No."

"I didn't think so," Vlad agreed. "After all, I couldn't possibly know everything you've done, now could I, my boy? At least, not until after you have become my son."

This time, the younger hybrid unconsciously frowned in more irritation, but Vlad dismissed it as he commanded, "All right, then, Daniel, please proceed to name any other ghost not on this list and give me a rundown of their personalities, their powers and all those kinds of details, understand?"

"Yes," the boy replied at first. But then, there was a significant pause.

Vlad wrinkled his brow with some concern because he hadn't anticipated any problems with his command. After all, _theta_ brainwaves were most prevalent during hypnosis and steering the subconscious to non-threatening commands. But before Vlad could repeat his command, Danny began to tell all about the missing ghosts on the list. However, for some strange reason, the teen didn't mention some of those ghosts he knew.

Maddie diligently recorded all the details and Vlad finally breathed in relief at the end of Danny's 'dissertation'.

"_Impressive. Maybe I need to re-think the notion that the boy isn't that observant,"_ Vlad immediately thought before he turned from the microphone and asked the computer, "Did you get everything, Maddie?"

"Yes, sir. But I am programmed to ask logical questions to support your Master Plan 285-MP."

"So you are, my dear," Vlad smiled, glad he had taken extra care in making sure to add fail-safe sub-programs to Maddie's mother board. "So then, what has your circuits all twisted?"

The computer projection blinked in non-comprehension, but she immediately replied, "I am programmed to review and if necessary voice all viewpoints of your plan, sir. Therefore, why do you have to go through all of this? Why don't you just control your test subject like you did just now by making him tell you about all of those other ghosts? Since it is obvious you can make your test subject do anything you want with that microchip, you can have your 'most ideal and powerful…son' sooner and avoid any future complexities or complications."

Vlad frowned in thought at her point. Still, he said, "An astute question, my dear. And I am glad that you asked it. First of all, that microchip was designed as a means to the end, Maddie. And, really, I could have used that magnificent orb I 'inherited' from Okulo to command him as well. But you see, my dear, in the end I also want Daniel to be a _real_ son to me…not a virtually induced puppet. True, that might mean that I might have to mentally break him into pieces. But that will also mean that I will be there right away to pick those pieces back up and mold Daniel into the son I want."

The computer-generated image nodded in acquiescence before she replied, "Your explanation holds some logic to it. Very well. I apologize for the digression. I have recorded all of the data your test subject has provided; and I have already begun the preliminary preparations to meld them into effective, tangible adjuncts to the master plan."

Vlad's eyes widened a bit in surprise. There she went again: practically reading his mind. Still, he replied, "Very good, my dear. So, now that we have taken care of that detail, it's time to get back to that 'on hold' part, the one which is going to be very tricky. We need to test the Sensory Protocols while Daniel is in his _**ghost**_ form. And the first trick is getting him to morph while asleep."

"But you have failed to do that in the past while he was awake, sir," Maddie the holograph replied with a worried frown.

Vlad scowled at her with that memory of when he had tried to make a clone of the boy. But, that experiment didn't end totally in failure. The results helped him predict on how Daniel's ghostly side would react to the various computer-induced stimulation. And a significant bit more. Still a bit miffed over her comment, he pressed on, "True, but that was because we tried the direct approach rather than going through the backdoor."

"Backdoor? What backdoor?" Maddie the computer asked, perplexed. She quickly scanned the control room for another door she did not think existed—and quickly found none save the door to the coffin containing the strange creature.

The man chuckled slightly as he replied, "Don't worry about it, Maddie. But what I'm really saying is that I think we can get Daniel to morph, but it'll be a little tricky."

Maddie's confused face melded into a smile as she gushed, "I am sure your masterful mind has solved the problem, as always."

He half-smiled as he said, "Yes, well. First, program a command that keeps the Somato-map pinpointing areas that affect Daniel's sensory systems on around the clock, Maddie."

He waited for the hologram to briefly acknowledge that command, before she returned to monitoring the controls.

Vlad turned to his own monitor and typed in some commands. A list of programs instantly popped up. He ran his finger down the list, looking for a suitable program that he thought would work. When he found it, he smiled.

He then said, "Yes, this one will do. And since we haven't fully induced the state we want him in right in the long run, I don't have to use this program to its full extent yet. So, then, pull up Program 289-level 8-_alpha_, Maddie dear. I'm sure we can get _**him**_ to do the job for us for real soon enough. _**But**_…"

The older hybrid paused. He knew that all the programs had very real components to them, some with more, others less. And he had equipped his simulation room to devise very real dangers as well. So, this particular program would do.

He glanced at the computer-generated image of the love of his life and saw that she was looking at him in anticipation. He then continued, "You have to start and stop the program at my precise marks."

"Precisely, swee…..ah, sir," she instantly quipped back.

Vlad ignored her slight gaffe and began to move to another nearby monitor, into which the program Maddie was downloading would be fed.

But as he neared that monitor, he heard another noise coming from the large cylindrical-shaped receptacle that Skulker had installed.

He detoured to the receptacle and looked at the gauges on it. All seemed well. But then, he jolted a bit when an even louder noise emanated from the coffin-like vessel. He wished he had Skulker install a small window in it so he could see what was happening within. But it was too late for that and so he shrugged. All he cared about in the end was that he could see no problems with the security features of the device. And so, he quickly returned to the monitor to which he had originally headed.

Once he started the program, the man looked intensely on as the video portion of the program played on the monitor. He stopped it only a few times until he found the acceptable lapse in time. Then he stopped the program completely. He looked at the chronometer at the bottom the screen and wrote down the data. He started the program again, only this time, he slowed the speed of the display, carefully pinpointing where he wanted this portion to end. Once again, he looked at the chronometer and jotted the appropriate information down.

He couldn't help but smirk a bit with his next thought. He just knew this part of the simulation program would get Daniel to morph even while asleep; that is, if he made sure the coordination of the programs he would need to accomplish that was exact.

Now satisfied, the billionaire turned to Maddie's facsimile and said, "All right, my dear. We must first coordinate a lot of files and programs. Of course, all of these files and programs are listed under the Master Plan File 285 MP. So, let us retrieve Sleep File 287T which will induce _theta_ sleep in Daniel."

"And once again, that will keep your subject's mind in the subconscious level, which will make it more susceptible to hypnosis or subliminal messages," Maddie added with a grin.

"That's right, my dear. But let's go on, shall we?"

He didn't wait for her response before he added, "We also need to retrieve Sensory Protocol File 285MP-S, all items. We have to make sure his sensory areas are at their highest sensitivity for the maximum effect. Then, there is Scenery Programs 288F and 288GZ, and, of course, the program that will get Daniel to morph—Program 289-level 8-_alpha_. Finally, we need to retrieve Sleep File 287-D, which, along with Scenery Program 288GZ would put him back into _delta _sleep after he morphs. So as you can see, it's going to be very tricky. But I know we can do it, Maddie."

The computer holograph smiled at his compliments even as she continued to highlight and activate the appropriate programs and files before surveying the monitors. Finally, when she was done, she turned to the billionaire.

And since Vlad was watching her as she worked, he was ready to respond when she indicated she was finished. He then said, "Now, first, activate Sleep File 287-T."

Maddie immediately pushed several buttons in sequence while turning that same small brown dial. A moment later, she reported, "Sleep File 287-T has been activated. _Theta_ brainwaves—seven-point-five hertz frequency to be precise—are active. And that means we can tap into our subject's subconscious mind." She rechecked the gauges and added, "Subject is now receptive to subliminal input."

Vlad smiled and replied, "Good. Now activate Sensory Protocol File 285 MP-S, one through ten. We have to make sure Daniel's sensory areas are enhanced."

He waited a moment until Maddie nodded in affirmation that the program was active.

Finally, the man ordered, "Now, wait for my mark to commence Scenery Program 288F and test catalyst Program 289-level 8-_alpha_. But make certain you start at 10.32 and end exactly at 45.38 on the chronometer for test Program 289-level 8-_alpha_. And please make sure that it is precise, Maddie dear."

"As precise as you command, dear sir," Maddie the hologram replied with a mischievous smile. But then she continued more seriously, "And, of course, you can watch the results on your special monitor, sir. I await your next command."

Vlad knew exactly to which monitor she was referring. It was different from the rest because it was not only wireless, but it was also mounted on a large spring-like extensor arm. And that arm allowed Vlad to move the monitor to virtually anywhere in the control room. That way, the man would have no problem pulling it to a strategic point where he could look at the monitor and at the boy through the window at the exact same time without losing any time or vantage point from having to move from a stationary screen to the window and back.

He pulled the monitor right up to the viewing window and then nodded for her to activate the scenery program that would wake Daniel in the setting that would mark the beginning of the other sequence of programs, files and such that he would use to manipulate the boy. He sat on a chair the height of a barstool as he smiled in satisfaction as the simulation room seemed to sprout a forest in a heartbeat. He could even see that there were vines creeping up along the one-way window out of which he was glancing, but they were transparent from this side and didn't obstruct his view at all.

"All right, Maddie. Wake him," he finally said.

A small rubber baton propped on a mechanical spring-like arm popped out of the floor and nudged the boy quite briskly before rapidly returning to its original and hidden station.

And then, Vlad smirked a bit more when he saw Daniel's first reaction a few seconds later.

The human boy slowly opened his blue eyes and got off of the forest ground. He looked a bit confused at first, and his movements were slow, but then, as Vlad had hoped, he started to investigate his surroundings.

Vlad had one of the hidden cameras in the simulation room zoomed in on the teen's face. Even though Vlad knew the boy's sight was as intact as it always had been, there was a slightly whitish film over his blue eyes, as if Danny was wearing translucent contact lens. The man wanted to check it was there, as he had expected to see that feature. He had purposely added this little detail to the commands in all of the programs, so that he had an instant visual cue that the microchip was working.

Then, the man could clearly see that Daniel was no longer confused. He looked understandably concerned, probably wondering about how in the devil he had gotten there.

Vlad chuckled under his breath, "Yes, Daniel, to you, all of this _**is**_ real. And even though I have the ability to tune into your thoughts, that won't be necessary right now. So, keep going, and find that one creature I planned for you in this test protocol."

As if he heard the man, the boy walked on in silence, all the while quickly turning his head from one side to the other, up and down, scanning everything around him. Vlad eagerly watched as the boy continued…

The scenery gradually changed until Daniel came to a clearing. Then, the teen saw a building in the near distance. The boy's face broke out into a smile as he darted to what he would hope would be help. But as he approached the building, he suddenly slowed, as if he had second thoughts about the place. And, in reality, he had.

Vlad frowned a bit in worry, and looked at the monitors that showed what the boy was seeing. Even though he had anticipated that Daniel would be cautious, he hoped he would still continue onward. After all, where else could the boy go? Except….

But after only a moment more hesitation, Daniel scanned his environment and then looked up into the western sky. He frowned in both irritation and bewilderment, just as Vlad expected he would do. But then, the boy suddenly shivered and reflexively wrapped his arms around his upper body just as Vlad noticed a puff of blue frost eke out of the boy's mouth.

Vlad frowned a bit with some confusion. He never saw Daniel react like that with what he knew was the boy's 'ghost sense'. Maybe somehow, being artificially linked to and influenced by his massive plan had obviously forced the boy's 'ghost sense' to be activated at the subconscious level. After all, in many ways, with what would be happening to the boy in any of the enhanced programs—especially when they did have some traces of reality in them—this was what should have been expected. But others, like this program in particular, would have even more elements of reality in them, all planned with a specific purpose. Still, the man wondered about all of this, but he quickly dismissed it for the moment.

Even still, with the activation of the boy's ghostly warning system, Vlad pursed his lips this time, hoping that this would be when the boy would feel nervous enough to morph to his ghostly side.

"Be ready to activate the _delta_ sleep program and then engage Scenery Program 288GZ immediately afterward and right on my marks, Maddie," he said out loud.

"At your command, sir," the computer answered, moving one of her hands to hover over two buttons.

But much to Vlad's chagrin, Danny didn't morph as the man had hoped. Instead, the boy pushed onward toward the building in the distance.

"Stubborn as always, Daniel," Vlad grumbled under his breath. "And a stickler to learning the hard way! But I can't say that I'm surprised, my boy!"

Even so, and fortunately, the older hybrid had taken into account that the boy might do this and had planned enough of the program to elapse. At least, he hoped he did.

Nevertheless, Vlad watched the screen as the teen confronted the entity in this program.

He could see that the two were speaking, but since he had kept the screen muted on purpose, he could not hear them. And, he could also tell that Daniel was tense as he continued to talk to the computer-generated image, which, of course, Daniel thought was _real._

Still, the boy didn't appear to feel threatened enough in Vlad's mind to morph. And then as Vlad could see that the program's time to end was drawing nearer without any margin of error for success, he started to squirm uncomfortably.

"Blast it, Daniel!" the man suddenly uttered as he watched the program come dangerously close to an end, not aware that he had also come off his chair in his frustration. He definitely did not want his master plan to be thwarted by one of its own devices before it had even really begun! And he now wished he hadn't perfected the interactive nature of each program he planned to use, with many tangent scenarios possible before the ultimate, desired outcome would still commence. In other words, this was taking more time than he thought it would.

Suddenly, the entity finally performed the act that Vlad had planned would be the catalyst for Daniel to morph.

But then, much to the man's surprise, Daniel allowed himself to be captured and didn't resist the computer-generated image. It was as if the boy was daring his foe!

Then the man suddenly was gripped with fear. Daniel's enemy was succeeding and the boy hadn't morphed yet!

Once more, Vlad inadvertently blurted out to the monitor, "Blast it again, Daniel! Stop being so stubborn! Morph!"

Vlad was about to command Maddie to place the boy right back into the deep _delta_ sleep when, suddenly, the man saw two bluish-white rings form and quickly envelop Daniel. An anxious heartbeat later and Daniel was effectively throwing off his foe.

"Now, Maddie! Activate our next planned programs!" the man cried.

An instant later, Vlad saw the teen go limp on cue just as the next scenery program was activated. But surprising the older hybrid a bit, the control room and the simulation room both trembled a bit at the change. But once successful, the movement stopped. Vlad breathed a slight sigh of relief. He should have guessed that this would be the reaction to this very complicated program.

Still, the boy didn't fall to any ground.

The man unconsciously sighed in relief and plopped back down on the chair directly behind him. Being just barely successful was a bit much for him this time. True, underneath, he got a thrill out of risk-taking. But whenever he was meticulously planning—especially about a plan _this_ important—he took no such course. He would not allow such close margins of error such as those which just now happened to happen again. He simply wouldn't risk it.

The man could not know, however, that had Daniel been totally awake and not in a groggy state of mind, he would have morphed sooner and not allowed himself to be overcome so easily…

Now determined in that thought, Vlad knew he would be more careful from now on. He pushed a button to deactivate the ghost shield around the control room. He then instantly morphed even as he charged through the window so quickly that he would have smashed through had he not become intangible shortly after he had morphed.

He reached the unconscious teen in no time and scooped him up, which was easy to do since in this environment both of them were incredibly light, even if they were more affected by it. The older hybrid scanned the area and smirked when he found what he needed.

He flew through the black, green and purple atmosphere until he reached a flat purple shelf. He then gently laid the still boy down upon it.

Glancing downward at the younger half-ghost, Vlad suddenly frowned at his next thought, something that he had overlooked. He had already broken his own promise of not having too small of a margin of error when he almost broke right through the window. But then, he smiled. He would begin that promise _**after **_the test protocols.

He finally said to the sleep-induced teen, "And that would be just one more thing to check, Daniel, before I have you trapped, with no hope of escape!"

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><p><strong>AN: Well, I don't know about y'all, but my head is spinning with all this sci-fi kind of stuff (though I love it!). And actually, believe it or not, most of this is stuff is plausible! All that stuff I wrote about the stages of sleep (the beta, theta, delta and alpha brainwaves) are TRUE! Uh-huh! And all that stuff on how to make things 'real' for Danny? It, too, is true! After all, if our sensory systems in the brain weren't activated, we would not 'see' or 'hear' or 'feel' anything our peripheral (body) nerves recorded. There is a true condition called 'cortical blindness' where there is nothing wrong with the structure or condition of the eye, but the BRAIN is not registering and/or interpreting what the eyeball is recording. And some studies on which area of the brain affect/control what were done during needed brain surgeries and the docs stimulated areas that didn't have the problem and people claimed to 'hear' or 'see' something that wasn't there but they sensed it because their brain part was stimulated. **

**What? Did all of that just come out of ME? *blushes and rubs back of neck* Well, I thought it was all very cool, so of course, I wanted to share it with my most awesome readers! *winks***

**So, now that you all have gotten smarter in this chapter, then you know that the smartest thing to do right now is to push that blue button and send me your most intelligent thoughts! But, heck, if this chapter just put your head in a whirl, I'll be okay with your pushing that blue button under that influence instead! LOL!**

**Thanks again for your wonderful support, and I look forward to your musings! And, oh, a Blessed Easter to everyone in advance! Hope you get LOTS of chocolate! truephan**


	6. Chapter 6 One More Detail

**A/N: Well, darn! Just when I think I'm finished with the necessary background set-up for this story, out pops this chapter! But it's important, which is why the story demanded that I write it. (You know how much of a wimp I am when it comes to denying my bratty stories anything! No can do!). So, even though it's short and a bit technical, I really thought you needed to know this for the rest of the story to make sense. Oh, and I hope y'all had a great Easter! We sure did and are STILL eating Easter candy and goodies (Gee, what did y'all expect? You know it's technically Easter **_**Week**_** this week, right? Heh-heh!). Anyhoo, let me get back to my scrumptious Cadbury ® Easter egg while y'all settle done with Chapter 6 and the LAST chapter needed to set-up the background. Then, I promise, next chapter will start the shebang! And, oh, before I forget, thank you again for your reviews. They make this chocolate Easter egg seem downright sour! Heh-heh! And a special thanks to 'Deena C.' for your review. I would have given you a more personal note, but you don't have a PM that was available. So, everybody, are you ready? Me, too! But don't forget that "IDNOAC" technicality and hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 6—One More Detail<p>

Without losing any more time, Vlad placed Danny back down onto the floating shelf in the Ghost Zone created by his simulation room, immediately became intangible and flew right back into the control room. The older half-ghost made sure to reactivate the ghost shield around the simulation room before turning back to his computer-generated image of the love of his life.

Just as he alit and turned back into his human form, Vlad's ever-churning mind realized that there was still another thing to do. True, he knew he had planned this well enough to make sure he had overlooked nothing. But since it was a relatively easy detail to check compare to everything else, he wasn't worried about it.

Suddenly, he smirked slightly at his next thought. In fact, he was actually relaxing a bit even as he was getting ready to start on the crux of his master plan. So, he could afford to have a little fun in spite on how serious he was about all of this.

"Oh, Maddie dear. You overlooked one more detail in the test protocol sequence," he replied almost too casually, especially since the scheming gears in his head were still whirling at full speed.

The hologram frowned in confusion. "I did?" she muttered just before turning back to the screen and pounding some commands into the keyboard.

But before she could reply, he chuckled a bit, "Don't worry, my dear. I can tell you what we need to test. It's the parameters of the Subliminal Helmet, and all of its sub-controls."

Instead of smiling, however, the computer-generated female remarked, "I would have already detected that sequence in this protocol list and placed in in my queue, sir. But it is not recorded. Perhaps…."

But she stopped when, suddenly, the test protocol for the Subliminal Helmet popped up on the screen.

She jerked around and looked at Vlad in disbelief, only to mimic the mischievous smirk on his face when she saw his finger was still pushing a grey button.

"You cheated, sir," she replied, slightly annoyed.

"One of my many specialties, Maddie," he quipped back before going right to task. "Now, let's run down the test protocols for the Subliminal Helmet, which would be File and Program 287 SH—test items one through five."

But suddenly, after keying in some commands, the computer-generated image frowned a bit, and Vlad noticed that.

"What's wrong, Maddie?" he asked, mimicking her frown.

She turned to him and replied, "According to the specifications outlined in this program, the Subliminal Helmet is not designed to be used during _theta_ sleep, which is currently what is occurring in your test subject. In fact, it could be dangerous unless used ..."

"…in _beta_ sleep, better known as 'rapid eye movement'— or 'REM'— sleep. That's right, Maddie," Vlad said, completing her sentence. "I am glad that your protocols have such safeguards to remind me about not forgetting something as important as that."

"Shall I run Sleep File 287B, then, to place the subject in _beta_ sleep?" she then asked.

Vlad thought a moment before responding, "In just a moment, Maddie dear. I just want to make sure that the parameters will support our objectives."

"Shall I run a diagnostic for that file and program, then?" the holograph inquired again.

"Yes, File and Program 287SH to be precise, Maddie dear. I want to make sure that the sequence of commands both allows and _doesn't_ allow Daniel some mental rest."

The female facsimile blinked in non-computation but waited for the man to continue.

Suddenly, Vlad smirked as he pushed a button and looked over the specifications of what he had called the "Subliminal Helmet' again. His mind shifted gears as he remembered how he got the thing. It had mysteriously showed up right next to him when he woke up in his bed just as mysteriously a couple of years back. And, of course, he had to know all about it.

And what he discovered about it thrilled his curiosity and revved up his cunning mind so much that it actually became the seed of his master plan. He, of course, had to improve upon it. But not until he had sent Skulker to find out about the ghost who had invented it: Nocturne.

Once the Ghost Hunter had delivered the ghost to him, Vlad 'convinced' the ghost as only he knew how to reveal the helmet's secrets. And the more and more he learned about the device, the more of its potential he could see. In fact, as he worked salvaging and gaining control over it, other possible devices that he could put to good use sprung up in his calculating mind. And once the man was sure of how everything worked, he successfully mimicked its means to the end in tapping into one's thoughts and developed that small microchip. So, now even more possibilities were opening up.

After that, there were other artifacts he had obtained to use in the future, like that Observant weapon, which only fueled his obsession… But the real catalyst for speeding up the final details of his master plan was all that happened with Iluzisto and especially after 'inheriting' Okulo's orb and that small cube of Timeless Magic.

"Sir? You were talking about the sequence of commands for your 'Subliminal Helmet'?" a female voice asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Vlad looked at the hologram and chuckled slightly, "So I was. Well, then, my dear, as you said, this Subliminal Helmet has to be in the _beta_ brainwave pattern because it will control Daniel's dreams without a problem. But it will do more than that now that I made it even better. It does what the microchip cannot do, namely: it will allow Daniel physical rest and some mental rest, but not all since I'll have a say in all of that. Oh, and speaking of that, then, don't forget to keep that patch program in the queue with Program 287SH. We will use it when necessary to convert any program we have so that they can be used in conjunction with the Subliminal Helmet. We have to have that flexibility because, after all, that is the key to our breaking him."

He paused and smiled at the thought before continuing, "So, my dear, we must make sure the commands are precise and accurate. And when you're ready, run the diagnostic on that file and program, will you?"

The man finally turned to the machine and frowned in confusion. She wasn't following through on his command.

"Didn't you hear me, Maddie?" he queried.

"Of course I did, sir… all before you rambled on about what we both know that the Subliminal Helmet can do. Here is the report, sir," she calmly yet seriously replied as she handed him the read-out.

He frowned a bit more, but in slight irritation this time about her remark and that she hadn't listened to him, well, sort of. Still, she did get the work done—efficiently as always.

He glanced down at the paper, inspecting the specifications. When he finished, he smiled once more. All seemed to be in order.

Still studying the data, he said with a satisfied chuckle, "Perfect again, Maddie. So, then, let's start with _**Program**_ 287-SH."

Maddie the holograph briefly glanced up at him before looking through the control room's window and over to the incapacitated boy on the floating purple shelf. She remarked, "Shouldn't the device be placed on your subject before we start, sir?"

"Of course we should. I was getting to that, Maddie. But…" he began as he glanced up at Daniel, only to stop in the middle of his comment when he saw the grey helmet was already on the boy.

He smirked a bit as he dryly remarked, "Looks like you know how to cheat as well, my dear."

"Well, I have a good specialty teacher," she said with a mischievous smile.

"That is true. I've imputed most everything you know," he muttered mostly to himself. But then, he paused at the thought of her being almost like him, then, before he shook that same thought out of his mind. He pursed his lips as he continued, "In any case, let's get on with the tests, shall we?"

"Right away, sir," she replied with a smile as she pushed a green button.

Both the computer and the man reflexively glanced out of the control room window and at the younger hybrid. At that precise moment, the grey helmet came to life, its two antennas immediately volleying a bolt of electricity between the two of them. A second later, the red, yellow and green lights on top of the helmet and nearby the antennas began to blink in sequence as if they were a traffic signal guiding the flow of the electrical strand between the antennas. And, indeed, they were doing just that.

And as expected, the boy remained still even as the helmet was activated.

A moment later, Vlad commented, "That didn't take long to power up. Now, let's begin with test protocol one, Maddie."

"As you command, sir," she replied as she activated the sequence.

The first thing that happened according to protocol was that the boy was placed into _beta_ wave sleep—that is, rapid eye movement or REM sleep—using the commands of that certain Sleep File. Once that level was reached, the special moveable monitor also came to life and dutifully displayed the graphs of the status of the boy's brainwaves and all his vitals on multiple split screens for the older hybrid to see and review.

Once satisfied that the readings were steady, Vlad knew that the link with the computer, monitor, Subliminal Helmet and microchip embedded within the hybrid boy was complete. The man looked out the window and to the still sleeping teen lying on the shelf. He smirked when he could see occasional muscle spasms in Daniel's face and fingers. He pushed a button, and one of those secret cameras he had stealthily placed in the simulation room zoomed in on Daniel's face. As if on cue, Daniel's lidded eyes twitched violently, hiding the rapid eye movement immediately below it.

The boy was dreaming.

"Alright, Maddie," Vlad then said. "It is time to test the next two things in rapid order. First, I want to see the dream he is having right now. Then, we need to make sure we can tap into the auditory cortex so that we can 'hear' his dream as well.

"Done at your masterful command," the hologram announced with slight glee, as she begin to type commands into the keyboard.

Vlad watched his monitor as the computer-generated image of the woman he adored worked. And not a moment later, the data on the screen faded away and then brightened as a colorful full screen image appeared. And then, that image moved, followed by even more moving images. The dream had begun.

Funny, though. The dream at which the man was looking was as if Daniel was looking at a DVD of himself because the viewpoint was as if a second party was watching the boy rather than Daniel seeing everything from his own visual perspective.

A few seconds later, static could be heard on the speaker imbedded in the wireless monitor before Vlad could clearly hear what he knew must be the boy's unconscious thoughts generated by the state of REM sleep in which Daniel was. The man could see in Daniel's dream that the boy was in his ghost form, at his home and in his bedroom. Interestingly, the bedroom was in shambles, as if some kind of battle had just finished. Now very intrigued, the older hybrid reflexively watched and listened in…..

"_I don't get it!" Danny said in frustration, coughing a bit on the still settling dust while wiping some debris off of his shoulders. "I have no idea who attacked me in my room tonight. But when I find out…."_

_But as he continued to dust more of himself off, Danny's ghostly eyes widened when he glanced down. A tiny orange_—_and glowing_—_caterpillar was suddenly crawling up one of his legs! He recognized it at once and froze in indecision._

_It was a Metamorfozo __**[1],**__ a particular ghost caterpillar which would undoubtedly shoot a very nasty and painful blue electrical bolt through him if he disturbed it—or would absorb any ectoplasmic ray shot at it before it would deliver an even more powerful red force back at him if he tried to zap it off._

_But if that wasn't enough, another tiny orange, glowing caterpillar all of the sudden appeared on his other leg! And then there was another! And another!_

_Danny hitched in his breath when it looked as if a whole new slew of the creatures had inexplicably come out from nowhere and latched upon his legs. Not only that, but they seemed to move with purpose. That was more than obvious a few moments later when he could see that they were now determined to engulf him!_

_The boy stumbled back, suddenly panicked at his situation. Nevertheless, he had done so carefully so as not to disturb the small orange ghostly creatures. His eyes widened as he looked down at himself. Where did these things come from? They were still inexplicably and, more importantly, __**exponentially**__ multiplying with each nervous thump of his heart!_

_Danny suddenly grimaced in pain. This was new! True, he had fought a couple of these ghost things before just before he learned to replicate, but he had never had one of these creatures actually __**on**__ him before. But now that he had __**more than one**__ of them crawling on top of him—and now even on each other now that there was a whole bunch of them silently treading over his body— he would never have imagined feeling __**electrical**__**stings**__ being sent into him from the sheer weight of their countless ghostly feet and bodies pressing down upon him._

_But that wasn't all._

_Suddenly, he could feel the pain of what he could only guess was their sharp teeth as they began to feast on him! He groaned with a combination of his pain, worry and mounting irritation._

_If he didn't do something soon, he would either be completely swallowed up by their combined mass, or they would be sure to swallow him up_—_literally…._

Suddenly, ringing bells called out in warning from Vlad's mainframe.

Vlad immediately saw what the uproar was about and reset the alarm. He was not at all surprised even as he saw the monitoring gauges underneath the Somato-Map flash as if in a panic over Daniel's vitals. Indeed, the boy's vitals were soaring upward, and even his body temperature was rising. And their changes were erratic. But that was to be expected in REM sleep.

However, as the man continued to look at the monitors, he began to frown. True, all the research called this stage of sleep _**paradoxical **_sleep because a dreaming person's heart rate, breathing, temperature and blood pressure did go up. And, strangely enough, that person's larger muscles would be essentially paralyzed as the dream stage commenced. And the boy's brain was as active now as it would be if he were awake.

But Daniel…the boy's vitals were still rising precipitously even as the man watched the gauges and pondered about what he knew about REM sleep. He didn't think that the changes in Daniel's vitals would be this dramatic since typical humans showed only slight—though somewhat erratic—elevations. Then the man cocked his head back a bit with the realization. _**Typical.**_ Of course, Daniel wasn't a 'typical' human! And he was in his _**ghost **_form, now! That could be the only explanation—at least, he hoped it would be.

And in the next instant, as if to confirm the older hybrid's guess, Daniel's vitals leveled off and then begin to drop. He particularly noted that his core body temperature was even lower in his ghost form; namely: 96.0 degrees Fahrenheit or 35.55 Celsius.

Still, the man unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, and refocused on the task at hand, which was monitoring the boy's dream. That is, until he turned back the monitor and saw that the boy was no longer visible—or audible— in his dream!

Instead, there was a huge orange glowing and now seemingly _solid_ mass on the screen that was pulsating and purring, as if it had suddenly become a large grotesque-shaped internal organ heaving with a life of its own. A cacophony of several yet small bluish-green electrical sparks exploded out of the mass not a moment later, popping and crackling the air around them just like those Tesla coils every evil scientist seemed to have. **[2]**

But then, the mass violently jerked outward from within, a sickly wet stretching sound clearly erupting in response to the warped displacement of the mass. And then it did again! And again! In fact, it looked as if the mass had swallowed several time bombs that were going off in succession, expanding the mass from within before returning to its original swollen state. And now, _**blue **_and _**green **_electrical sparks surrounded it.

Suddenly, Vlad jumped when he heard something else. It sounded like a large, strained groan. _**Daniel's groan!**_

Vlad's eyes widened with the realization. The boy was _**within**_ that orange mass, struggling to get out! That might explain why his vitals dropped. Daniel must have been momentarily 'incapacitated' in his dream and had just now rebounded. And the sudden scream of the alarm on the mainframe computer and the boy's sky-rocketing vitals recorded on the gauges again only confirmed that the boy must have 'rebounded' in his dream.

"Activate _**File**_ 287SH _**now**_**,** Maddie!" Vlad firmly commanded.

An instant later, Vlad typed furiously on his keyboard, inputting command upon command.

And no sooner had he hit the 'Enter' button than the image of the orange mass embedded within his monitor exploded, covering the screen with its surreal goo. But then, just as weirdly, the goo glittered and phased out of existence, revealing two images that had been previously hidden behind it.

This time, Vlad laughed heartedly at the sight. Just as he had programmed! And the two images he had created through the power of Nocturne's former dream helmet were perfectly flawless and had melded seamlessly into Daniel's dream! One of those dream images was that of a full-length mirror, already showing its reflection to the second image—Daniel— whose eyes were widened in anguish and disbelief at what they were seeing.

In the next split second, Vlad heard the piercing scream of horror coming from Daniel as he looked at his reflection in the mirror before he caught sight of the monitor displaying the boy's brainwaves. They were still in the _beta_ range, but they were incredibly erratic!

The alarms started to blare again! His eyes darted to the monitors. They were actually smoking! Oh, no! Their circuits were dangerously overloaded! He then glanced through the window and gasped when he saw the lights on the helmet firing off erratically as well. Not only that, the helmet was beginning to shake under the strain!

Then he could see that the boy's limbs were unexpectedly _**moving**_! And that could only mean one thing….

"Quick, Maddie, Daniel's waking up! Deactivate File 287SH and activate File 287D, the _delta_ deep dreamless sleep, **now!**"

Once again, the hologram's deft fingers rapidly glided over her keyboard, activating the desired command. A heartbeat later, the teen's body slumped back onto the shelf and he was still.

Vlad breathed out a sigh before sitting back into his chair once more. He reached up and combed his fingers over his pulled back white hair before pinching the bridge of his nose. He would have to have Maddie check the circuitry to make sure no damage was done.

"_Too close again, Plasmius! But then, you didn't expect it to be easy, did you_? _After all, 'Complication' is one of Daniel's many middle names!"_ he thought with a chuckle, which only triggered his last memory of the premature conclusion of that last part of the boy's artificially-induced 'dream'.

He chuckled silently once more._ "Still, that nearly-avoided complication of Daniel's waking up was worth it. And his reaction to his reflection in that 'mirror' I conjured up just for him was priceless. After all, I don't think there will be another day when I get to see him like that. Daniel sure looked very 'beautiful' having those perfect long antennae and very large, fluttery and silky green-and-blue __**butterfly wings on him**__!"_

Several hours had passed since Vlad had begun and finished the test protocols on his young foe. And Maddie had made a full diagnostic review of all the components of his devices and found not one scrap of evidence that they had suffered any damage. Good! Not only that, but all the initial data collected was conclusive: his master plan could go on without a hitch!

His smile was now wider with the fact that having Daniel as his son was within his grasp! It would be just a matter of time. How much exactly, he wasn't certain. But he knew it would be just a small matter of time in the larger scale of these things.

Still, he needed to run one more errand before his orchestra of manipulation could conduct his _opus magnum_. He thought at first he would have time for that later. But since he had close shaves within quick succession, he thought otherwise and went into an 'ultra-meticulous' mode of thinking.

He turned to Maddie the holograph and calmly remarked, "Maddie dear, once again I need for you to babysit our sleeping guest. I have a quick task to complete and then we can commence with the other components of 285— MP."

But instead of smiling, the hologram inquired with a frown, "But your test subject is an adolescent male, not a baby, sir. And he can sit perfectly if he was not induced in the _delta_ brave wave spectrum at this precise second."

Vlad resisted the temptation to roll his eyes, but then, smirked a bit as he replied, "All I care is that Daniel remains asleep until I return from my other important errand. So keep him in _delta_ sleep. In the meantime, you may also remove the Subliminal Helmet, but keep the same scenery file that is running now. But you'll have to run the re-check protocols for Scenery File 288-OJ as well. Should your final diagnostics indicate that Scenery File 288-OJ is ready, then set it on 'stand by' and first in the queue. By the time you do all of that, I should be back from my errand."

"As you command, sir," the computer-generated image said, her face now gleaming with the new orders.

And with that, Vlad morphed to his ghost side and disappeared in a puff of pink smoke.

Vlad was already at his designation, all the while still gloating over his certain triumph….Even still, his mission was over in no time before he teleported back to his mansion with another whirl of his pink ectoplasmic mist.

At first, he bit his inner lip in thought over his last errand. But he quickly brushed the thought away, knowing that he had to keep focused. Even still, as he headed back to his simulation room, he suddenly yawned. He chanced to glance at a nearby clock and his eyes widened a bit. Was it _**that **_late? He had been so caught up in the scope of things, time had slipped by him unnoticed. Now all of the sudden he could feel weariness weigh him down after the rush of his initial excitement and work had finally waned.

But then, he frowned. He had to admit that he was tired after having spent the entire day in final preparations before getting the boy and then double-checking everything after he had Daniel until well into the night. Part of him wanted to get on with it. But his more rational side argued back. He would need to get plenty of rest himself in order to remain mentally alert for what was to happen in the extremely near future.

He sighed in resignation when he felt the sting of fatigue in his eyes. Though still reluctant, he had to admit that he would have to wait for tomorrow to begin the major thrust of his master plan.

He suddenly softly chuckled to himself at his next thought. Just as well that he had to wait. After all, killing _many_ birds with one stone _always_ appealed to him and he wanted to be fully awake when that happened. And that meant that he would get back at _them_ in the boy's eyes as well as break Daniel in the process and fulfill all of his life's dreams. Not only that, but he had to be ready and alert enough to make quick changes in light of what might arise from a given situation.

It was just as well, then, that Daniel would remain in _delta _sleep until the man got his own rest. That would be adequate to have the boy physically recharged for what he had first planned for him.

Still, even as Vlad made his decision and headed up to his room to retire for the evening, he smiled in satisfaction. Nothing could spoil this moment as he readied himself for sleep.

Finally, he lay down, covered himself up and closed his eyes.

He easily drifted away from this world, his eyes quickly jumping under his closed eyelids as he dreamed of definite victory….

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><p><strong>[1] <strong>_**Metamorfozo**_** is the Esperanto word for metamorphosis. Thanks, pearl84, for naming my original character from **_**Rumor Has It**_**! *winks***

**[2] A Tesla coil is an electrical resonant transformer circuit invented by Nikola Tesla around 1891. It is used to produce high voltage, low current, high frequency alternating current electricity. The most famous example of this is from a scene of Frankenstein when the lightning hits the circuit of the head band around the creature and then long lightning like threads of electricity shoot outward. If you want to see a picture of it, just 'google' Tesla coil. I got this information when I googled 'Tesla coil'.**

**A/N: Well, yes, this was a bit technical again, I admit it. But I hope your eyes didn't gloss over and you remember all about it. After all, how else will Vlad control even Danny's dreams, which all have a purpose! *winks* But the GOOD news is that this is the last of the 'set-up' chapters and the show really begins at the next update. I hope to see you then and then, of course, hear all of your thoughts on this chapter now! Until next time, then, dear readers! truephan**


	7. Chapter 7 The Premise

**A/N: Welcome back, dear readers! I'm so glad that you could tune back in! And thank you again for your support and reviews! Sorry if I couldn't PM a couple of you because you don't have your PM activated, but don't think I don't appreciate them. Wow, can you believe it? I don't have much else to say and I know why! I've been itching to get things really started for quite a while! So, let's get on it and here is Chapter 7. Enjoy!**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 7—The Premise<p>

The crisp fall day awoke covered in a blanket of mist. The sun was so snug in that cloudy blanket that it barely opened its eye as the dawn slowly crept in. After all, it really was in no hurry for the day to start now that the winds were shifting. And that meant that soon the storms would follow, heralding the change of seasons, and the sun could afford to be lazy in warming the earth…

In the meantime, a small yellow, brown and black meadowlark flew against the cold, damp morning in search of a warm haven. It could feel the heat rise as it neared the large stone blocking the dull dawn, not noticing at all that it was a man-made structure.

The songbird spied a small ledge jutting from a shiny, flat window pane and quickly alit on it. Once the small bird squatted contently within the snug warm corner of that window, it happily announced the early morning with its throaty song, completely aloof with the mischief that was about to awake within…

Vlad finally pulled his eyes open at the chirping sound just outside his window and looked at the clock beside his bed. It was nearly eight in the morning. He had slept later than he had wanted. Still, he felt refreshed as he threw his arms up in a yawn, trying to clear his mind. He then practically jolted out of bed as the next thought pulled itself out the waking mist. He was anxious to move finally forward with the _real_ beginning of his plan which would ultimately—and, of course, with any luck, quickly—end with Daniel as his rightful son.

He wasted no more time and went over to the nearby intercom and pushed a button.

"Good morning, sir," the friendly voice said in greeting.

"Good morning, George," Vlad responded, stifling another yawn. "I will have the usual for breakfast this morning, but have it brought to the control room of my simulation room. Give me about thirty minutes."

"Right away, sir," the ghost chef said before the man heard the familiar 'click' disconnecting their short conversation.

His churning mind abuzz with his plan, Vlad hurried through his morning routine before he finally headed to the control room of his simulation room.

By the time the man arrived at the entrance to the control room, his ghostly butler, Derek, had also arrived with his breakfast.

"Good morning, sir," the ghost employee said with a smile.

Just before he turned the door knob of the room, Vlad said, "Good morning, too, Derek. Just place the tray on the small table that's a few feet away from the main console."

"As you wish, sir," the ghost replied, patiently waiting for the man to make the next move.

Vlad nodded and quickly entered the room, with Derek hovering closely behind him while still carrying the covered tray.

In the meantime, Maddie the hologram was still monitoring all the instruments—exactly how the man had left her a little more than eight hours earlier. She turned her head when she detected movement and sound.

"Your errand lasted precisely 8.75 hours, sir?" she asked Vlad with a hitched eyebrow, all the while ignoring the ghost butler.

Derek placed the food tray as instructed and quietly left the room without exchanging any further words with Vlad or his computer. But the ghost butler had been so concerned about not making any noise when he had left that he didn't close the door as tightly as he thought.

"Well, including my much needed sleep, yes, Maddie dear. But I assume that Daniel is still in repose as well?" the man smugly replied, lifting the silver dome off of his breakfast and absent-mindedly setting it aside on the counter behind him, which was next to some of the instruments. The man immediately turned around, pulled up a chair and unceremoniously sat down.

"Your test subject has been in _delta_ sleep as well, but for precisely 8.90 hours. His body has regenerated as expected, but his brainwaves are slightly in flux. It has also been difficult to maintain a _delta_ brainwave, sir," she reported without emotion.

"As I would expect, Maddie," he said with aplomb, as he cut into his sunny-side-up eggs. "Like all humans, his body— _and more importantly_—his _mind _naturally seek to phase through all five levels of sleep. But we, of course, have prevented all that, for now. And I can see that the Ghost Zone program is still running and that Daniel is still in his ghost form. That is good. So then, run through preliminary Protocols 285 MP-T and 285 MP-S to make sure the first set of programs is ready."

He finished with a bite of eggs, followed by a bite of toast.

"As you command, sir," she replied as she began to input commands.

Just as Vlad was adding cream and honey to his hot tea, however, his pet cat came into the room. She had brushed the side of her body against the slightly cracked door and pushed it open enough to come in.

Without a sound, the feline immediately jumped up onto the small counter where her master had placed the cover for his food tray. She looked at her reflection in the highly polished domed cover and purred before rubbing her nose and cheek against it. In the next moment, she rubbed the side of her body against the slick surface and contently meowed in greeting to her reflection.

Vlad cocked his head to the side when he finally heard his pet just a few feet behind him and twisted around to look at her.

He stood up, took a few steps toward his pet before he gently lifted her away from the counter and said in slight reprimand, "No, no, Maddie. You shouldn't be up there because you're too close to a lot of sensitive control buttons there."

Just then, the computer hologram turned her head at the sound of her name. She frowned in a mixture of annoyance and delight when the cat meowed in protest as the man placed her gently on the ground. The cat ran over to the door again and Vlad returned to his meal.

But then, once Vlad had turned to reach for his tea cup, the four-legged Maddie silently and defiantly padded back, making sure to avoid the two-legged creature named after her, especially since the computer hologram was now looking intently at her.

The feline deftly and quietly jumped back upon the same counter from which Vlad had taken her and headed right to that rather large pretty shiny object that showed her the other beautiful cat.

Once again, Maddie the cat began to rub herself against the food tray; but this time, she put more of her weight into it and the food tray shifted a bit. The cat quickly regained her balance without even so much as a startle and promptly plopped on her hind legs with her tail extended fully behind her.

She softly pawed the reflection in the mirror-like surface while the tip of her still extended tail curled slightly with intrigue at this new animal that had arrived in her domain.

In the meantime, Vlad was too busy enjoying his breakfast as he patiently waited for his computer to announce that all was ready. But he didn't know that the facsimile of the love of his life had actually stopped in her task and her microchips had shifted into a scheming mode with an alternative plan of action.

In fact, just as Vlad was starting to cut his next sausage, Maddie the hologram was slowly and quietly inching her way toward the white animal perched near that domed food tray cover…When the solid projection calculated that she had reached the vantage point of her plan, she acted.

Quick as a wink, Maddie the computer grabbed and yanked the food tray cover off the counter and swiftly set it over the annoying white feline that had been right next to it.

But in her enthusiasm to capture the cat, the computer had not hypothesized that she would miss capturing the animal's _tail_!

In the very next instant, Maddie the cat was jumping in a startle and howling with pain stemming from her newly-pinched tail.

The result was more than obvious.

The food tray cover flung off of the cat's bucking body and fell on top of the console with a loud clang before it rolled off of the console and onto the floor! But it didn't stop at that. The four-footed Maddie was so distraught at having the lights suddenly snuffed out all around her coupled with instant pain shooting through her that she then jumped on top of the console! All sorts of buttons were pushed in and out of sequence under the frantic push of four frantic paws.

And just then, several vocal and ringing alarms started to sound off—in and out of sequence:

"**Warning, ghost shield inactivated—"**

"**Warning, ghost shield activa—"**

"**Warning, levels ten, eighteen and twenty training sessions commencing—"**

"**Level eighteen training session ceasing—"**

"**Level twenty**—**"**

Not only that, but the lights within the control and the simulation rooms were flashing on and off as if they were in some kind of dance room instead.

Only a few more seconds elapsed before Vlad was yanking his cat off of the console and yelling, "Maddie!"

But he needn't have commanded his computer to follow through, for the hologram was already right on it and pushing all sorts of counter buttons once the cat was off of the console.

Finally, the last mechanical voice announced, **"All previous activated systems inert."**

And everything grew quiet and the lights steadied again.

Now a bit frantic himself, Vlad shoved the still squirming cat into his computer's arms and hurried over to the monitors displaying Daniel's information. He finally calmed a bit when he could see that nothing purposely induced to the boy had changed. In fact, everything was back in order, except that the ghost shield surrounding the simulation room was now off.

He pinched the bridge of his nose to fully calm himself before he looked back at his computer and his still unhappy cat deftly captured within her arms.

Though he equally was not pleased and had a frown on his face, the man calmly asked, "What in blazes just happened, Maddie?"

The hologram placed an equally displeased frown on her face and replied, "It is obvious, sir, that your cat was up to mischief when you ordered seriousness. Shall I put her out?"

"Yes, Maddie. She has been a very naughty cat and will then have to make do without my affections for now," the man sighed, even as he stepped over to the cat and began to pet her.

"As you command," the holograph added before she twisted her body enough so that the cat was pulled rather roughly away from the man's hand. She quickly went to the door and twisted her head around enough to see if Vlad was looking her way.

When she could see that he had turned to the monitors again, her face broke out into a wicked grin. Successfully stifling a dark giggle, she tossed the cat rather rudely out of the room and firmly shut the door.

However, as soon as she spun on her heels, a pleasant smile was instantly painted on her face and she cheerfully said, "I will commence to check all of the systems to make sure that no damage was done to them by your cat."

Though he still had a twinge of anger at his pet, Vlad cringed a bit at that remark. Nevertheless, he sighed and said with control in his voice, "That would be the thing to do, Maddie. Go ahead."

"As you command, O sweet sir," she replied in slight triumph before turning on her heels again and going to the controls.

Vlad, in the meantime, sat down and helped himself to another cup of tea while waiting once more for his computer to be ready. He glanced over to his half-eaten meal and suddenly realized that he was still hungry, especially after seeing the food shifted his thoughts to his ghost chef. He knew that George would be beside himself if Vlad sent a half-eaten breakfast back to the kitchen. He immediately resumed eating.

After checking the systems and finally completing her original orders of setting up and checking the protocol checks, the computer-generated image announced a few minutes later, "All systems, files and programs are in order, sir, ready for you next command, including Scenery Program 288 OJ still in the queue. And I checked the other systems that your cat interrupted, and discovered that the ghost shield had been turned off. I have now rectified that, sir."

"Very good, Maddie dear, very good," he calmly replied just before sipping more of his tea.

Now more anxious to get things started, the man unconsciously quickened his pace to finish his meal. He was done in record time. He poured himself another cup of tea and hastily prepared it before bringing the cup over to the hologram of his unrequited love. He glanced at all the monitors as he took another sip of the warm brew. The waft of gentle steam from the tea seemed to clear his head completely.

Now he was ready.

He placed the teacup on a nearby clear area far enough from the instruments so that he wouldn't accidentally knock it over. He would tolerate _**no**_ mess-ups from now on.

Still, he couldn't quite hide the bit of excitement in his voice as he said, "All right, Maddie, now that everything looks set, let's begin with 'Act One' of the master plan."

"'Act One', sir?" Maddie queried, her face wrinkling with confusion. "I thought we were to begin on 'Step One' of Master Plan 285-MP, sub-program 287-_Delta_."

Once again, Vlad's face eked out frustration and amusement at once. "Yes, Maddie dear. I stand corrected."

Maddie nodded in agreement before she pushed a blue button. It dutifully lit up under her holographic yet solid finger; and suddenly, because this was a very complex program, the entire room trembled a bit more than the last time as the first part of the program commenced.

Both the man and the female machine reflexively glanced over to the coffin-like receptacle that had made even more noise under the vibration. But once they saw that nothing came of it and the rumblings were actually subsiding, Vlad and Maddie turned back to the window that separated the control room from the simulation room.

A moment later, Scenery Program 288-OJ finally engaged and just as if a wave of water was washing over the simulation room, the scenery within it moved and changed piecemeal by piecemeal until it was now blanketed in an entirely different scene.

Though the simulation was still shaking with the complexity of the program, it was no longer the greens, blacks and purples of the simulated Ghost Zone surrounding the still dormant Daniel lying on a purple shelf. Now it was a darkened, smaller room with glowing green walls and a black, seemingly endless ceiling. And the unconscious boy was suddenly on a bare, narrow black cot, his right arm suddenly falling off to its side with the change.

Once the room finally stopped shaking, Maddie turned the little brown dial which controlled the sleeping teen's brainwaves.

A moment later, the hologram dutifully reported to the man, "Three-point-zero hertz frequency brainwaves secured, sir. Our subject is in the _delta/theta_ wave cusp. Once again, at this moment he will be highly susceptible to suggestion, but also, he will be groggy and slightly disoriented should he be awakened."

Vlad glanced at the readings to confirm them. The smallest corner of his upper lip hitched. It definitely was time to begin this show.

"All right, Maddie. Keep Daniel in that state until I give you the signal. But now, it's time to run Program 289-level 9-Z_eta_."

"But that is at a very powerful level in your master plan," she pointed out.

"True, but _their_ role is different than all the others. Still, I'm glad you asked, just to keep me on my toes, my dear."

She scrunched her nose as she looked at him and remarked, "But you are flat on your feet, sir, not up on your toes. Why would I want you to be up on your toes anyway?"

This time Vlad rolled his eyes yet calmly replied, "Never mind, Maddie. It's not that important. Commence with Program 289-level 9-_Zeta_, and stop it as soon as the first part appears."

"As you command, sir," the computer-generated image said, her face instantly changing to a smile just as she pushed a purple button.

As soon as she did, two ghostly figures appeared right next to the still slumbering younger hybrid. Their forms were quite remarkably realistic, including having a bright aura surrounding their entire bodies. They had no hair, ears or mouth and their lone green eyes were staring blankly ahead. They were dressed in full-length light purple gowns surrounded by black capes with high stiff black collars, each accented with a thick gold border. The full-length gowns were also accented with a sculpted gold border at the sleeves and bottom hem, as well as a sculpted 'T-shaped' figure centrally located on the face of the gown, which extended from neck to the bottom hem in length. Each of the ghosts also girded a black belt at their mid-torso, and part of the fully red lining of their capes was peeking out from behind their partially flexed arms.

One of them, however, was holding a long, thin beige weapon in his green bony hands, which was similar to the one Vlad had used to finally subdue the boy. But at the moment, both of the ghosts weren't moving, not even hovering, as if they were caught in a 'freeze frame', which, in short, was true.

Vlad checked everything once more. The auditory and visual monitors were set, and everything else he needed was on and functioning. He wished he didn't have to start with one of the more complex programs, but this was part of the plan, so really, it was the only—and most logical—way.

Vlad finally nodded in signal to his computer, who dutifully pressed the next command button. Vlad then turned and looked through the control room window, carefully watching everything. Suddenly, his jaw tensed when he could feel his eagerness at finally setting everything in motion unexpectedly creep up from within; but he forced himself to remain calm and quickly snuffed any semblance of emotion out.

A moment later, both of the ghosts began to hover before one of the green-skinned ghosts holding the weapon moved even more. He aimed the device at Danny just before he slightly zapped the boy right in his chest with a small beam of purple energy.

The white-haired Ghost Boy immediately yelled at the pain and jolted awake with such a force from the sting that he fell right off of the small cot and onto the ground. His back was not only now against the cot in his newest position; but also, the cot was now between him and the two hovering beings.

"W-W-What was _**that**_?" Danny groggily murmured in some alarm, as he reflexively held his groggy forehead and then touched his chest, still in pain from the assault.

Then, the boy gasped a bit as a vague memory suddenly surfaced. He bit his lip and gingerly touched the top of his head and sighed in relief. The antennae were gone! But not daring to try to turn around and look, he closed his eyes and held his breath as he hesitantly pulled both of his arms to his back, searching for something he hoped would not be there. And then he slowly let out a long, relieved breath. Those life-size butterfly wings weren't there, either!

"Man, that was some nightmare!" Danny said with a low nervous chuckle, still trying to clear his muddled mind. "I must have fallen out of bed waking myself up from it! Thank goodness for that, then!"

He finally pulled himself off of the floor and scanned the area right in front of him. He unconsciously stepped back in shock, feeling the back of his legs hitting into the side of the cot when he instantly recognized where he was. He stumbled a bit at the sudden stop, but didn't fall.

"NO!" he inadvertently muttered, stunned. "It can't be!"

"Yes, I am afraid that it is true, young half-ghost," a very familiar voice directly behind him said in answer.

Danny spun around in disbelief, facing the direction from where he knew the voice had projected. His eyes instantly widened.

It was the High Tribune Observant and his brother-counselor!

But then he blurted out rather nervously, "J-J-Justeco?"

His gaze then drifted over to the one who was still holding the beige weapon. He frowned with confusion as he added, "And Konsilisto?"

The two Observants merely nodded in response and silently stared at him for what seemed an eternity.

Danny's still foggy mind couldn't understand why at least Justeco hadn't said any more. But when his eyes focused on the beige weapon, another memory bubbled up. And this time his eyes narrowed in irritation. That was right! He was coldly attacked by a weapon _**just like that**_ in his bedroom! And now for some reason he was here! But why? He shook his head, trying to both clear it and throw away any thoughts offering any explanation to that. After all, if he was where he definitely thought he was, it didn't matter. Instead, he was going to get to the bottom of this nonsense right away.

Trying to control his sudden urge to lose his temper, Danny then said tersely, "I'm guessing that it was you—or one of your guards—who attacked me in my room, uh, earlier? But, I don't understand. Why would you do that and why am I here? If you wanted to talk to me for some reason, you could have just texted me, er, I mean, or something! And I thought that by now that the Observants at least had some manners and had learned to send out invitations."

But Justeco merely replied, "We need not extend invitations to potential criminals. And we offer no explanations or apologies as well for how we need to secure said potential criminals."

Danny sighed more impatiently than he would have had he felt better rested. "'Potential criminal'? What do you mean by that? Haven't we been through all of this before?"

"We have. But that was then and this is now," Konsilisto flippantly answered.

Danny rolled his ghostly eyes and frowned at the remark and at suddenly being aware of a dull headache. He quickly rubbed his forehead before saying, "Look, guys. Can we just stop with the formalities and come clean about this? I've done nothing wrong with that 'that was then'—and—'this is now' thing and you know it."

Justeco then commented, "That is true, young half-ghost. But we have observed new…developments that require our intervention. And we have evidence from a reliable source strong enough to make us concerned about the future."

"The future again?" Danny said with a slightly whining tone to his voice not aware that he had suddenly rubbed his temples at the throbbing pain. "Isn't that called 'double jeopardy', or something?"

"That is yet to be seen," Justeco simply answered.

The white-haired Ghost Boy frowned in irritation before he remarked, "I can't believe that Clockwork let you use his Time Viewing Orb—…"

"It is the Temporal Scanner," Justeco reflexively corrected the boy.

"Whatever!" Danny said with more annoyance. "Clockwork wouldn't let you spy on—…."

"He did not," Justeco firmly replied, interrupting him again. "And he knows nothing of our mission here. We have other means of which Clockwork is unaware."

This time, the young ghost hybrid's eyes widened in surprise. Was that true? He didn't think so. But then, the Observants had stretched the truth more than once—_in the past_, that is. Still, he didn't get this. He thought that the Observants had changed and had become more open to….possibilities. Not only that, he found it odd that Clockwork wouldn't know about this. But if what the Observants said was true, the Time Master might not know.

Danny unconsciously, and yet slightly, nodded his head in agreement at his next thought….And even if Clockwork did know, he probably wouldn't interfere. So, what was all this about? It couldn't be so bad that all of them couldn't talk it all out and come to some kind of understanding. At least, that's what he thought.

"Okay. So Clockwork doesn't know—maybe," the boy said before pausing with his next thought. He then frowned a bit and redirected his question, "Then again, why doesn't he know? Remember, you told me that he is my mentor. So, don't you think he should know?"

Justeco tersely answered, "What we allow Clockwork to see and not see is not your concern. Your concern should be on why you are here."

Danny blinked in confusion at those remarks…He thought that Clockwork saw _everything_, well, in the timeline anyway. And what about that last remark? Of course he was concerned! Nevertheless, he cleared his throat and stood to his full height and replied, "You know that I know that I want to know why I'm here." He paused as bit, not sure if what he just said made any sense, but he then frowned in irritation as he pressed on, "Uh, _**why **_am I here?"

"Good question, young half-ghost, and most properly to the point," Konsilisto piped in.

Danny rolled his eyes in irritation and then winced when a bolt of pain shot through his forehead briefly, only to have it add to the dull throb of a headache which still hadn't gone away. Still, even as he closed his eyes and quickly rubbed his forehead once again, he replied, "So, your point is….?"

Justeco floated slightly toward the ghost teen as he said, "Because of our past alliance, the High Tribunal Council allowed Konsilisto and me to speak directly to you about this manner rather then bring you to the full Council itself at this moment."

'''_Alliance'? I thought we were friends,"_ Danny immediately thought. He was about to object when Justeco interrupted his thoughts.

"There are grave misgivings within the entire High Tribunal Council that no matter what has happened in the past and how you are now, you will nevertheless be an impediment to Time and Existence unless…."

He stopped a moment, as if unsure on what to say next…

But in effect, there was a slight hitch in the program that Vlad had thought he had debugged long before this.

"Maddie!" he exclaimed, a bit in a panic. "The patch to this program…!"

"On it!" she answered enthusiastically.

But then, Vlad heard and saw more…

"Unless _**what**_?" Danny suddenly demanded, getting even more annoyed at this whole situation.

"Unless….unless….we test you," Justeco finally eked out.

Vlad sighed in relief. That unintentional pause turned out to be perfect timing for the effect!

Danny suddenly chuckled a bit, "Is that all? Why did you have to haul me all the way here—" He suddenly frowned in disapproval before continuing, "—which, by the way, could have come _**without **_all that pain and rudeness—when I would have gladly taken any test you wanted to give me had you just _**asked**_ me?"

This time, the Observants were not the only ones who blinked in surprise.

But trying to deflate the tension in the air, Danny smiled weakly and hitching that smile slightly up and to the right, added, "But I know that you're still not up on all those 'human behavior' things, so I'm happy to give you an out. So, can we please start again?"

Justeco's eye suddenly narrowed in gravity as he replied, "You still do not understand, young half-ghost. This is a very serious situation. It is obvious that you have changed since the time we last met. And if we find that you are indeed becoming powerful enough to threaten the future, we have to enforce the consequences."

This time, Danny's smile fell into a frown before he said with a bit of irritation in his voice once more, "Haven't we been through all of this before, Justeco? And what's with this 'more powerful enough to threaten the future' thing? Yeah, I'm getting older, but so what? And you know I don't want to do anything wrong or hurt anyone or anything like that... I'm just 'me' like always!"

But then, the teen thought about all the changes he had been going through and thinking about lately. Did _**that **_have something to do with all of this? He wasn't sure, but he sure wasn't going to tell them anything about all that, because it didn't matter. He was still the same person inside, and they should know and understand that.

Yet, still a bit annoyed at their misjudging him again, Danny continued "Look, guys, I don't get all of this and, honestly, I don't care which futuristic boob tube you're looking at, 'cause it's _**wrong**_! I won't be a threat to you or Time or Existence _**or whatever**_ because I don't want to be; and of all spirits, you _both_ should know that!"

But the two Observants merely narrowed their eyes a bit more, their gaze suddenly looking eerie as well as serious even as they stayed mute.

That was enough to spook the boy a little. They were _**very**_ serious about this.

And now he grew very upset at the lack of their response as he added, "So, I can see by your faces, uh, eyes, that you don't believe me. Well, I'm sorry that you don't. And I'm sorry that it looks like we may have started back on 'square one' again—but let's make it perfectly clear that it's by _**your doing**_, not mine! So, you'll just have to roll with it when I say now that I don't care what you think because, again, you're _**just plain wrong **_about it all!"

Once again, all the two ghosts did was look at him—with that same strange glint in their eyes.

This time, Danny bit the inside of his lower lip just before he pressed on, "But I'm not sorry to say that you had _**no right**_ to kidnap me at all, especially since you should know by now that the future is not set in stone as you think it is… So, until you can come up with some hard evidence—which I seriously doubt you will—I'll be going now!"

Danny turned to leave when, suddenly, he was surrounded by a cylindrical glass receptacle. It had metal caps on each end, the top one bearing an emblem of an Observant eye on the outside and large disc on its inside, which had multiple holes in it, like the multiple spouts of a large shower head. The bottom cap was surrounded by a ring of thick spikes which kept the tube from tipping over. But there was more to it. The Spectral Barometer hovered over the top of the glass tube, emitting its energy around it as if it were a magnet to steel.

"What the…..?" Danny growled in anger, his eyes and hands instantly flaring green.

"Regrettably, the High Tribune Council was right in saying that you would not be cooperative, Danny Phantom," Konsilisto said, before adding, "So, we must keep you here as an unwitting guest."

"For the record, I don't want to be _**any**_ kind of 'guest' here right now," Danny answered back, his voice muffled a bit because of the glass.

"Joking will not help the matter, youngling," Justeco seriously commented.

"I wasn't joking," Danny replied, narrowing his eyes in irritation just before his eyes turned bluer and a double dose of his ice rays shot forth from his eyes, instantly covering the entire small oval glass box in which he was in frost and ice. He then grunted in concentration and created a large green energy ball, which quickly surrounded him but stayed within the iced-over receptacle.

But before the young half-ghost could spew out his green ectoplasmic energy along with his anger, he screamed at the sudden pain that penetrated and pulsed throughout his body. The receptacle in which he was in had been charged with greenish-blue electricity at that moment, instantly zapping the boy and melting the ice. And in that instant, Danny's headache was ten times worse and now he was dizzy.

"As you can see _and feel_, Danny Phantom," Justeco said with total gravity, "This is a similar receptacle we used for Vortex along with the Spectral Barometer to keep him under control. We call it the 'Spectral Neutralizer'. If we must, we will not hesitate to use them both on you to get you to cooperate with us. We must qualify and quantify your power and in order to do that, our series of tests will commence in due time."

"_**Tests?**_ You said there would only be _**one**_ test at first!" Danny objected again before getting zapped once more. Panting a bit with this newest pain, he still continued, "I don't care what you do to me, I refuse to cooperate at all now!"

But as if the spirits had either not heard the boy—or were purposely ignoring him—Konsilisto replied, "All of your human _and ghost_ amenities will, of course, be taken care of. We need you fully rested, well-fed and at your ideal strength for each test in order to generate the proper analysis of the data."

"Which, _**again**_, will be totally meaningless if I refuse to cooperate!" Danny insisted more forcefully this time, still trying to shake the dizziness from his head even as he was quickly inspecting the glass receptacle for any flaws.

"I think you will cooperate, youngling," Justeco calmly said, before pausing a bit. "You must know that we find stooping to this level most distasteful. But we know that it will be quite effective at least against—and more meaningful to—your human half."

"What are you talking a—….?" Danny began, frowning with confusion, only to gasp to silence.

A computer-like monitor shaped like one of those putrid-eye televisions that had been in the Observants' trial room when he had the displeasure of being in it over a year ago had appeared out of nowhere and had instantly displayed a picture of his mother lying peaceably asleep. Odd, though. He instantly knew she wasn't at home because she was tucked into a very fancy bed in a room which also looked very ornate.

"Where _is_ she and what have you done to her?" he immediately growled, now livid with anger and suspicion about all of this. "And what have you done with my father?"

"We are not interested in _all_ of your family and friends, young half-ghost. We have chosen only one to represent them, since we know that they are all equally dear to your central core. So, we have brought only your maternal unit here as a tool to make sure you cooperate to the fullest," Konsilisto piped in.

Justeco added, "We knew you would go to the extreme in making it difficult for us if we did not have—as you would say—an 'ace up our sleeves'. We have no intention to harm your mother in the least, unless we are forced to by your choices. But in the meantime, we have maids to attend to her amenities. But should you be uncooperative…."

"I still don't get all of this, but it doesn't matter. I didn't think you Observants were _**this**_ lame and despicable, but obviously I'm totally wrong," Danny tersely interrupted. He then sighed in resignation. He would never give even the remotest doubt to these jerks that he would allow his mother to be in peril in the least. "I will take your stupid tests."

"And participate in them at your very best?" Konsilisto countered.

"And participate in them to my very best—once you let my mother go," the ghost teen countered back.

"Not an option," Justeco emotionlessly replied. "We know from first-hand experience that you would only try to escape each time."

Danny growled in anger and frustration. That was very true. They had him now.

"Looks like you'll have it your way, then—for now," the boy sarcastically replied. "But if you hurt even one hair on her head…."

"Threat noted, young half-ghost," was all Justeco said just before he nodded a silent signal to his brother.

At once, Konsilisto pulled out a small rectangular device and pushed a red button.

Danny screamed in immense pain as the greenish-blue electricity riveted his body once more. This time, its effects were purposely strong enough to knock him completely unconscious…..

Vlad smirked at the end of this program just as he pushed a button. The Spectral Neutralizer immediately sloughed off of the senseless ghost teen just as it morphed into a net-like cot. It caught Danny's body before he could fall completely to the ground.

"Perfect!" the man gushed. "The details you added to this program were priceless, my dear. But now, we will give Daniel a couple of hours to recuperate before we start the next step!"

"As you command, sir," Maddie the hologram replied with a huge grin on her face.

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><p><strong>AN: Heh-heh, I hope I caught some of you by surprise by these turn of events; but hey, you know me: I do so love surprises, so heh-heh, you know! And, of course I hope you liked this chapter as well. And if you do, how about surprising me with a share of your thoughts on this chappie? I would soitantly love it! Nyuck-nyuck. Well, okay, I know that was very random, but I did like the Three Stooges at one time, so for some weird reason they popped in my head just now! *pops forehead* Until next time, then, dear readers! truephan *Nyuck-nyuck***


	8. Chapter 8 Level One: Omega Ghosts

**A/N: Hiya, everybodee! I am SOO excited because—FINALLY— this is the start of the Fantomos Ecto-Scale rating of the ghosts and spirits! And now it's time for its unveiling, even if it's going to be done slowly. But like Vlad said about his master plan:** **"After all, to do it right is to do it slowly, like bringing the perfect recipe to a perfect boil under the perfect fire…"**

**Heh-heh, right, fruitloop! But before we get on this wild ride, I have an important and EXCITING aside to tell y'all about! One of my good friends and readers is an artist! And she surprised me with not one, but TWO AWESOME pixs of one of my original characters from one of my other stories! Thank you so much, Phyllis Joy Wolfe! I love them! One of the pix is how she personally conceptualized Jiva from **_**Shadow of a Doubt**_** and the other is more of a 'Butch Hartman' conception of Jiva from **_**Shadow of a Doubt**_**. I hope y'all will get a chance to take a peek at both pix and let Phyllis Joy Wolfe know how great she did with them! Here are the links. And, of course, take out the spaces I needed to put in them in order for FF to let you see them!**

phyllisjoywolfe. Deviantart # /d 4wvjcc

phyllisjoywolfe. deviantart # /d4x 30yy

**And a special thanks also goes to coopt98 for your last review. I would have given you a personal PM but it was not available.**

**Now, without further ado, I hope you have your seat belts on because the wild ride begins—slowly as they all start, of course. So, here is the first of the ghosts on the Fantomos Ecto-Scale for the ratings of all ghosts and spirits within the Ghost Zone and beyond that Danny is going to have to face! Oh, and don't forget that I do not own any characters except my OCs and, of course, I totally own the plot of this story! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 8—Level <strong>One<strong>—_Omega _Ghosts

"It is time to arise, youngling," Konsilisto dryly said as he nudged the teen, pushing him with the tip of his weapon.

Still in his ghost form and now lying upon the black cot, Danny groaned as he heard the familiar voice and felt the sharp nudge encouraging him out of his stupor. His head hurt. And as his mind slowly cleared, he was aware of another sensation. A burning one.

He was hungry.

The teen slowly began to get up and groaned again now that his memory came into full focus. He tried to rub the pain off his face. How long had he been out? And what time was it? But then, as his mind became less muddled, he decided that he didn't care about that…Besides, he knew that time was irrelevant here.

When he finally opened his eyes and pulled himself up to a sit on the cot, he saw a table nearby with a full breakfast laid out. His eyes widened at the sight. It sure looked like real food, and then he sniffed the air. And it sure _smelled_ like real food, especially when it smelled like his favorite breakfast.

And, truly, it was real. Vlad had made sure of that, of course, and would equally make sure to have it available at his discretion without the boy's knowing how it got there.

"Your amenities, young half-ghost," the other Observant, who was, of course, Justeco, said as he pointed to the table full of food.

Danny frowned a bit and slightly growled, "How's my mother? I want to see her."

Konsilisto's eye also narrowed a bit in irritation at the boy's demand and he only reported, "She is well and her amenities are also being attended to, I assure you."

"I can't be 'assured' about anything right now," the boy deadpanned.

But then Danny gasped when he felt his left hand being jolted upward and then pulled palm up all on its own. An instant later, two small items appeared in the palm of that same hand without his expecting them. He quickly picked the things up with his right hand and pulled them to his eye level. He recognized the small tube of a familiar-colored lipstick and a small bluish-green swath of torn stretchy cloth at once. He swallowed thickly before he gritted his teeth and looked up at the two spirits. He wasn't even aware that he had wrapped his hand firmly around his mother's things and then let his hand fall to his side.

"You can be assured that this is what you need to know: your mother is well and her amenities are being well-attended to," Justeco replied.

"Well, if brazenly taking stuff from her is what you call 'amenities', I can _assure_ you that she and I don't like it one bit," Danny tersely replied, finally standing while unconsciously fisting his hands at his sides. Nevertheless, he was silently relieved to hear—or at least, hoped—that his mother was all right. Still, he added with almost a growl, "But since you haven't let me see her since you rudely knocked me out and then just as rudely woke me up just now, she had better be all right or…"

Purposely interrupting the boy while narrowing his eye in challenge, Justeco replied, "Once again, threat noted….and I will expect it not to be acted upon, young half-ghost."

Danny glared back, but instantly relaxed his hands when he finally noticed how tight they were. He then shoved his mother's things into his one of his pockets before he glanced at the spirits again. He dryly remarked, "You expect me not to do anything to threaten you, yet you're not going to let me see my mother. How's that proper?"

The two spirits silently glanced at the other again and then Justeco lifted his hand.

Danny's eyes widened. It was the High Tribune's Timeless Magic orb! But before he could say anything, a small screen just like the one that the Observants had first shown the boy appeared out of thin air. Not a heartbeat later and the screen blinked on.

His mother was still lying peacefully in bed.

"Why is she still asleep?" he immediately asked, now a bit more worried.

"You forget that time is irrelevant here, young half-ghost," Konsilisto replied. "Our attendants will make sure she keeps on a proper human schedule."

Just as the spirit said that, however, the screen disappeared.

Danny growled in frustration, but it was short-lived. He was more relieved now that he saw that his mom looked okay for the time being.

And now that the boy had relaxed slightly, he was aware of several more sensations, especially when his eyes drifted over to the table again. Oh, yeah.

He finally said with a bit of sarcasm in his voice, "All right, for now. But at least the food looks and smells better than that other stuff you _barely_ fed me when I was your 'unwitting guest' _**back**_ _**then**_."

The boy didn't even wait for a response. He reverted to his human state before taking a few steps to his right rather than to the table. All the while he looked around, as if searching for something.

"You do not want your nourishments, young half-ghost?" Konsilisto asked when he could plainly see that the boy was interested in something other than the nourishment.

Gritting his teeth a bit, the boy replied, "Yeah, I have to admit that I do." But then he hesitated briefly before he added with a tinge of embarrassment, "But I have other….amenities."

But all the Observants did was stare at him in confusion.

Once again, the boy hesitated. He then sighed and after nervously rubbing the back of his neck, broke the awkward silence. "You know, I also have to do…other things—_more_ _human things."_

It took a few more moments of comprehending before each of the ghosts' eyes registered what the boy meant.

"Oh. That's right," Justeco began. "The door to it is over there in the far dark corner."

'The door to it is over there in the far dark corner'….Vlad's female computer typed up the last set of dialogue commands just in the nick of time as Vlad looked over her shoulder. He had just about forgotten about those little….details.

Nevertheless, she then continued to type in even more of Vlad's commands and a small door appeared in that very same far dark corner. The small 'necessity' room had always been a part of Vlad's simulation room, but it was built with the intention to be hidden and to not obstruct in any way the overall purpose of the simulation room. Therefore, it, too, was designed to withstand whatever would happen in the simulation room, including being ghost-proof if necessary.

"Make sure it remains available for the boy for the rest of the duration, Maddie," Vlad finally directed.

"Yes, sir," she said with a smile as she prepared the next sequence of computer commands.

Danny was back in no time and then wasted no more of it and headed to the table full of food. He didn't realized how famished he was until he began to eat. In fact, he ate more than double what he usually ate and was glad that the Observants had put out enough food so he would not have to ask for more.

Now refreshed, the teen sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, a thread of satisfaction surfacing in his mind. But then he silently chided himself. He wasn't _**that**_ satisfied. He was still worried about his mother. And there was still the business of starting those lame tests for these jerks—or even having to be here for that matter.

"Alright, I'm ready for those stupid tests," Danny finally said as he reverted back to his ghost side.

"So soon? We thought humans could get sick if they did vigorous exercises right after eating," Konsilisto asked.

Danny rolled his eyes in irritation as he almost growled back, "Why are you suddenly so concerned about all that? Geez, if you were so worried about my feelings and all that, you wouldn't have ever brought me here in the first place!"

Suddenly, Danny felt a bolt of pain shoot through his forehead. He still had that headache! He closed his eyes a moment and quickly rubbed his forehead. When he opened his eyes again, he inadvertently glanced at Konsilisto and frowned in even more aggravation.

Danny pointed to the beige weapon in Konsilisto's hand and snapped, "And do you really have to have that thing here? You should know that I wouldn't do anything as putrid as you've done to me. But if you think I would, why don't you just put another collar on me and just let my mom go?"

The two Observants turned to each other and quietly muttered something to each other.

Though Danny could barely hear or make out what they were saying, he knew they were speaking in Esperanto. He rolled his eyes in annoyance once again. These two definitely were in competition with any drama queen he knew. But before he could say anything more, Justeco spoke again.

"As we explained in the beginning, young half-ghost, we need to make sure we monitor your abilities while you have your full powers available."

Danny blushed even though he was still peeved and remarked, "Yeah, I knew that."

Konsilisto added, "And obviously you have not forgotten that your mother will be our guest for the duration. But if it makes you more compliant in order to cooperate with less complications, then…"

The Counselor extended the hand holding the beige weapon and the slender rod disappeared in the next instant.

"Now that you know that we are willing to trust that you will do as we instruct, we will no longer need to show our seriousness in a tangible way," Justeco added.

However, neither what they did or said—even when they had actually complimented him—appeased the young ghost in the least, especially when he was still groggy and had a slight headache. Why did these two act so coldly about everything one moment and then seem so caring the next? It was weird to say the least. True, the Observants were usually not ones to really show any concern about any other being one way or the other whenever their precious Time and Existence were in peril. But, he thought they had changed. Still…

Suddenly, Danny cringed at a new sharp pain that stabbed the side of his head and just as suddenly didn't really care to give them any slack. He crankily replied, "How about if we just cut out the fake banter and get on with these tests? The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can get me and my mom home."

"Very well, young half-ghost," Justeco began without any twinge of emotion in his voice. "You are to come with us."

The Observant High Tribune immediately led the way with his brother and counselor, Konsilisto, right on his spectral tail.

Sighing and shaking his head in both irritation and resignation, Danny quickly floated after them as they all left his cell.

As they traveled along the corridors, Danny suddenly felt the hair on the back of his head stand on end a bit.

"Major déjà vu," he mumbled under his breath as he remembered this hallway full of doors. "Let's hope that this feeling ends right here, too."

Before too long, however, the Observants drifted to an area that Danny had never seen before. And, oddly, the further they ventured into it, the colder and darker it became. Once again, he felt his hackles uncomfortably creep upward.

"_Now I wish this was major déjà vu instead of major heebie-jeebies. It was more comfortable_," the boy thought with a hard swallow.

Nevertheless, he continued following the spirits until the Observants slowed. Danny could barely make out what looked like some kind of lone door just ahead. Odd, though: it seemed to ooze out of the darkness and it had a very dull, strange glow to it.

Finally, the trio reached the door. Justeco pulled out a golden key out of thin air and quickly unlocked it. More of that dull, strange glow eked out from the other side; but the High Tribune and his brother didn't hesitate to enter or leave the door ajar for the boy.

Danny gulped slightly as he passed through the eerie entrance. As soon as he did, however, the door slammed hard and fast behind him, and he startled slightly. But that only irritated him right afterward though he didn't stop and continued to move further into the very large room. He reflexively scanned the area without slowing and frowned. What did they expect him to do in this place? It reminded him of the gym at Casper High, only that it was totally empty and its walls and floor were all bleak and black.

Finally, Justeco and Konsilisto stopped right in the middle of the room and turned around, looking at the boy with anticipation.

Danny frowned in irritation again as he walked closer to the spirits.

Once he was satisfied that the young half-ghost was close enough, Justeco then said, "This is a special new focal point where we have access to all of the worlds and dimensions. We can bring them to us in this area as we will. It is called the 'Time and Existence Chamber'. And this is where you will be for the rest of the duration and for all of the tests, young half-ghost. That is, if you cooperate. If need be, we will not hesitate to confine you back to your prison cell or to the Spectral Receptacle if you do not cooperate. Plus, we will withhold a nourishment session should we need to send you to your cell or if you continue to be obstinate. And, as you well know, we have our other 'ace up our sleeve' factor. The choice will be yours."

"How about the 'choice' of going home?" the boy grumbled under his breath.

Justeco heard what the boy had said, but ignored it as he continued, "For the most part, we will greatly limit any more direct contact with you than is absolutely necessary. After all, we will be busy analyzing and discussing the data. But also know that we will be observing everything to be assured that you are doing your best for all parties concerned."

Instantly understanding what he was implying, Danny quickly objected, "Hold on. What about my mother? How will I know that she's okay if you don't have any more 'direct contact' with me?"

"Point taken, youngling," Konsilisto replied. "We will allow a daily, yet brief, check on her."

"You won't even let me talk to her?" Danny slightly gasped.

The boy knew that the Observants hadn't really answered his question when Justeco said, "All that is necessary is that you will see for yourself that she is unharmed. Now, we are no longer going to engage in any more conversation. The tests must commence."

Before Danny could object more, the two spirits disappeared from sight. Still, the boy yelled out into the air with his next thought, "Hey! You haven't told me anything about those stupid tests yet! How many are there and what am I supposed to do, anyhow?"

But only the ever fading echoing of his words answered him.

He then grumbled to himself, "Well, I guess that's why they're called 'tests'."

The young hybrid walked around, scanning the area more thoroughly this time. He saw a small door in the far corner directly opposite of where he had entered and quickly flew over to it. He turned the knob and his heart leapt a bit.

It was unlocked!

But then he grumbled again when it turned out to be the opening to….a bathroom.

"Looks like they do mean for me to stay a while," he said in irritation as he quickly shut the door and turned around.

But instead of moving aimlessly, Danny stopped and visually searched the area even more. There was _nothing _here! Suddenly, however, he smiled mischievously as an idea surfaced from his head, _"Well, then, 'tests' can also mean 'experimenting', and they didn't say anything about me doing my own investigation!"_

He immediately soared up toward the ceiling. But before he reached it, he gasped when the atmosphere began to tremble and the walls and ceiling began to twist and turn unnaturally. And suddenly, though the entire room was still shaking, the blackness wasn't there anymore. Instead, it had gotten brighter before all sorts of colors began to bleed into the area. But there was more. The colors also spiraled around each other, constantly churning and changing, as if the boy was caught up in a large psychedelic kaleidoscope.

In no time, however, those colors morphed only into a purple, green and black background. And the entire area finally stopped trembling.

Still hovering in place, even as he instantly recognized the place, Danny gasped in disbelief, "The Ghost Zone? How did they do that?" Then blushing a bit at his next thought, he added, "Oh, yeah, they said they can do that. Still, I can't believe it!"

But really, he couldn't deny it because it _felt_ exactly like the Ghost Zone felt whenever he was in it and in his ghost form.

Nevertheless, he had no more time to think about it because, suddenly, he saw a small point of green light shining like a distant star right in front on him; only that, it was steadily growing larger by the millisecond! And then, his ghost sense was activated an instant later.

"_Time to move!_" he silently commanded himself as he quickly bolted away, easily avoiding the small green ectoplasmic beam that had been meant for him.

But then, there was silence right after that for several minutes.

Danny briefly scratched the side of his head and frowned as he thought, _"Was that it?"_

He then chided himself when he spied another green beam coming at him, "_Should have known better than to think that!"_

Once again, the young hybrid easily avoided the ray. And this time, he frowned in annoyance when nothing but utter silence followed that assault again.

"_Well, looks like whatever is trying to hit me is pretty lame,"_ he thought, trying to figure out the purpose of this particular 'test'. _"But I'm not going to just sit here and be its target practice, either!"_

The teen quickly willed a green ectoplasmic shield and headed right toward the point where he was sure both beams of ectoplasmic energy had originated. His ghostly eyes darted back and forth, visually sweeping the area as he forged ahead.

But suddenly, the boy felt a strong chill grip his ghostly core before it immediately rushed up and down his spine. At that instant, he began to feel slightly weak and dizzy again. He unwittingly dispelled his shield as he struggled to control himself.

"_Not now!"_ he mentally screamed, instantly knowing that he was having one of those 'spells' with his powers that were becoming more common than not.

In the next instant, however, he was being propelled back by another green ectoplasmic beam. He yelled at the slight sting and growled in anger. He shook his head, trying to focus, when he was hit by yet another ghostly ray.

"Alright!" he yelled into the air, steeling himself to the pain of the attack. "You definitely have my attention! Who are you and what do you want?"

But only another green ectoplasmic energy beam answered him. He quickly conjured up another green shield just in the nick of time. The assaulting ray immediately ricocheted off of the shield and was swallowed up by the surrounding atmosphere.

This time, Danny darted forward in more earnest, now very irritated at what he knew was some kind of stealth ghost that was attacking him. He just passed an empty purple floating shelf when he spied a small green blur darting right behind a black boulder upon another purple floating shelf in the not-to-far distance. He narrowed his eyes in concentration. Now it was _his_ turn to be stealth as he increased his speed toward that boulder.

When he felt that he had built up enough momentum, even as the boulder quickly loomed ahead and looked as if he was going to slam right into it, Danny changed back into his human form at the last second. He phased right through the boulder and just as he cleared it, he willed his transformation rings just in time to morph and to grab the offending ghost—well, if he wanted to call it that, since it was totally shapeless and really didn't have much of what he would call a face.

Still, he had learned from listening to and dealing with all sorts of ghosts—not to mention that his parents had been compiling information on all the ghosts as well— that this had to be one of many of what the ghosts called the _Malfortas _**[1]**; that is, the weakest—or were at a power level of 'one'—ghosts on the _Fantomos_ _Ecto-Scale_ used to measure the power level of ghosts. These ghosts were shapeless and, really, brainless—or they had some kind of form and were still as equally brainless. And they also made up the largest segment of the ghost population in the Ghost Zone.

But in any case, they were considered 'Level One' ghosts, and were all named _Omega_ ghosts by Vlad according to his own scale within the Program he named 289—Level One—_Omegas_.

Danny knew it couldn't speak, even if it could emit some kind of irritating and weak ghostly wail of a sort as it was doing right now; but he was also surprised that it had attacked him as it did. Usually, these ghosts were no threat, and avoided more powerful ghosts. But when they did offer some kind of resistance to any other more powerful ghost—usually under duress—they were more like mosquitoes, that is, merely simple nuisances, and just as easily swatted and defeated. But not only could they be easily defeated; but if he chose, a more powerful ghost could do even more harm to these weakest of the ghosts with very little effort.

Once Danny refocused back on the creature still within his tight grip, however, he was suddenly aware that it was shivering. And it wasn't really wailing…it seemed to be _whimpering_. He instantly thought that it must be frightened. And just as suddenly, he was moved with pity for it. Maybe the Observants had also forced it into this situation as much as he had been.

He let the creature go and gently said, "Hey, no offense there, fella. But, really, that wasn't very smart…." _'Duh'_, he silently corrected himself, remembering how dumb _Malfortas_ were. But he then continued, "I mean, I really don't want to fight you, so let's just forget about all of this, okay?"

But much to the boy's shock, the _Malforta _raised a newly-formed arm-like projection and slammed it right into his jaw, sending the teen backward. The teen smacked right into the boulder behind him with quite a thud from the force.

"Ouch!" Danny uttered before jolting upward in irritation. Still, he didn't want to attack the ghost with an ectoplasmic ray, as he knew he would easily destroy it here in the Ghost Zone. Instead, he charged at it with his clenched fists.

The _Malforta, _however, answered the boy's charge with several of its very weak ghost rays.

Danny easily twisted his flight and avoided all of the attempts the creature threw at him this time; and because the boy was so swift, he was upon the ghost before it knew it. The young half-ghost quickly swiped it with a powerful left hook—though Danny hadn't put his full strength behind it.

The _Malforta_ instantly ricocheted off the blow and ended up plastered against the same boulder into which he had first sent Danny. It oozed down to the bottom of the large black rock and lay still, unconscious in a puddle of green goo.

Instead of smiling in triumph, however, Danny growled, and shaking his fist in righteous anger, yelled up into the air, "That's not fair, Justeco! You know I could easily defeat that ghost! Just what was the point of all that? To see if I would torture it or something worse? Well, you should have known the answer to that as well! You wasted your time and at the same time, did a _great_ job insulting me with your insinuations with this lame test!"

But as if in answer to the boy's remonstration, Danny saw a fairly large and diverse cluster of _Malfortas_ suddenly headed his way! There were many sizes, shapes and colors represented among the crowd as they increased their speed toward the young half-ghost.

"Oh, no!" he uttered under his breath, even as an idea suddenly lit up his brain. He then thought about what the Observants had said: _'We must qualify and quantify your power and in order to do that, our series of tests will commence in due time…._ _We need you fully rested and at your ideal strength for each test in order to generate the proper analysis of the data.' _He then muttered_, _"So is that all that they want me to do? Just to fight ghosts?"

Still watching the group close in, the boy frowned as he said, "How else can they 'qualify and quantify' my power unless they measure it against the power of other ghosts? So, they _**do**_ want me to just fight ghosts! Geez, haven't they seen enough of me doing that from all that 'observing' they've done in the past?"

But the young hybrid had no more time to think about it. He glanced at the horde still nearing him just as several green, red and blue ectoplasmic rays jetted out from within it. He instantly propelled himself upward, avoiding each of the beams with ease, and leaving that group below him. But then, he gasped. More _Malfortas_ were now coming at him from _above_!

And then he glanced to his left when something caught the corner of his eye. He jolted in slight shock. Now even more _Malfortas_ had been sent to challenge him! On a hunch, he then looked to his right and was not as surprised to see that another large set of those same ghosts was fast approaching.

With a sigh, Danny muttered, "Me and my big mouth! And looks like I have no other choice in the matter, since it looks like those lame Observants are trying to get me cornered after all!"

He then yelled out defiantly into the air again, "Okay, you jerks! As we say in poker, I call! But I refuse to do more than just keep them in check!"

With that, Danny closed his eyes and concentrated. A bright green aura instantly surrounded him. A moment later, he replicated into four and then he and each of his duplicates headed to confront the four sets of _Malfortas_north, east, west and south of him…

Without hesitating this time, every one of the 'Dannys' plowed into the mass of ghosts, quickly knocking them over as easily as bowling pins. But just as he had thought he had defeated them all, even more _Malfortas _appeared in their places.

Still, the boy and his duplicates remain the victors each time. But the _Malfortas _would not be deterred and merely added reinforcements upon reinforcements even as they were easily subdued.

And then, as time dragged on, and even as all the 'Dannys' kept on defeating all of their foes….

…Vlad and his computer-generated image of Maddie had been watching everything from the control room. For, even though it did seem differently, Danny had never left the simulation room during the entire time he was with the Observants and now.

And while Maddie the holograph was busily compiling all types of data on the fighting Ghost Boy, Vlad was intensely watching the boy's method of attack. Though it was obvious Daniel was restraining himself, it was just as obvious that the boy wasn't tiring in the least.

"At least it looks as if he has learned 'form' as the result of all of his ghost fighting. And his strategy isn't too bad, either," the older hybrid mused as he continued to watch the melee. "Still, there is some need for improvement. So, really, I don't think he can keep it up for too long. So, let's see how all of this ends, shall we?"

And during the time it took for minutes to eat minutes, and hours to devour hours, lunchtime had long passed and Vlad had been so enthralled with how Daniel was holding out, that he really wouldn't have paid too much attention to suppertime had he not heard his stomach growl.

But he didn't want to leave. Not just yet. So, he quickly pushed a button and a voice answered.

"Yes, sir?"

"I'll have dinner in the simulation control room, George," the man informed his ghost chef.

"Yes, sir," came the reply.

In no time, the butler of the house had come and gone after depositing the dinner tray for the master of the house.

Once again, Vlad was too distracted by the scene in the simulation room and really just picked at his meal.

"How is he able to do all of this after not having eaten or rested since this morning?" the man mused out loud as he absent-mindedly placed a bite in his mouth.

"All the data so far indicate that the test subject is generating his own energy," Maddie the hologram replied.

"Yes, I knew he could do that, and that his core is extremely dynamic, but exactly why and how can he do it? After all, he still needs food whether human or ghost. And even I would be feeling some affects by now without food…" he said before frowning and adding, "But just the beginning of it, so not that much."

The computer then replied, "I cannot calculate a reason. Perhaps the test subject is feeling the effects, but the data does not fully support it. However, there is evidence that he is physically tiring, though not significantly as yet. Then there is a possibility that he will not be able to continue his actions for an extended length of time."

"Yes, perhaps," the man still mused as he continued to watch the fight.

But then, he felt hungrier and realized that he hadn't even touched even a quarter of his food. He then began to concentrate on finishing.

Finally, Vlad had long finished his dinner and all he could do was idly sit by watching as Daniel continued to fight all of those ghosts. He glanced at the clock, which registered the eighth hour after noon. He then glanced at the timer which had been activated with the first blow the boy had given that first _Malforta_. The boy had been at it for over ten hours and he was still fighting at the same pace as when he first had started! Of course, the fact that Daniel wasn't using any of his stronger powers may have accounted for that. But still…

Vlad sighed and even though he decided that this would take much longer than he had predicted, he wasn't disappointed. All this just solidified in his mind that the result of this first engagement would have a significant impact on the future ones. After all, endurance was a very important component of strength—and power— level.

Still, the older hybrid didn't think he could sit here for the entire duration. He still had some business matters to clean up, and of course, there were those silly mayoral things to attend to. Plus, he had to make sure other things were in order. So, it was just as well that he would be able to preoccupy his mind with things other than those dealing with Daniel at the moment.

Finally, he said, "Maddie dear. I don't think I need to see much more. After all, it's not particularly interesting to watch _Omega _ghosts get beaten with so much predictability. And I don't think I'll need to monitor this very simple program. So, I'm going to retire to my study and then to bed shortly afterward. But please let me know of anything significant that happens, no matter what time it is."

"As you command, sir," she said with a smile as she returned to the controls.

Vlad quickly left and headed to his study. But as time ticked away, and his business and civic matters fell into order, his mind drifted back to the younger hybrid. And then, an idea seized his mind. He quickly went over to his computer and logged in. He remembered some instance that one of his spy bugs had stumbled upon a couple of years ago. And since he never deleted anything those instruments recorded, he smiled at his hunch.

After a bit longer than he had thought it would take, he finally found that piece. It was shortly after Daniel had gotten his powers and his blasted father had invented that ridiculous 'genetic lock' on his silly ghost portal. Vlad activated the DVD and watched it carefully.

He quickly saw Daniel fighting with a huge ghost cobra, and the creature had just slammed the boy into a wall. But that's not what Vlad was interested in. It was what the boy had said after he had recovered from the blow:

"Oh, come on! I've been fighting ghosts for twenty-four hours! Can't one be easy?" **[2]**

The man instantly stopped the tape and uttered with widened eyes, "Can the boy go that long? And that was about two years ago when he wasn't as powerful!"

Still trying to convince himself otherwise, the man reviewed the disc again. "Well, it's possible that he can't go for that long because back then he was using his ridiculous thermos to capture those ghosts right away rather than have an all-out fight with them the entire time. Not like what he has to do now, especially if he decides to use any of his other powers. So, we'll just have to wait and see; especially when I'm certain that Maddie will alert me if things change. In the meantime, I need to get my rest. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day!"

Vlad was suddenly aware of sunlight peeking out from a tiny opening in the blinds. He opened his eyes, instantly scrunching them when he realized there was more light than he expected. As his mind slowly cleared, he looked at the clock.

It was eight in the morning.

He pulled himself up and suddenly gasped, "Why hasn't Maddie called me yet?"

He jumped out of bed and without getting changed, threw on his bathrobe and slippers and headed to the simulation room control room.

But when he got there, the computer generated image of the love of his life was still monitoring the controls.

"Maddie, you were supposed to wake me if things had changed," he said, not aware of the reprimanding tone in his voice.

"But they haven't changed, sir. The test subject is fighting with the same strategy as when you left and has not used any more of his arsenal available to him. And he is fighting at nearly the same level as when you retired. There have been minor fluctuations, but I did not think the standard of deviation was significant enough to alert you," she reported.

Doing a quick rub of his eyes, the man went over to the monitors displaying the boy's vitals and Somato-Map and confirmed what Maddie had told him. He then glanced at the timer. The boy had been fighting quite vigorously and non-stop for almost twenty hours—all without a thermos or using any of his other powers other than replicating and producing ectoplasmic shields!

"I can't believe it!" Vlad suddenly uttered. "He's nearly at the same endurance level as I am!"

But then, as he re-checked the controls, warning signals began to blare. The man reflexively looked up and into the simulation room.

Finally, something was changing!

"Test subject has just lost enough power that he can no longer remain in duplication," Maddie dutifully reported.

And, indeed, she was accurate. Only now had Daniel begun to show signs of fatigue. But, it was still painfully obvious that the boy wasn't going to stop in the least.

"'Stubborn' is one of your middle names, too, Daniel," the man growled a bit, even as he couldn't prevent a slightly amused smile from playing on his lips.

As the minutes dragged on, however, it was becoming clearer and clearer that the boy wouldn't be able to continue much longer. Even still, Daniel kept up the fight in spite of the fact that he was now feeling the brunt of the battle. And a few moments later, the _Malfortas_ were finally able to press upon him to the point that Vlad could no longer see any part of the boy. But he knew that Daniel was still in for the count because the bulk of the_Omega_ ghosts were still being repelled even as they were trying to push inward as well.

The man was about to give the command to have the program cease when, suddenly, he _no longer_ saw the _Malfortas_ being repelled back! And then he saw a flash of bluish-white light eke out from the small gaps between the formless ghosts. This time, panic just as suddenly gripped him. Daniel must have finally succumbed to his exhaustion! And he also all of a sudden remembered that there was a component of physical reality to most of the programs and he had not planned any fail-safe sub-program to keep any ghost from killing the boy!

"Quickly, Maddie, turn off the program!" he commanded.

The holographic female immediately deactivated the program and all of the _Malfortas_ instantly evaporated.

The man's eyes widened a bit when he saw the _human _Daniel floating helplessly where he had indeed collapsed from exhaustion and under the brunt all of those last blows.

"And deactivate the ghost shield," Vlad then added.

Just as Maddie had said 'done', Vlad quickly morphed, became intangible, and soared over to the senseless teen. And as the older hybrid neared the younger, he could then see that exhaustion was not all that had taken its toll on the younger half-ghost. Daniel's body was littered with fresh ectoplasmic burns, cuts and bruises. And his black hair was plastered with sweat or was singed, no doubt by some of those _Malfortas'_ energy blows once Daniel had begun to tire significantly. The boy had taken quite a beating in the end, something Vlad was sure Daniel could have easily avoided.

"_No doubt you didn't use the full extent of your powers to destroy those Omega ghosts as I certainly would have, Daniel,"_ he thought, looking down at what he was certain was the totally unconscious teen with both irritation and even a bit of regret. _"Otherwise, this 'test' would have ended a lot sooner and you could have been no worse for the wear, except for simple fatigue."_ He audibly sighed before he added, "You and your blasted 'hero complex'! Don't you know that _Malfortas_ aren't worth that?" But he then paused a bit before he lifted the boy up and sighed, "But then again, I wouldn't have expected less of you, Daniel."

He then called out into the room, "Activate Program 288 OJ, Maddie."

In just a few moments, the surroundings morphed into the Observant jail, including the narrow cot. Vlad gently laid the boy down on the small bed and then turning intangible, quickly returned to the simulation control room.

"Shall I next activate programs 287-B, 287-SH, and first of the series of Level Two ghosts by using the Subliminal Helmet, sir?" the computer asked.

"No, my dear. Daniel will be allowed to sleep—for as long as he needs. He is no good to me if he can't even respond to what I have next in store for him. And actually, I knew how this 'test' would end. And I also knew that all of this would take time and I'm willing to wait for the victory. In the meantime, then, I have to tend to his wounds….And I want you to make sure that an abundant meal is ready for him as soon as he wakes. But be sure that once he is through eating, he is placed back into _delta_ sleep shortly after that. We don't want Daniel to get himself into any unplanned trouble, now do we? And, Maddie dear, there will be no need to alert me unless something significant happens, all right? After all, I have a lot to do today and, if need be, also need my sleep tonight. And then, we will begin again with the 'Level 2' ghosts in hardly any time. They may be considered as much nuisance as the _Omega_ ghosts, but Daniel will have to have a bit more alert when trying to defeat them."

"As you command, sir," the holograph replied as she pushed some buttons.

And as Vlad left to retrieve the needed ghostly medicines, he thought back to the program to which Daniel had just been subjected.

He had purposely devised most of the programs to have elements of physical reality so that Daniel's reactions to them would be more natural, and more importantly, _believable_ to the boy. After all, reacting to virtual stimuli was truly never the same as the real thing. Now of course that microchip imbedded behind Daniel's ear also made each scene just as real for the boy since he could activate the boy's somato-motor cortex at will. However, that would do for creating a 'convincing' reality on the _boy's end_. But being 'ever Vlad', the man had also wanted to make sure that giving each scene a realistic feel to them would make them equally believable on the actual _programs' end_.

And what had happened over a year ago had made that very possible…

Vlad had accidentally discovered the perfect tweak, the 'secret ingredient' so to speak, that would make the programs actually more real than virtual—including the dangers that could entail— when he had been experimenting with trying to improve the holography program of his computer system in order to make its projections more solid.

He had had a wild idea of trying to infuse his human DNA into a microchip to see if that would give the hologram a more realistic dimension. He was delighted when it worked! But then, his ever-curious mind tried another angle. What would happen if he tried to infuse his _ghost_ DNA into another microchip? Could he produce a holograph of himself this way? And he found out he could! Not only that, one of the things he discovered was that ghost DNA was very stable and the resultant holograph of that ghost was also very stable. That would have made some sense, of course, since holographic images were really quite 'ghostly' to begin with.

Then he wondered what would happen if he infused his human_ and_ ghost DNA into a microchip or holographic program _at the same time. _And just as he had hoped, he was able to make a perfect holographic replica of himself that had real physical attributes to it. In fact, the DNA had actually made designing the holographic result incredibly easy. But of course he went a step further than that and was successful in cloning the microchips so that he could use his 'cloned' human DNA to make whatever hologram he chose more solid. That is how he was able to create such realistic holographic images of Maddie, and Skulker, himself, Daniel and his friends when they were fighting Iluzisto last year.

Again, this had been one piece of the many pieces of the puzzle the man had put together to create his Master Plan 285. Skulker had helped him collect several more pieces of that puzzle, which really entailed gathering samples of the DNA of any ghost he had captured in order to infuse them into the program of Plasmius' choosing.

Indeed, all that hard work had been worth it. For now, Daniel had been essentially fighting several 'real-like' virtual clones of the ghosts— in this case, the _Omegas_—whose DNA he had obtained from the Hunter Ghost and had infused into his holographic programs.

But, of course, that wasn't the only surprise he had in store for his young adversary. He had to program these parts to carry an element of danger because of the ultimate dark purpose of his plan….

For now, however, he would heal the boy's wounds and then let him recover. And _that_ was just as well. He had to make sure of another task anyways. Plus, he had a lot of work to do in the city…..

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><p><strong>[1] <strong>_**Malfortas**_** is taken from the Esperanto phrase **_**plej malforta**_** meaning 'weakest'.**

**[2] Full credit for the original dialogue to the original authors of the Danny Phantom episode number 13, namely: Sib Ventress and Marty Isenberg. That episode was released in 2004 and aptly named '13'.**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, hope you like the first 'test'. And, BTW, for all my scientist friends out there—*raises hand as if swearing an oath*— I totally admit that all that DNA stuff is totally made up sci-fi-like junk science! I just wanted to explain a bit more about there being an element of realism all the way around for Danny, and all of that sounded 'good' to me at the time. Meh-heh. Besides, Ms. Hyde insisted on that, you know!**

**And just to make this more interesting from now on, I will now begin the 'count-down' on the rating list for all of the ghosts on the **_**Fantomos Ecto-Scale**_**. The **_**Malfortas**_** obviously, are the lowest group, and they are first up to bat:**

**LEVEL 1 Ghosts**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas**_** shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas**_**.**

**And, hey, it might be fun for you to guess where your fav ghost will end up on the list!**

**Ms. Hyde: OOOO. I bet I'm WAY up on the list.**

**Truephan: Uh, you're not a ghost, Ms. Hyde.**

**Ms. Hyde: *rolling her eyes* A mere technicality, dearie, especially since I am the one who actually **_**got**_** you the list, if you recall.**

**Truephan: *chuckles nervously* Well, you have a point. But we can discuss this as the tests resume, okay?**

**Ms. Hyde: We will see! In the meantime, all you dearies out there, please rate this chapter—or else!**

**Truephan: Uh…uh, what she means is thanks for your support and I hope to hear from you soon!**

**Ms. Hyde: No, I don't!**

**Truephan: We won't go there! Until next time, dearies! Uhm, heh-heh, I mean, dear readers!**


	9. Chap 9: Level TWO Ghosts: Friendly Fire

**A/N: Well, how is everyone? Are you ready for your LONG Memorial Day weekend? I sure am! We were planning to smoke—uh, as in smoke FOOD, LOL—but now it looks like that we not be able to after all because it's supposed to rain cats and dogs down here. Well, of course, we'll have to wait and see. But if it does rain, that means we'll be having hotdogs on the stove! Oh, well…**

**And speaking of seeing, looks like it's time for another chapter! Believe it or not, the list only had the**_**Malfortas**_**in the 'Level One' group—and I did check it twice to make sure! But there are several ghosts in the 'Level Two' category.**

**Egads! More fun stuff to know and tell! (Hey, I can't help it that my brain is so scrambled that I have to make sure you understand what comes out of it!) So, just for your information, Vlad, being Vlad, has listed the ghosts in each level using the Greek alphabet. The strongest ghost of each level would be the '**_**alpha'**_**ghost and then weaker ghosts would be labeled in order by the Greek alphabet. In other words, instead of saying, 'Level Two-1' for the strongest ghost, it would be 'Level Two-**_**alpha**_**'. And then the second strongest ghost would be 'Level Two-**_**beta'**_**, third strongest, 'Level Two-**_**gamma'**_**, fourth strongest, 'Level Two-**_**delta'**_**See? But the only '**_**omega'**_**ghosts are the**_**Malfortas.**_**So, here is the Greek alphabet in order so that you can get an idea what I mean:**_**alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, eta, theta, iota, kappa, lambda, mu, nu, xi, omicron, pi, rho, sigma, tau, upsilon, phi, chi, psi, omega.**_

***hears crickets***

**Okay, I can take a hint! So I'll stop now and just say, IDNOAC and here is Chapter 9. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 9—The Level <strong>Two<strong> Ghosts—Friendly Fire

"No, NO! Get away!" Danny screamed, jolting himself awake. At the same time, his transformation rings reflexively enveloped him even when he was still swinging at the air at nothing. But his mind then completely cleared and he relaxed when he realized that he was no longer fighting the _Malfortas_ and all was quiet around him. Now he could afford to groan for a moment or two.

"Oh, man, am I ever sore!" he moaned again as he unconsciously rubbed his face, only to find something thick _and slimy_ stuck to his forehead. He instantly grabbed it off of him and puckered his face in disgust. "Yech! I'm really beginning to hate river reeds!"

He gingerly sat up on his black cot, wincing as he moved. But then he noticed some odd bulges here-and-there under his black-and-white costume. He rolled his eyes, suspecting what those could be. And sure enough, he was frowning with disgust once again as he pulled off more of the thick and still slimy healing ghost plants which had served as bandages. But then, as soon as he was finished, he sort of regretted that.

"_Ow, that hurt!"_ Danny thought to himself with the final hard tug and removal of the last ghost bandage before grumbling, _"_Talk about 'nightmare spa treatments'! Who was it that suggested that I should know what it felt like to get a wax job and a deep-body-massage-gone-wrong at the same time?"

He winced at his immediate answer to that. "Ugh. Of course. The Observant Evil Twins did. Speaking of which…"

The boy then looked around and growled when he finally saw where he was, "Darn it! I thought those jerks said that I was going to stay in that big black hole of a room instead of this big black _and green_ hole of a room? I did what they wanted, so why did they put me back in here in my prison cell?"

But then, he interrupted his own thoughts when he finally spied another small table nearby, laden with food and drink. And suddenly, the teen realized just how famished and thirsty—and still sore—he was. In fact, it was precisely because of his hunger and thirst why his stirring had won over his tug to continue to sleep off his exhaustion. He couldn't know that only eight hours had passed since he had collapsed, and that it was nearly four in the morning. Or that Vlad had been sound asleep for only six of those same hours.

He yawned and then tried to stretch, only to hitch in a moan at almost every movement, even when he was in his ghost form.

"_I wonder what time_—_and day_—_ it is?"_ he asked himself. He then angrily yelled into the air, "Hey, jerks! You wouldn't happen to be able to tell me the time, would you?"

All he got was silence.

"Of course not," the boy grumbled under his breath.

Another thought all of the sudden gripped him and he blurted out, "But never mind about what time it is. What about my mom? And can we go home now? I did what you wanted…." He suddenly stopped and swallowed thickly at his next thought after he had glanced at the table of food again. "_Wait a minute._ _I thought they said I wouldn't be able to eat if I found myself here? Well, okay, they laid out a lot of putrid things they might do to me or—Mom!"_

Danny felt the lump in his throat tighten even more at the thought of his putting his mother in danger from what had happened. But then he calmed down at his next thought. No, he didn't think that they would have done anything to her or else they would have made it a point to tell—or worse, show—him… At least he hoped they hadn't done anything to her.

Though he still wasn't convinced that the Observants had only decided to do things to only him right now, he nevertheless tried to continue to reassure himself, _"Okay, Fenton. Maybe that is why you're back here._ _The jerks are just mad because I actually told them I wouldn't put my very best into all that fighting I did. After all, if I was really in the Ghost Zone like they said, I would have been able to permanently destroy those ghosts. But I wouldn't do that. The Malfortas couldn't help being in this situation, either. So, it would have been unfair of me to waste them for no good reason…."_ He paused a bit before adding, "_Well, okay. Maybe having them attack me was a good reason…But I don't think it was their fault and it wasn't necessary to destroy them…_" He then frowned in uncertainty and worry. _"Uh, the Observants know that, right?"_

Suddenly, the boy's frown curved into a look of irritation. He really didn't care what the Observants thought about it. He just wanted to get everything over with and go home. Still, underneath, he was hoping that maybe the Observants would count his fighting just about a bazillion _Malfortas_ as all of those 'tests' they said they needed to give him. It was possible, wasn't it? After all, the Observants' way of seeing and doing things had always and definitely been on his 'Way Weird' list.

Danny bit his lower lip. That was exactly what he was still worried about. What if there were even more tests? He now guessed that he certainly didn't please them on this last one, so maybe they would demand more of them. Nevertheless, he wasn't going to admit his concerns to them. Instead, he yelled into the air, "Hey, while I'm waiting for you to answer my questions, I think I'm going to get something to eat, since it seems like a hundred years ago when I last did."

Danny slowly got up, determined to satisfy that burning, empty feeling in him even as his body protested a bit when he moved. And as he headed toward the table with food on it, it didn't help that the hollow echo of his steps reminded him again how alone he was. He tried to shake the sudden empty feeling in his heart. He frowned at the attempt. All of this was so unfair, but what could he do at the moment? He knew he had to think of a way to rescue his mom and get them both out of here. But right now, his hunger and thirst had to take top priority.

"Hmm. Human food again. That's weird," Danny began when he looked at the food. But then he shrugged the thought off. "Well, at least I can eat in peace," he said in resignation as he morphed back to his human side and began to serve himself a fairly large helping of hamburgers and fries.

He poured himself what looked like lemonade before he sat down. And then with relish, he chowed down. In no time, quicker than most people would have eaten only half of their meal, he was back for seconds…and then thirds….

Just before he took another hearty bite, Danny thought, "_Either this stuff tastes way better than I thought it would, or I'm so hungry!"_ But as he practically inhaled that bite, he admitted, _"Definitely the 'hungry' thing!"_

Once the boy was finished, he walked over to the cot and lay down upon it, since, really, there was nothing else he could do—plus, he was full—and still awfully sore **and** tired.

But then his thoughts drifted back to why he was in his cell and what had happened earlier; that is, his fight with the _Malfortas_.

"_I don't get it,"_ the young hybrid first mused. "_Why did the jerks really have me do all that?_ _And why don't they answer my questions since I went through with it like they wanted? Uh, even if I didn't use all of my powers. But they didn't expect that, did they?"_ His head jerked a bit at his next thought. _"Maybe not. Otherwise, why did they let me eat?" _He paused with that notion. But then he had a horrible thought. Did he do more harm to the _Malfortas_ than he thought he did? True, he wasn't thinking too clearly at the end of the fighting because of his near-exhaustion, but he knew he would never do any worse than just subdue those ghosts. He then relaxed at his next thought. No, he was sure he didn't, or else he was sure that the Observants would be bringing him before the High Council. Maybe that is all the Observants wanted to see and know. At least, he hoped so. Still, he couldn't help but wonder, "_So, what happened in the end? Did I win?"_

Suddenly, he winced at the sudden muscle spasm in his side and dismissed most of his earlier thoughts, _"As if any of that matters! All I know is that I'm still here and I'm still very sore! But, I remember feeling the pressure of all of those ghosts pushing against me before I…._

He interrupted himself and frowned with the sudden feeling of a familiar, unwanted sensation. Before he knew it, he was shivering and reeling from an intense wave of cold energy shooting up and down his spine like before.

"Not again and yeOWW!" he yelled when the cold pain attacked his spine more intensely this time before it seemed to spill out onto his skin and rake it with painful cold lightening. And that pain was compounded by his achy muscles as well.

This time, however, he frowned in worry when he unwittingly changed back to his ghost side at the next wave of pain. Though he knew that it was easier and more natural for him to be in his ghost form here in the Realm Beyond Time, he was upset that he hadn't willed it. Once again, he could only suspect it was because he thought he was losing control over his powers.

Now even more discouraged about everything, the boy gingerly turned to his side. When that bout of pain subsided, he suddenly felt as if his head was unexpectedly spinning inside a centrifuge. And before he knew it, he was within the thralls of _delta_ sleep, just as Plasmius had ordered for his computer-generated image to do should anything significant happen— or just after the boy had eaten.

Danny groaned as his mind slowly ebbed from _delta_ brainwaves to _theta_/_beta_ cusp brainwaves. As he slowly awoke and his mind just as slowly cleared, he knew that he was no longer in the Observants' jail cell because wherever he was, it was very much colder than that cell. And wet. In fact, the coldness and wetness were swirling all around him.

The boy raised his arm up and rubbed his face. Well, that was good at least. He wasn't sore anymore. He pulled his elbows back and propped his upper torso on them as he opened his eyes. White bleakness was all around him.

"Well, okay, then. That's my answer. Though I have no clue how I got back to that 'Time and Existence' room, I can see that I'm not going home yet and this must be the next 'test'," he grumbled under his breath as his ghostly eyes scanned the completely snow-covered area.

It certainly didn't look like the Far Frozen or really any other place he had ever been in the Ghost Zone. Floating just above this fairly large piece of frozen land were several smaller snow-covered shelves. However, each shelf was linked by small floating stepping stones, something that he had never seen in the Ghost Zone before. Still, the place looked familiar….as if he had had a glimpse of it in the past.

He searched his mind, only to be aware at that moment that he still had a slight, dull headache. Suddenly, then, he didn't care whether he had seen this place before or not. He just wanted to get done and out as soon as possible.

The teen pulled himself up the rest of the way and looked around once more. Well, okay. The white bleakness did have some mounds of snow and even some partially and fully embedded boulders on it.

"_Now, what?"_ Danny suddenly asked himself as he began to walk forward in no particular direction. _"I don't see any ghosts."_

But just as he came upon a large and very tall snow covered boulder, his ice-blue ghost sense pulsed forward into the crisp, cold air.

The boy was now on high alert, readying himself to act if he needed to. He continued to move cautiously forward, honing his senses to everything and anything that might spring near him. At least the ten-foot high frozen boulder edging him on his left gave him cover from any attack on that side. At least, that was what he hoped…

Just as the young half-ghost neared the edge of his protected 'wall', however, he spied another much smaller rock which was mostly covered in snow, too. It was only about three feet high and at least another yard in width just a couple of feet from the larger boulder's border, yet also in line with the larger snow-covered mass. Danny smiled a bit, already thinking that the smaller boulder would provide instant cover for him when he inspected the other side of larger crag as he planned.

He slowed his pace and filled his hands with his green ectoplasmic energy just as he reached the very edge of the larger boulder.

In the next instant, he threw his body in a partial roll toward the smaller rock while aiming his hands toward the other side of the larger rock. He ended up on his knees with his hands still ablaze with energy and steadily outstretched in the direction of the other side of the large boulder.

He sighed in relief. Nothing was there. Yet, why did his ghost sense alert him?

He extinguished his energy and stood up fully. He shrugged his shoulders and turned to walk in the same direction in which he had started.

But this time, just as he completely passed the smaller boulder which had given him cover when he had been in a hunched position, his ghost sense eked out again and he felt a blow to his left calf followed by a small noise all at about the exact same time!

Though the assault startled rather than hurt him, Danny quickly twisted around and glanced over the boulder, which was easy since it was nearly half of his height.

But much to the young hybrid's surprise, nothing was there….except a crudely hewed out hole in the ground just at the other side of the base of the small boulder. He could now see that these boulders were on the edge of some kind of frozen lake or some other body of water because there was water softly sloshing at the edge of the make-shift hole.

This time Danny scratched his head in confusion. He knew that what hit him had to be some kind of ghost, but why did it just hit him and run? It couldn't be another _Malforta _because as far as he knew, they didn't dwell in any frozen areas of the Ghost Zone. But that didn't mean that they couldn't.

Then the boy paused at his next thought before he nodded his head in understanding. Even if the ghost wasn't a _Malforta_, it might be just as scared as that formless ghost had been.

"_Well, okay. So now what?"_ Danny mused with a slight frown_. "I'm not going to just hang around and wait to get whopped on my leg again!"_

He then smirked slyly as he murmured, "But speaking of 'hanging around'.

Danny instantly bolted into the air just enough so he could survey the area from above. But after flying for several minutes, he couldn't see anything new except that he must be right about the frozen lake. Not only was it definitely there, but there were other cracks and holes littering the lake and most of them looked fairly new. Also, from his vantage point he could see several boulders of various sizes lining the entire periphery of the iced-over body of water.

Not knowing what else to do at the moment, Danny alit on top of one of the smaller boulders, sat down and crossed his legs on it. Finally, he propped his elbows up on his knees and cradled his head in his hands.

"Back to 'square one'," Danny grumbled. "What am I supposed to be doing? I don't want to go after the ghost. But yet, I get the feeling that it's exactly what the Observants want!"

He sighed in frustration. He really didn't want to do that, but what else could he do about it right now?

Suddenly, however, his thoughts were interrupted when his ghost sense alerted him at the exact same time that he felt another blow similar to one that he had felt on his calf now assaulting his derriere!

"Hey!" he cried out in objection as he whirled around to face the ghost—only to find no ghost again!

Acting on a hunch this time, Danny immediately looked downward and saw another small hole that had been hastily carved out of the sheet of ice covering the lake!

"Oh, so that's it, huh?" Danny uttered slyly. "You like sneak attacks? Well, now I'm onto you, dude!"

Now suddenly up to the challenge, Danny quickly flew to another small boulder and actually looked for a hole near it.

A mischievous smile grew on his face as he flew to inspect other boulders, only to find that they all had small cracks or holes near them.

"Okay, whoever you are, you can't be that big. Now…..hmmm…" he mused as he set up a quick plan of attack.

He flew over to another of those small boulders and straddled it so that his left half faced the iced-over lake and his right side faced the rest of the frozen land. He then closed his eyes and concentrated.

And then, just as he hoped, he acted as soon as he felt the smallest inkling that his ghost sense was being activated. He rapidly twisted downward and to his left, ready to snatch whatever would surface out of the small hole.

But much to the teen's chagrin—though he did catch a glimpse of that small black-and-white creature—the little ghost quickly eluded the boy's grasp and plunged downward!

"Oh, no you don't!" Danny cried as he shot a green ectoplasmic beam into the hole meaning to only melt the ice and stun the creature.

He caught another glimpse of the black-and-white ghost just before the steam that had erupted from vaporizing the ice obscured his vision.

And it was escaping!

"Duh. Smart, Fenton!" the boy chided himself even as he bolted through the thick cold fog and after his small attacker.

But as he flew over the frozen lake, Danny realized that he had lost his prey.

He stopped and landed on top of the solid lake. Suddenly, he whirled around when he heard a loud squawking sound in the not-too-far distance behind him.

Danny's sharp vision caught full sight of the small creature this time and the boy's eyes narrowed in irritation when it seemed as if the ghost was actually laughing at him!

What? No way was he losing to a ghost… penguin!

Danny immediately soared over to the small arctic bird; but with another squeak, the penguin immediately dove back into the hole he had been perched next to.

The ghost teen was at that hole not even a few seconds later, only to hear another squawk—which, again, was in the not-too-far distance!

Danny's eyes widened in surprise when he saw the small ghost jumping up and down while flapping it stubby wings in excitement.

"No way!" Danny blurted out. "He couldn't be that fast, could he?"

Without thinking about it anymore, the Ghost Boy rocketed over to the ghost bird, which just as deftly dove back into his icy escape hatch—only for the penguin to reappear several yards away from Danny again. This time, however, most of the penguin's body stayed in the water. Danny could easily see the bird's head bobbing up and down just above the hole while the small ghost chirped in delight once again.

Danny was about to charge right after the ghost bird again when the penguin dove back down and reappeared in another hole even further from the young half-ghost. Before Danny could react, however, the penguin repeated his random, rapid movements, all the while surfacing at different holes within the lake as if he were a pinball ricocheting off the wall of its pinball machine!

And each time the bird surfaced, its squeak sounded as if it were taunting the boy!

Danny growled in irritation this time. Nevertheless, before he could think of what to do, Danny felt a dull whip-like thwack against the back of both of his calves again! Danny knew this time that the little critter had probably had rapped him with the side of one of his flightless wings. Still, the boy jerked around just as the penguin made his escape beneath the lake again!

And once again, the penguin returned to his frolicking and rapid exits and entries into the random holes in the lake, all the while chirping in triumph.

Now over it, Danny cried out, "Okay, that's enough, squirt! But just so you know, I've been way over 'whack-a-mole' since I was five!"

However, just before he lifted himself into the air, Danny felt another whack on the back of his legs. Now that did it!

Danny soared upward before immediately twisting himself so that he was facing the frozen lake underneath him, and charged up his ice energy.

Aqua-colored ice beams jutted out of the Ghost Boy's eyes and hands toward the frozen lake. A heartbeat later, the entire lake's holes were totally plugged up within a new, thick layer of ice.

Danny smirked in triumph this time as he extinguished his ice powers. He reflexively dusted his hands off in satisfaction when, suddenly, he winced at the next sound and looked—up!

There, on one of the many floating snow-covered shelves, was another small hole. And that exact same penguin was looking down at him through it, all the while squawking in obvious delight!

"I'm not even going to ask!" Danny murmured as he shot upward toward the floating shelf.

But the teen actually soared past the floating shelf's surface and quickly arched back and stopped so that he was now hovering above the ice-covered shelf.

He frowned at what he saw. There was a small igloo-like hut hewed out of what looked like a very large snow drift.

"You know, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if I found out that the little twerp had made that," Danny dryly replied as he neared the home. Still, he wondered who could possibly want to stay in this frozen wasteland with a wacky ghost penguin.

He landed near the side of the small dwelling and was about to go to the entrance when his ghost sense alerted him. Reflexively, he whirled around and purposely shot a beam of warning at what he knew had to be his small, annoying avian adversary.

But much to the boy's chagrin, the beam hit a small stone that was right next to the offending ghost bird and ricocheted right into the large snow drift!

All of the sudden, the surface of the large snow mass began to tremble. Small chunks followed by even larger chunks of hardened snow began to fall all around the little penguin, threatening to bury it!

Stunned at this development, the small bird chirped in alarm since there was nowhere for him to escape!

Danny gasped and immediately flew over to the flightless bird. He gently scooped it up and jerked it away just before a big piece of the rock-like frozen mass that would have fallen upon the small creature pounded an indentation into the snow-covered ground. Danny quickly turned to get out of the way of even more of the frozen debris. But given that the large snow drift was quickly breaking up and even more chunks of it were raining down on the two, that was going to be a real challenge. Nevertheless, Danny zigged and zagged out of the way all the while keeping the still panicking bird within his grasp—and ignoring its equally as panicking pecks to his hands.

It looked as if the Ghost Boy was going to clear the area when he didn't see until at the last moment a very large wall of that snow drift curled over and headed right to him as quickly as a powerful ocean wave!

"Sorry, fella! Now you'll finally goin' to have to fly!" Danny yelled as he tossed the upset penguin out of danger's way and onto a nearby soft pile of snow.

But it was too late for Danny. He yelled as he was covered up by the soft but massive wall of snow and knew no more….

OW! OW! OW!" Danny shouted out loud at what he felt were hard, cold balls pummeling him out of his unconscious state, and which, ultimately, shoved him off of the totally white floating shelf upon which he had been.

Of course, he had no idea that he had been pulled out from under the thick blanket of snow which had covered him not too long ago and left to recover.

He immediately bolted upward into the air with defiance just as ice-blue frost shot out of his mouth. He charged his hands with his ice energy right away while turning within a tight 180 degree semi-circle to face his attacker, only to freeze in mid-flight and reabsorb his energy at what he saw—and heard.

Standing on the same snow-covered floating shelf off of which his snowballs had shoved Danny, the large blond, cock-eyed ghost whined, "The one-eyed ghosts told me they would be my friend! But they tricked me. So, will you be my friend?"

Danny, however, didn't immediately answer. His head was still clearing from being assaulted by that wall of snow. Even so, he now knew where he was! And—egads! —with one of the ghosts with which he least likely wanted to be—uh, not including the penguin!

Just then, the ghost dressed in purple-and-pink wide-striped pajamas threw his arms upward and shot more and larger hardened snowballs at the Ghost Boy because he was taking too long to answer him.

Still hovering above the ghost, Danny crossed his arms in front of his chest in annoyance. He easily twisted his body just slightly enough to avoid each of the snowballs, and then deadpanned, "Hasn't anyone ever told you that throwing snowballs at people isn't a good ice breaker, Klemper?"

It was clear that neither Klemper nor Danny caught the Ghost Boy's bad pun since the large, blue-skinned ghost instead replied, "All I want is for you to be my friend. And you must be because you're here to rescue me and my friend!"

"Yeah, sure, since I can't even rescue _myself_ right now—Wait. What friend? Hey, is that pen —uh, never mind!" Danny quietly grumbled under his breath before he said more loudly, "Look, Klemper…."

But the Ghost Boy was cut off by the annoyingly friendly ghost's throwing even more snowballs at him.

"Will you please stop doing that?" Danny demanded, now even more annoyed, before he instantly aimed one hand at the frozen missiles. The half-ghost's ice-spikes shot forward from it, quickly counterattacking and slicing through all of those snowballs, knocking out their momentum and rendering them completely harmless as they fell to the ground.

But to Danny's surprise and dismay, Klemper immediately screamed and cowered in fear before pleading, "Please don't hurt me!"

"I'm not going to hurt you!" Danny insisted, floating a bit closer to the larger ghost before landing on the soft snow that had piled up next to a short snow-covered boulder.

Danny proceeded to cross his arms over his chest and leaned on the boulder. But just as he did, he slipped on the snow and part of the snow fell off the top of the boulder and to the other side of the boulder. He quickly righted himself and glared at the annoying large ghost.

In the next moment, however, Danny yelled when something had attacked his shin! He looked down and saw that same penguin. It was obviously perturbed and had promptly squawked at him for having disturbed his resting area.

"Now, now, Chilly-Billy," Klemper gently chided. "Danny Phantom's our friend here. And we have to be nice to everyone we like!"

"Yeah, starting right now, squirt!" Danny grumbled as he rubbed his shin and ignored the penguin when the bird snorted and returned to the other side of the boulder.

Still, underneath, Danny was worried. Now it was clear to him that the penguin's escapade was just the 'opening act' and was meant to lure him here. And that also meant that the real 'Observant test' was still on, which, obviously, was for him to fight Klemper. But, of course, he didn't want to. Yet, what could he do about it?

The blond-haired, pugged-nose ghost smiled and clapped his hands in delight before saying, "Then you **do** want to be my friend! And that means that you're also going to rescue me and Chilly-Billy!"

This time, Danny grabbed his entire face with one hand before stretching it downward in frustration and then ending with momentarily cupping his chin. Might as well hurry up and get this over with!

The young hybrid sighed in frustration, but then felt a slight smile tug at the corner of his mouth at his next idea. He floated even closer to the cock-eyed, freckled-face ghost, close enough so he could chance a whisper to him.

"Look, Klemper," Danny began with a hush, "I was brought here just like you—as a prisoner. But even if I don't want to be some kind of gladiator for these stupid Observants' crazed-up version of the Roman coliseum games, I have to because they have my mom. But maybe if _you_ refused to fight, we might be able to end their little charade!"

However, Klemper just blinked, his face blank with not comprehending a single word that Danny had said.

When the snow white-haired boy realized that the blond-haired ghost didn't understand, he whispered more earnestly, "What I mean is: if you want me to be your friend, then you just have to tell the Observants that you won't fight me!"

Once again, silence filled the air.

Suddenly, however, the large blue-skinned ghost pulled away from Danny, took in a deep breath and spewed out chilled air at the Ghost Boy, which quickly and totally encased him in a chunk of thick ice.

The ice-entombed Danny instantly fell to the snowy shelf with a loud thud.

Still, a moment later, the hybrid easily broke out of his ice tomb with a short but powerful punch from his fists.

"That's not what I meant!" the teen growled in irritation, this time following up with a blast of ice energy from his hands, which quickly encased Klemper in ice up to that ghost's neck level.

"There!" Danny huffed. "Now listen to me, Klemper! This is all I'm going to do to you. I'm done!"

He then flew upward into air and looking up in it, cried out, "So, there, Justeco! You jerks can clearly see that I've already defeated him! Can me and my mom go now?"

At first, only silence answered him. But then, the Ghost Boy heard crying. He turned toward the sound and could see that it was Klemper who was crying bucketfuls of ice cubes. Biting his lower lip, Danny flew back down to the ice-trapped ghost.

"Boo-hoo! You're mean!" the large ghost cried when he saw that the Ghost Boy was now looking at him. 'And now….now I don't **ever** want to be your friend because you're not nice at all!"

He fell right back into his sobs again.

Danny frowned with guilt before he replied, "I had to do that, Klemper, don't you see? Like I told you, I didn't want to hurt you!"

"But you did hurt me! You hurt my _feelings_! You tricked me just like those one-eyed ghosts! You're mean. And I **still** don't want to be your friend anymore! I want to go home!" He barely choked out through his sobs, before crying more.

"Darn it, Justeco, stop the test already!" Danny yelled back up into the air.

But once again, only the crying of the captured ghost answered him.

Sighing in a mixture of irritation, frustration and sympathy, Danny flew over to Klemper and extended one of his hands at the ghost. Ignoring the frightened gasp of the fair-haired ghost, Danny quickly reabsorbed the ice, which freed the large ghost. And then just as quickly, the teen reformed the ice that had once surrounded Klemper into a large slide, which twirled around like the curly part of a ribbon.

Instantly, the cock-eyed ghost giddily clapped his hands and chirped in delight through his crooked teeth at the change and hurriedly climbed up the slide.

Danny was about to step slightly away when he felt another hard blow to the back of his legs.

"Ow!" he yelled before spinning on his heels and facing his…extra short foe.

"Oh, it's you again, pipsqueak!" Danny growled when he saw the same penguin. "What is it with you? I'm nowhere near your dumb rock or dumb holes, so don't you have better things to do than going around karate-chopping people?"

The penguin squawked in irritation before he lifted his flightless wings and chirped in alarm before he quickly waddled away.

Danny frowned in confusion this time.

But then he heard a loud laugh too close behind him. But it was too late! The boy whirled around, instantly knowing that the black-and-white bird's distraction had been enough.

Klemper's very large mass was just about to plow right into him! Before Danny could react, the blond-haired ghost's feet were ramming into his stomach!

"OOF!" Danny grunted as the wind was knocked out of him with the blow and then under the weight of the ghost who was now on top of him.

Once again, before Danny knew it, he was being pulled out from under the ghost and his arms were being pinned to his sides within the great big bear hug of Klemper's over-friendly arms.

"I knew it! I knew you were my friend!" Klemper gushed with glee, lifting Danny higher up and swaying them both side-to-side. The friendly ghost was so happy that he was not aware that he was tightening his hold on the Ghost Boy.

"Gee…thanks...dude….But you can…stop now!" Danny barely panted out, feeling his breathing becoming more compromised under the vice-like squeeze.

"Hey, …Klemper! Didn't…you…OWWW!" Danny began before yelling in pain when something karate-chopped his leg. He looked down and saw the black-and-white bird quickly waddle away with a triumphant squawk.

The half-ghost teen strained to pull the large ghost off of him as he growled, "And will…you please…call off…your watch-bird?"

But Klemper wasn't listening and just laughed in delight and squeezed a bit more.

Instinctually, Danny resisted the pressure, but then, he suddenly felt another wave of weakness come on. And instead, all his muscles stopped cooperating and began to spasm and ache, only to be followed by an all-too familiar jolt of cold squeezing his spine with as much pressure as the overly-friendly ghost was squeezing his body.

"_Not again!"_ he yelled to himself, trying to counter the blow. But instead, his head began to spin.

Now desperate, Danny tried to pour on more strength, but Klemper merely countered-squeezed all the more.

"Klemper!" the teen gasped out as loudly as he could, still trying to push the large ghost off of him. "You…have…to… let…go!"

But the ghost either didn't hear or understand him because he only increased the pressure of his bear hug while gushing, "I now have a friend forever!"

"_Who will be short-lived if I don't break free!" _Danny thought, even more desperate as he tried to concentrate into reaching into his inner strength.

But because of everything stacked against him, Danny's efforts had already come too late, and he quickly felt his concentration ebbing into blackness.

Still, he wasn't going to give in. He gave one last push before he felt even weaker all of the sudden, and with his last conscious thought he was certain that all the oxygen in his lungs had been leeched out.

* * *

><p>"Subject now in <em>delta <em>sleep as you commanded, sir!" the computer-generated translucent version of Maddie dutifully reported.

Vlad was still unconsciously biting his lip from watching Daniel's most recent encounter before he finally replied, "Yes, thank you, my dear. That was perfect timing on your part, as always, Maddie. And the boy did think he was suffocating even though he was never in any real danger—well, maybe a little."

"Correct. But the data show that he has no ill-effects from the episode," the holograph added.

"Physically for him, I agree. That idiotic Klemper might be the fourth lowest of the Level Two ghosts I'm going to use right now; but he, like all the 'Level Two's', can give Daniel a hard time, no matter how easy it still would be for him to defeat them under normal circumstances. But of course, this is not one of those 'normal circumstances' is it, hmmm? Nevertheless, in spite of everything, that fat dumb oaf of a ghost still came through, and I hope that Daniel's got a great big blow to his ego from being beaten by him! Perfect!" the man said with some glee.

But then, Vlad grew more serious. "But speaking of data, Maddie, I noticed that all of the gauges monitoring Daniel recorded lots of strange and erratic blips that I cannot explain just before the boy failed in both this program and the one dealing with the _Omegas._ Not that I'm dissatisfied with the end results. I just didn't expect it to end so quickly, at least for this last encounter. We will have to analyze those as soon as we can. I have a feeling that they may play an important part in the future."

Vlad then noticed that his female representative of his computer was frowning, and she looked confused.

"What's wrong, Maddie?" he queried.

"It is nothing, sir. I really don't know why I should wonder…."

"Wonder about what, my dear?" he gently interrupted her.

She looked up at him and seeing his encouraging smile, mimicked it and replied, "I have been programmed to be logical, calculating, meticulous and sequential, not unlike you, sir. Yet, even as you are starting your brilliant master plan, you are deviating from that pattern."

Vlad chuckled a little as he said, "Right you are, Maddie, and I am so glad I devised you with that fail-safe sub-program to keep me on my…uhm, to keep everything in order. You are right that I should go in order from the weakest to the strongest ghost for each level. And for the most part, I will, if need be."

"But you see, my dear, I cannot possibly follow the order all the time. For instance, I really can't use those two new ghosts that Daniel told us about, even if **they** really are the lowest of the Level** Two** ghosts. According to Daniel, those level two-_Iotas _no longer exist in the Ghost Zone or Real World planes, and they have gone to greener pastures, so to speak. If I were to use them right now, their very presence might jeopardize my entire plan. And, really, even Daniel isn't too stupid not to figure out that having them show up would raise a red flag."

Dismissing the last allusion because her circuits were still jumbled, she countered, "But you could use them with the Subliminal Helmet."

"True, my dear, but honestly, I do not think that is worth it because of that other risk. I want to make sure that Daniel deals with ghosts that have not phased into the Oblivion, and using those 'Derek and Sarah' ghosts would be a dead giveaway, uh, no pun intended."

"None noted, sir," the holographic female replied. "And as for the next ghosts?"

"Oh, yes. You mean the 289-level 2- _Theta _and _Eta_ ghosts?"

The computer holograph nodded her affirmative.

He chuckled a bit as he informed her, "Yes, those 'overlooked' ghosts are a significant deviation. But those ghosts will be used with more powerful ones later on. I think that their effect on Daniel would be more convincing in that way, if we need to go that far, that is; which, of course, I hope we don't have to. And I need to tell your memory chips in advance that the same holds true for the strongest of the Level Two ghosts, that being 289-level two-_Alpha _and _Beta_ ghosts. They will assist another ghost more powerful than they for the same reason why I am not using 289-level two-_Theta_ and _Eta_ ghosts earlier."

"I see, sir. That would make sense then. Shall I ready the next program, then?" Maddie asked.

"Yes, my dear. After all, we have to keep the heat on Daniel."

The solid holograph frowned in non-computation. Still, she said nothing as she began to enter more commands. She didn't think that the temperature was rising, but she knew that the psychological pressure her master was using to affect the test subject in the simulation room was…..

And Vlad, like his computerized version of Maddie, also hoped the next challenge would significantly test the boy's emotional strength even more…

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, there you go! I hope you enjoyed this newest 'test'. Remember that I wanted to include as many as the genres as possible, including humor. And since I don't think Klemper is an evil ghost, I didn't think this chapter would be a dark one. Still, I hope you liked it!**

**Now, as promised, I'm still continuing to reveal the countdown of ghosts and their power levels in order of their power as each ghost appears in the story. Please let me know how you think! You know I like your thoughts more than chocolate (and that says A LOT!). Until next times, dear readers!**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as**_**Malfortas.**_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the**_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-****_Iotas_** —**Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters****from her story,**_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**?— Will appear in later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in later chapter.**

**289-level 2-****_Zeta_** —**Klemper** **(and friend Chilly-Billy)**


	10. Chap 10 Level TWO Ghosts: Double Trouble

**A/N: Hiya, y'all. Hope your week has been good. Me? Well, it's been on the rough side, so let's just say that I am very glad it is O-V-E-R! Especially since it means that it's time to get happy again with an update! And to wish all your fathers an early Happy Father's Day, which will be next weekend here in the ol' USofA!**

**Heh-heh, looks as if this chapter has AU elements in it, though it's not really that. You'll see what I mean soon enough. But also, it looks like Ms. Hyde was able to get some kind of spy bug of her own to finally give us all a little hint of what Vlad's other plans are! So, here is Chapter 10. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 10— Level <strong>Two <strong>Ghosts—Double Trouble

"You know, my dear, it's never too early to shake things up," Vlad said as he turned away from the simulation room's window after observing the sleeping Daniel for a few moments.

He walked over to one of the monitors and pushed a button. He scanned the program and pushed a few more command buttons before he turned to Maddie the hologram and added, "We can't let Daniel get any sort of rhythm of what we're doing. I want him completely unprepared for what we have in store for him next."

"I see, sir," Maddie the hologram said, a smile painted on her face. "So, then, would you like me to queue up Sleep File 287B, Sleep Program 287SH and Program 289—Level 2—_Epsilon?_"

"_**Epsilons**_, Maddie dear," Vlad casually corrected her. But seeing her immediately frown in confusion, he smirked and continued, "Remember, my dear, that Daniel added ghosts to our original list, and a few I have never heard of. But from what he described, that new ghost I would like to include in this program is at the exact same level of power on the _Fantomos Ecto-Scale_ as the one that I want to use right now."

He then chuckled as he added, "It really makes some sense because, after all, if what Daniel reported is true—which I have to nauseatingly admit that it probably is—then saying these two ghosts are 'similar' is an understatement. So, it would be fun to see them work together, don't you think? But, using that newer ghost will have to wait, since I don't have any prerequisites to develop any program for that new ghost or even to fully infuse that ghost into this other program that I intend to use."

Just then, Vlad turned toward the sound of a 'ding', a very familiar 'ding', that is.

With an upward curl on his lips, he remarked, "Don't tell me that you have that new program ready, Maddie dear?"

"Well, you had already inputted preliminary data and commanded that I start a program on those newer ghosts, sir," she began, only to immediately add, "And I have been working on them during all that time your test subject was asleep. Of course, I do not have any of the DNA prerequisites for those new ghosts, but considering the parameters of this particular program, none of that is needed for now if you are considering using that newer ghost along with the ghost that is next in the queue."

She briefly paused to make sure her master did not want to ask anything; and seeing his expectant face, she readily continued with her circuitry process, "The integrity of the program is intact with or without this added ghost because of how it is to be presented. However, I have only a few more cross references to make before this program can be considered usable; and to make sure I have your approval of the outline of the events to be covered in the program. Shall I forego all of that now that you have need of this program right now?"

At first Vlad didn't answer her because he was pondering over what she had said. He briefly stroked his neatly-trimmed goatee a moment before he replied, "No, my dear, I don't want a rush job. Besides, this may give me an opportunity to check out my other plans in this whole scheme of things." He paused only another moment at his next thought before he added, "But while you're doing that, can you also devise a patch between these two programs and coordinate them for the scene I had already planned? The result would be a little deviation from the plan, but considering the very weak power levels of the two ghosts involved, I don't think it will matter. In fact, it would probably be quite a show….however…"

But he suddenly stopped as his ears perked up. And now like a Pavlov dog, he instantly smiled at the sound of that very familiar 'ding'.

"Are you all done already?" he asked.

"Just a few more things to check and it will be ready," she replied with a smile mimicking his own. "But according to the chronometer, it is past the time for your subject in the simulation room to have lunch," the holograph reminded him.

"Thank you again, my dear. I am so glad I programmed that detail into you. When did he last eat?"

"At o-four hundred," she replied.

"That early?" Vlad commented in surprise before his own stomach growled. After all, it was past lunch time.

"Did he eat enough?"

"Heartedly, sir," she began, only to add, "But since his central core is so dynamic, he might require more at this time."

He smirked as he replied, "Once again, good point, my dear. And good timing. Keep Daniel in _delta_ sleep while you're working on that program and even if I don't get back before you finished. But that shouldn't be long because I don't think it will take a lot of time to secure the next step of those other important plans of mine."

"As you command, sir," the female facsimile replied.

She watched the man walk over to a nearby cabinet and take out a rather large pouch with a long strap connected on its upper sides. Vlad reached in the pouch and pulled out an off-white gadget that was almost as big as the pouch and had a few different colored wires jutting out from it. It also had a large round opening on the top and bottom.

He quickly inspected it and smirked with satisfaction. "You've done it again, Skulker!" he chuckled slightly under his breath before he carefully placed it back into the pouch and zipped up the pouch. He then secured the strap of the pouch around one of his shoulders. Not a heartbeat later, two black rings appeared at his mid-torso and immediately spread away from it, one ring spreading upward and the other downward until he had fully morphed into his alter ego.

"Happy scheming, sweet sir!" Maddie beamed just before she returned to the controls and resumed programming.

Vlad hitched up one of his eyebrows in slight surprise but didn't comment. In the next instant, the half-ghost disappeared in a cloud of thick, pink smoke….

* * *

><p>After teleporting to the furthest distance he could manage, Plasmius headed straight to the large structure still under construction in Central Park. He quickly scanned the area from above. No one was at the site or in the near vicinity. Good. Not that he expected anyone since he had ordered a wider than needed area cordoned off to keep the busybodies away. And even though he knew he could easily work in stealth by using his invisibility and intangibility powers, it was always better if he didn't have to do that, because he could still cause a bit of noise on what he had to do.<p>

The older hybrid landed next to what looked like an almost-complete abstract fountain. It had all sorts of stainless steel pipes, metal corrugated steps and concrete blocks with strategically placed grooves and ridges carved into them so that the materials intertwined enough to create an odd, almost surreal, kind of symmetry. All-in-all, however, it was really quite hideous in looks.

But none of that matter to the older hybrid, for he knew that each piece of that sculpted fountain had another purpose besides spewing forth water.

He immediately went to work. He looked for the hole that should be there at this stage of the construction, and smiled when he spied it.

Plasmius quickly unzipped the pouch and pulled out the off-white contraption meant to be the same color as the concrete parts of the fountain. Without hesitating, he connected the wires to some other wires that had already been put in place per the specifications of the fountain's plans. And as far as he could tell, all the other necessary features were in place and all that was left was the final clean-up and touches and the final inspection by the city officials to make this fountain seem very 'real'.

But for what he had in mind at the moment, he didn't need the fountain to look ready for its public debut.

Once the off-white device was secured in place, the blue-skinned half-ghost used his hot ectoplasmic energy to weld the piece securely to the rest of the fountain.

After one final inspection, Vlad was satisfied enough to muse, "Now, of course, it's time for that little test."

He flew to the other side of the fountain and lifted a small metal trap door that was carefully hidden at the base of the fountain. He quickly twisted the nozzle that lay under the cover. The man then reached over to a small control panel stealthily imbedded not too far from that spigot, turned his hand intangible and promptly turned on _two_ switches.

The off-white device on the other side purred for only a few seconds, before it clicked a couple of times. Then the water rushed in after the valve completely opened, drowning out the merry humming of the machine.

After several whooshes and gurgles to eradicate itself of air pockets, the fountain finally came to life. The water flow sang as it also hopscotched with different colored beams of light shooting from strategic projectors that were embedded within the fountain's framework. The effect was enough to bathe the fountain and the off-white device in a dull glow.

The half-ghost frowned. Adding water and light didn't make it less ugly! Still, he focused back on the test.

He closed his eyes and concentrated. The sensation was familiar, but a bit stronger than he anticipated. Nevertheless, when he opened his eyes, he smiled in delight when the pre-evening sun was completely eclipsed by pitch blackness!

But then he concentrated even more and the blackness moved.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed before reaching back into the control panel and turning the switches off.

The blackness evaporated completely not a moment later; and the sunlight poured all over the half-ghost once again.

Though he didn't need to since the off-white gadget would actually control the water flow from now on, Vlad reached for the water valve and made sure to turn it off.

Now completely satisfied that this part of his plan would begin in less than three days at the fountain's inauguration, the older hybrid quickly teleported to shorten the way back toward his home.

* * *

><p>By the time Vlad had returned to the control room of his simulation room, Maddie had completed the new program for the <em>two<em> ghosts in this phase of his plan.

The man glanced briefly at the sleeping boy before he morphed back into his human form. He walked over to one of the monitors and immediately began to review the new program. As he watched, his face broke into a smile.

"Maddie, what you designed is pure evil genius!" he said with satisfaction.

"Why of course it is since I only reflect the one who designed me," she gushed back, having no idea that she had given him a back-handed compliment.

Still, Vlad chose to ignore his computer's comment and dryly replied, "Yes, well, let's just get Daniel ready. After all, it's time for our moronic duo to pay Daniel a visit. And we have to feed him before we scramble things up a bit more. So let's run the program, shall we?"

"Right away, sir," she replied as she quickly put the sequence in motion.

* * *

><p>"It is time to arise, youngling!" Justeco insisted, as he reached over and harshly shook Danny's shoulder.<p>

"W-What?" Danny groggily asked, clearly confused. He slowly pulled himself up off the floor and sat up. Now his headache was worse.

But then, his mind fully cleared in the midst of the dull ache and he suddenly drew in a deep breath with his last memory. He was alive!

However, that was no thanks to the Observants!

"Just what was your point with Klemper and his annoying sidekick?" Danny growled as he stood up from the floor and glared at the two spirits.

Ignoring the boy's comment, Justeco merely replied, "We have been observing and analyzing the data so far collected with the Council. Much heated discussion has ensued about what the preliminary results are. We have been allowed to advise you of the results."

"What, having hours of entertainment torturing me wasn't enough for you, then?" Danny sarcastically replied, trying hard to squelch a yawn.

"We have done no such thing, young half-ghost," Konsilisto protested, responding to the 'torturing' accusation. "We are merely needing to test your —"

"Yeah, my strength or some other such nonsense. I know that!" Danny crankily interrupted him, before another thought drifted forward. "But why does it have to be just me that you're using as a guinea pig? I'm not the only half-ghost in this universe, you know. And I'm sure you would have just as many hours of entertainment poking at _him!"_

The two Observants merely blinked, looking as if they didn't understand what the boy had just said. But Vlad did and merely frowned in slight irritation at the boy's remark.

Finally Justeco remarked, "As we have explained, Danny Phantom, we have our reasons for our methods, which we cannot reveal or the data will be invalidated. Whether we will deal with the other half-ghost or not is not your concern. But much more has to be explored before we can conclude anything."

Danny was about to object when Konsilisto raised his arm up to stop him before the spirit added, "We are merely here to inform you that this process might take much longer than we anticipated."

"_You_ anticipated? What about _me_? I was hoping that this was done and my mom and I could go now," Danny said, his voice getting a bit louder.

Once again, the two spirits seemed to ignore the boy because in the next instant, a table and chair appeared before some food appeared on top of the table.

Danny knew that it must be ghost food they were now presenting to him because it was glowing. He had to admit that he was quite famished and the ghost food would be just as nourishing as human food. Wait. Why had they served him only human food before this?

"Hey, why are you giving me ghost food now?" he suddenly asked, more curious than anything right now.

"We see no difference in what nourishment we provide. Do you have a preference?" Justeco asked, not at all concerned with the boy's remark.

Danny rolled his eyes and replied, "Never mind. But what about my mom?"

"It is not time for our bargain," Konsilisto answered.

"Oh, so are you saying that a full day in my time hasn't gone by yet?" Danny slyly asked.

The two spirits merely stared at him in silence.

Danny smirked in triumph. So, okay, maybe he hadn't been here that long. Still, there was nothing else he could do about it.

Without another word, the boy walked over to the table and began to serve himself a large helping of the ghost food. He knew that the only difference between the human and ghost foods was that he needed to respectively be human for one and ghost for the other for each to nourish him. So, staying in ghost form, he ate with relish, all the while completely ignoring the two spirits, who watched him equally in silence.

Finally, Danny was through and felt very satisfied. In fact, he felt a bit sleepy after eating. Nevertheless, he walked over to the Observants and said, "All right, I'm ready for whatever."

Suddenly, Danny gasped.

Justeco had pulled out his crystal orb and was aiming it at him!

Before Danny could react, a beam shot out from the orb and he instantly loss consciousness.

But little did the boy know that he had been merely put back to sleep by Vlad and his computer….

Glancing through the window of the control room at Daniel, Vlad said, "Now that we've got Daniel back to 'square one' again, start the next phase immediately, Maddie."

"Right away, sir," the computer replied.

In precision and speed, the turned-off Subliminal Helmet was placed on the sleeping boy. Then the computer carefully turned the small brown dial, slowly adjusting Daniel's brainwaves so that they were now in the _beta _range, which was needed in order to allow the boy to dream.

Vlad, who had been carefully monitoring everything the hologram was doing, said, "Alright, Maddie, be sure to let him begin his own dream first like we did during the test before we butt in. Otherwise, that might startle the boy awake right away versus our choosing when to shake him up."

"Yes, sir," she replied, as she turned a dial to delay the helmet's activation until she commanded it to activate.

"Now it's time for the show!" Vlad continued.

But the holograph frowned at his comment. "Do you mean that I should activate the program, sir?"

Vlad smirked a bit as he answered, "Yes. Thank you for the correction, my dear. Activate the program."

"As you command, sir" she said as she pushed a brown square button and a brown thin rectangular button at the same time to activate the helmet, the program and the boy's dream…

"Wow! This is more beautiful than Sam imagined!" the human form of Danny said in a hush, awed by the sight.

Dressed in his usual red-and-white t-shirt and blue jeans—though without his red sneakers this time—Danny glanced around the small lagoon blushing in the color of the clear sky. He immediately noticed the welcoming sound of a waterfall nestled within its bosom and the small, white beach snug within its soft blue arms. As he stepped closer to the edge of the beach, he felt the warmness in the sand soothe his bare feet and the cool wind caress his face and play with his raven hair.

Very pleased at the place, the boy uttered out his next thought, "I can see why she would love to be here with me…" He scanned the area again and frowned before adding, "Then, why isn't she here?"

"But I am here, Danny!" a giggling voice said from the direction of the lagoon.

Danny jerked his head toward that familiar sound and smiled. But he suddenly frowned when he didn't see Sam. Instead, he saw a small and slender, green, whale-shape-like fish tail rise up out of the water momentarily. Its fins glistened like translucent emeralds against the sunlight before it quickly pulled itself back underneath the quiet waves.

"Sam?" he called out in bewilderment, twisting his head from side-to-side, looking for her once more. He was sure he had heard her.

"Why don't you come into the water, Danny? It is so much more refreshing in here than where you are!"

This time, Danny saw that his girlfriend's smiling face was now above the water while the rest of her body was still submerged. But her hair was so wet, and caressing her face so tightly that he could not see the ends.

"But how can I?" he began, only to gasp when he looked down and saw he now had swim trunks and a muscle shirt on when a heartbeat ago he was wearing his t-shirt and jeans.

Just as the boy started for the lagoon, he chuckled, "Well, okay, then! Here I come, Sam!"

The girl giggled at his reaction and remained floating where she was as he dove into the water.

But he hadn't even gotten close enough to her, when she giggled once more and quickly slipped under the water.

Confused by her actions, Danny stopped in mid-swim and trod water at the spot. He was about to plunge beneath the water in search for her when he felt something grasp his ankle, followed by a quick pull downward.

He gasped as his mouth filled with water. But a moment later, he was not only surprised that he was not aching for air, but that it was Sam who had pulled him under. And in the next instant, she was pressing her loving lips against his.

Reflexively closing his eyes as they continued to kiss, he pulled her closer, yet wondering for a second how he was feeling water, flesh and hair under his hands and all around him at once. But right now, he didn't really care as he held and continued to kiss her.

They parted a few moments later and when Danny opened his eyes, he jolted, a bit startled once again.

Sam was….different. Her hair. Though it was still black and straight, it was very thick and very, very long. And part of it was moving in slow motion, shining like black silk under the soft sunlight which filtered through the crystal water. And the rest of it either swathed her body past her waist, or lightly caressed him.

But there was more. Her slender arms, which were still partially wrapped around him, were bare. And except for a green strapless bikini top, her shoulders and waist were also bare.

He found his eyes drifting further down when his eyes widened in disbelief. She had no legs! Instead, her body from the waist down was covered in glistening emerald scales and ending in the same sparkling translucent whale-like fish tail he had seen moments before at the surface!

Sam…was a **mermaid**?

But then, he startled even more when his eyes, still glued to Sam's fish tail, caught a glimpse of a second fish tail that had gently brushed the water a little below him. He turned his gaze to it, only to see that his own feet, which were suddenly not there, had also been replaced by a green, translucent fish tail like Sam's! It, too, ended at his waist but instead of sparkling, it glowed! And then he could see that the muscle shirt was gone and that he was bare-chested.

"Sam, what's going on?" he uttered in confusion, only to be gripped by even more confusion when he noticed that he was **talking** underwater!

"Oh, c'mon, silly, you act like we've never kissed underwater before!" Sam gently chided him with a soft laugh, as she playfully yet affectionately ruffled his bangs and then pulled its white strands over his eyes.

She next pulled him closer and whispered, "But for me, each kiss has the thrill of our first one because I love you with all my heart!"

At that moment, Danny forgot all about how strange this all was and reached for her as well. And just before they kissed…..

"Danny!" Sam screamed in alarm when, suddenly, she was being ripped from his arms.

He gasped as he saw her ensnared in a net, which was rapidly pulling her up to the surface!

"Sam!" he yelled in alarm. His tail fin pushed down against the clear water and with a strong whoosh, he pursued the captured mermaid.

But as soon as he broke the surface, it was no longer bright and blue around him; it was a dully-lit purple, green and black background surrounding him.

And Sam was nowhere in sight!

He instantly pushed down against the water again, only to feel something **solid **pushing back. He looked down and his white boots were against a black surface, though he could see the water he was once in was quickly slithering away like frightened snakes before floating upward and into the air and then breaking up into a ring of large droplets, which twisted upon itself until further breaking up into progressively smaller drops until they melded into the purple, green and black background.

Still, he didn't care to think why he was back in his ghostly costume.

"Sam!" he yelled again, desperately scanning the atmosphere as he bolted up off of what was now a black floating shelf…

"Danny!" he heard her scream in the distance.

He instantly twisted his body tightly to his right, his ghostly eyes anxiously searching for her. And then he spied her! She was no longer a mermaid, but was in the human form he knew all too well, only that she was captured within a free-floating square purple cage. And it was just up ahead. He poured on more speed as he poured green energy into his hands.

But just before he could get close enough to shatter the bars with an ectoplasmic blast, the walls of the cage suddenly grew solid, swallowing his girl up within.

"Sam!" he gasped as he precisely shot the walled container, which instantly lit-up within the ectoplasmic ray that enveloped it.

However, in the next instant, his energy was torn away from the cage when he was hit from his left side by something small, blue and square, and was violently thrust away with the impact. Fortunately, he was able to gain control of his flight right away and violently veered back toward where Sam was.

But then, he heard what sounded like a whip snapping, only to gasp when a large wall of…bubble wrap shot out in front of him. Before the Ghost Boy could react, the packing material was tightly winding itself around him, quickly pinning his arms to his sides.

Danny growled in anger just as his ears perked up at the sound he just knew he would next hear….

"BEWARE!"

But the Ghost Boy was in no mood to even give the Box Ghost the pleasure of a response as he quickly enveloped himself in a ghostly green aura.

An instant later, Danny yelled in defiance as his energy tore outward through the bubble wrap, ignoring the instinctually pleasant loud plastic popping sounds now assaulting his ears. However, to his surprise and chagrin, as the bubble wrap was destroyed, various sizes and shapes of canned foods rained down upon him, as if each bubble in the plastic wrap had hidden a canned good within them and he had merely released them when the plastic bubbles had popped.

"Ouch!" the boy hollered at the next blow just before he pulled up an ectoplasmic shield and lifted it above his head like it were an umbrella.

A moment later, the cans were gone and there was silence.

Danny searched for the reason for the sudden stillness when he gasped. Two ghosts had been staring at each other in shock while Danny was being pummeled with the canned goods.

"Who are you and why did you do that?" the Box Ghost finally mustered to ask the smaller ghost.

"Daddy!" the pig-tailed, young girl with braces cried, finally pulling out of shock enough to fly toward the ghost she had addressed.

She quickly wrapped her arms around him and gave him a squeeze. But the Box Ghost gingerly pulled her away and looked at her with a frown.

"Daddy?" the Box Ghost queried, now both stunned and bewildered. "I don't have any children."

"How can you say that, Daddy? I'm your little girl, Box Lunch!" she exclaimed, her eyes instantly tearing up. "Don't you remember me? I can't help it if I was thrown back into time again and you don't know me!"

She then started to cry and buried her face within her small grey work gloves.

"There, there, little girl, I didn't mean to upset you," The Box Ghost began, as he gingerly approached the weeping freckled, blue-skinned girl…"And how is it that you're my little girl?"

Even though he was as every bit surprised to see Box Lunch and the Box Ghost as they had been to see each other, Danny seized that brief window of opportunity while the two were speaking to each other to soar over to the still-floating box that still held Sam within its solid clutches.

As soon as the white-haired half-ghost reached the purple box, he ripped off its top with ease, only to find that Sam was gone!

Now livid, Danny turned to the ghosts who were still talking and growled, "What did you do with Sam?"

The Box Ghost and Box Lunch instantly silenced at his angry demand.

But then, the Box Ghost gasped and yelled back with as much anger, "What did you do to my **box**?"

He instantly produced several blue glowing square-shaped bundles of ectoplasmic energy and thrust them at the Ghost Boy.

Danny reflexively formed a large ball of vibrant green ectoplasmic energy between both of his hands before rolling it toward the mass of blue boxes heading his way. And just as easy as bowling was for the young hybrid, his ectoplasmic ball plowed into the blue square 'bowling pins', instantly destroying the missiles.

Danny then charged right at the Box Ghost. In a moment, he was upon the ghost. He grabbed the straps of the ghost's overalls and roughly pulled him up to his eye level while raising his other fist threateningly. He then growled, "I'm not kidding around, Box Ghost! Where is Sam?"

Just then, the young hybrid heard a high shrill voice angrily cry, "Feast on my containers of preserved doom!"

And right afterward, Danny was being bombarded by more cans and packages of food; and as a result, unwittingly released the Box Ghost.

But Danny quickly followed up with an ectoplasmic beam, hitting the Box Ghost squarely and riveting the ghost away just before Danny turned and charged right at Lunch Box this time.

Danny was upon her before she could even gasp and easily pinned both of her hands within his left hand.

"Release me, or you will be flattened between my packaged dried foods of fury!" the pink-capped ghost girl seethed in threat, struggling to break free.

"Gee, can't you come up with better lame lines than those?" Danny retorted in annoyance, having no difficulty in maintaining his hold on her.

But then, he spied the roll of bubble wrap the Box Ghost must have first used on him floating close by. Without hesitating, he pulled Box Lunch along with him toward it; and as soon as he reached it, he quickly and firmly wrapped the ghost girl in it, dusting his hands off as soon as he was finished.

A moment later, Danny spied the Box Ghost finally returning, armed with more of his blue glowing boxes.

"Heh-heh. You might say that this is a _golden opportunity for…__**horror**__!"_ the older male ghost snickered as he aimed his boxes for attack.

Danny rolled his eyes just before they immediately glowed with a bright blue aura as he flew to meet the ghost. When Danny sensed he was close enough, cold energy poured out of his eyes, quickly destroying the Box Ghost's own missiles.

In the meantime, Box Lunch was concentrating. Several cans of tuna fish suddenly appeared and attached themselves to her bubble-wrapped body. Inexplicably, the bumble bees that had adorned the outside of the cans detached themselves from the cans' labels, and spewed forth. The ghost girl immediately commanded them to attack Danny.

"Okay, Box Ghost," Danny began as he continued to destroy any glowing box the ghost threw at him. "I'm not going to ask you again. Where is Sam?"

But the Box Ghost merely grinned at him.

Danny growled in anger and was about to smote the Box Ghost with a little more powerful ectoplasmic blast when, suddenly, he was encased in a swarm of bumble bees.

Ignoring the irritating stings, which only really just fueled his already being irritated with this development, the half-ghost teen's aura turned green before intensifying until Danny's body was within a green ectoplasmic energy capsule. He grunted as he willed that powerful energy outward and away from his body, which instantly smashed right into the bees and vaporized them.

But that was the Box Ghost's own chance. He whipped out even more bubble wrap and quickly ensnarled the boy within it.

Bent on destroying his bindings, Danny was already glowing with his ectoplasmic energy when the Box Ghost chuckled darkly, "Heh-heh! I've saved this special baby just for this occasion, Ghost Boy!"

A glowing box materialized in the Box Ghost's hand. Only, it wasn't blue. It was black and bigger than any others that the Box Ghost had yet produced. But there was more. It had a big, bright, multi-colored bow on top of it.

The Box Ghost didn't hesitate to throw it at Danny, who had yet had time to obliterate the bubble wrap still binding him. But as he threw the box at Danny, the Box Ghost snickered, "Now you will feel my squarical revenge of your inferior cylindrical container!

"'Squarical'? Is that even a word?" Danny couldn't help but ask before he gasped. The large black box was expanding in size even as it rapidly neared him!

Danny had just about poured enough energy to finally break his bindings when he heard that same high shrill cry to the right of him.

"Beware of the pounding power of my pickled rage!"

Not a moment later, Danny was hit on the side of the head by a large jar full of pickles that Box Lunch had launched at him. That was enough to both distract and stun the young half-ghost and delay him from succeeding in breaking free just as the black box was nearly upon him.

Danny yelled as the black box swallowed him up.

And then, everything went black….

But a few moments later, Danny heard muffled laughter, which he instantly recognized as belonging to the Box Ghost and Box Lunch. He opened his eyes, realizing he had briefly passed out, and quickly inspected himself. He gasped again when he found that hard to do. In fact, he couldn't feel or even move his neck, though for some reason he caught glimpses of very bright colors surrounding him.

"Here, let me help!" the Box Ghost snickered just as a square-shaped mirror suddenly appeared in his hand and he held it up in front of the 'transformed' Ghost Boy.

Danny's larger-than-normal eyes widened at what he could not deny was his reflection. He was no longer…him! His 'face' consisted only of his eyes, nose and mouth on the side of the pretty box in front of him. And his 'hair' was now a dainty bow, even having curly ends! He tried to move and was even more upset that his whole 'square-ness' moved as one unit!

"NOOOO!" Danny screamed just before everything went black again….

* * *

><p>Vlad was still laughing even as the Subliminal Helmet had been removed and Daniel was now back in <em>delta<em> sleep and lying on the floor of the totally black simulation room.

He turned to the computer-generated image of his love and still chuckling, replied, "Ha-ha! That was better than the butterfly, Maddie! And my, doesn't Daniel look even prettier all wrapped up as that square birthday present—well, at least we made him think that his dream was real! I'm sure that was even more of a shocker than finding himself as a butterfly!"

His laughter finally subsided as he grew more serious. "Still, I am so glad we butted in when we did. That sappy 'mermaid' dream was about to make me nauseous. Not to mention the fact that Daniel takes his relationship with that girl seriously. Hmm, though, that could be useful later…"

"I thought that part of the dream was sweet, sir," Maddie replied. "Nevertheless, it seems that your objective was successful."

"Yes, Maddie, dear, you are right at least about that. It went off without a hitch. And though I'm tempted to keep on a roll and get right on to the next ghosts in the hierarchy of the 'level two' ghosts, we'll have to delay that because I really should be retiring for the evening..." He paused a moment before adding, "And so, keep Daniel in _delta_ sleep and make sure the programs in queue are ready until then, hmmm?"

"Just as you order, sir," the holograph replied as she pushed a few more buttons, and continued to monitor the boy and recheck the next program**...**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, there you have it, gang. The first 'full-length' dream sequence with the Subliminal Helmet! I actually have been mulling over a 'mermaid' scene ever since I saw Danny Phantom artwork on Deviantart and Google images that had the artists showing Danny as a merman. Or would it be merboy? Oh, well, I think you know what I mean! In any case, I hope you liked my version of that!**

**And as you've probably guessed by the time you get down here, the countdown of the**_**Fantomos Ecto-Scale**_**list continues….**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—****_Omegas—_****shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as****_Malfortas._****Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the****_Malfortas._**

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_ —**Derek and Sarah****_—_****truephan's original characters****from her story,****_TrueHeart_**

**289-level 2-****_Theta—_****?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-****_Eta—_****?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_ —**Klemper** **(and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons**_**_—_****Box Ghost and Lunch Box (uh, ewww!)**

**As always, I'm looking forward to your own rating****_—_****uh, of this chapter, of course! I love all of your delicious thoughts. You know what to do: just push that big blue****_ecto-button_****down below! Thanks again, dear readers!**


	11. Chap 11: Flight of the Level TWO Deltas

**A/N: Well, dear readers, it's time for another update! And, man, I'm glad I got it out. For some reason, this chapter gave me and my awesome beta a bit of a hard time. *scratches head* But then again, given the ghosts involved, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Heh-heh! And speaking of said ghosts, I'm sure you're curious who that be now? Well, then, it's time to get on with Chapter 11! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 11—Flight of the Level <strong>Two<strong> _Deltas_

Vlad walked into the simulation's control room early the next day. He had had a good night's rest and he was feeling in high spirits…

"Good morning, Maddie, my dear! Any updates? How did young Daniel spend the night, hmm?"

The female hologram smiled brightly at her creator, watching as he went right to the mainframe without waiting for her to answer and began looking over the data.

"Good morning to you, too, sir! I trust you slept well!" she answered sweetly. "As for your questions, I have nothing significant to report. There was only that same, yet brief, fluctuation of your future-son's ghost energy, but nothing came of it; and as you know, it is nothing we have not seen before. I am still analyzing it and do not have anything conclusive to report. His vitals and readings, as you can further see, shows your perfect half-ghost future son is fully rested and recuperated from his latest test."

Vlad nodded, but continued to scan over the computer's information.

Maddie's smile never faded, looking almost like a worshipping statue as she watched her creator. But then she blinked and asked, "If all is to your satisfaction, sir, would you like me to proceed with the next level of testing?"

Vlad rubbed his chin thoughtfully as his eyes drifted from the screen to the sleeping boy he could see through the viewing glass. He could see that the Subliminal Helmet had also been removed from the boy as he had ordered before he went to bed last night. There was a small daring smile on his lips as the wheels in his mind turned.

Finally, after another minute, he shook his head and his lip curled higher into a smirk. "No, Maddie. I think I want to do something different today… One, it will keep Daniel on his toes—after all, we do not want him to find our 'tests' predictable. And changing things up will keep him none the wiser. And two, I have been wanting to try out my _newest_ feature Skulker helped me create for this simulation room…"

Maddie momentarily froze in place as she searched her database for the latest installation done to the simulation room with the aid of her master's hunter ally. But when she found it, she instantly frowned.

"But, sir, you have not done any testing on this new feature. Are you sure it's safe to add an uncertain variable to your well-formed plans?"

"Ah, Maddie," Vlad said with a smile. "Shame that there are some human qualities I cannot install in you. Sometimes, uncertain variables are good. And I am certain this one will be well worth the risk."

Maddie clearly did not compute.

But Vlad ignored it, and instead said, "Maddie, when I signal you, activate the Temporary Portal Stimulator. Also, I will keep in touch with you through my wrist communicator to inform you when I want you to rouse Daniel from _delta _sleep. And, of course, I will add to your database the results of this…little excursion...," he added with a chuckle.

"As you wish, sir," the hologram answered, though she looked lost.

Vlad wasted no time and morphed into Plasmius. He then just as quickly teleported into the simulation room, appearing right next to the still-sleeping Daniel.

He walked up to the boy with a smile. He reached down, slightly cupped the boy's chin and turned the boy's unresponsive face to him before he assuredly said, "Soon, little badger. Soon you will be what I dream you will be for me. But for now…," He grinned evilly. "Let's make a small trip, son…"

Without wasting another moment, the man slid one hand under the Danny's neck and slipped his other hand under the boy's knees. In a quick swoop, he lifted the teen and cradled him steadily.

He then turned to the unseen viewing glass above and said, "Maddie, activate the stimulator."

He heard Maddie oblige over the intercom before the simulation room began to make an odd sound from within its walls. Then, the room began to grow colder, so much so that the boy in the man's arms briefly shivered. Right after that, cold waves, like the ripples seen in a pond after a stone has been cast into it, pulsed outward from the center of the room, followed by a rather loud ripping sound, which reverberated from that same spot just before a green dot appeared out of nowhere and slowly swirled with green energy.

Careful not to drop the boy, Plasmius fired a red ray from one of his hands at the slowly expanding void. The spinning hole sucked the energy right up; but as if the power had been a charge to a battery, the vortex began to spin all the faster and expanded quicker.

An unseen wind picked up around the room as a ghost portal opened right inside the simulation room.

"See you in a bit, my dear!' Plasmius said cheerfully before he flew into the portal with the boy. They quickly appeared on the other side.

"I think you will enjoy this one, my boy," Vlad told the slumbering teenager with a grin.

At the next instant, Plasmius teleported himself and Daniel to their intended location…

The older half-ghost deposited the boy at the designated spot. His eyes searched the area for a suited well-hidden place. He quickly flew over to the spot, but also turned invisible when he landed—just as an added measure of caution. After all, he didn't want to spoil the fun of watching _all _of the concerned parties.

He quickly programmed his wrist device to relay and receive data from his feminine computer in the control room—all quietly of course.

And then he scanned the area for other hiding places since he knew that the boy would be on the move in short order. Spying an ideal one, Vlad hunkered down, ready to watch 'the show'.

He smiled in anticipation; since he had no doubt that it would be a good one…

* * *

><p>Danny woke with a start with the very last thing he remembered lighting up his mind…He hitched in a gasp and anxiously began pulling at himself, as if he was trying to rip off wrapping paper. He panicked at first when he could swear he could actually hear the crunching of the paper as he pulled at it, and doubled his efforts. But then, he frowned in confusion. Why wasn't the paper coming off?<p>

But then, his eyes finally adjusted to the intense light around him, and his mind began to clear. Even as he squinted his eyes against the very bright light and the sweat that was slightly stinging them, he let out a big sigh in relief when he realized that all of it had to have been only a dream—because if it hadn't been a dream, he wouldn't have _any arms_ right now and wouldn't have been able to even attempt to rip off his clothes just moments ago. He signed in relief again. Fortunately, his costume was _very_ stretchy!

The young hybrid lifted his hand up to his forehead to both shade it from the light and to rub the tension out of it. He didn't feel rested in the least. And he was still upset by that dream. It all seemed _so_ real, especially when he had lost to the Box Ghost—and Box Lunch—of all ghosts!…

His mind furrowed as deeply as his brow right now. He searched his thoughts. Was the dream just a dream or was there more to it? Well, he certainly remembered being knocked out by the Observants before all this craziness about being a box happened. He immediately frowned more in irritation at the thought of the one-eye spirits, completely dismissing the wild thought that maybe 'shooting him' had been their way of putting someone to sleep. Still, he was sure he had been dreaming, so he had been asleep for a while, right? That would make some sense since what he last remembered after that was just too…weird. After all, Sam as a mermaid? He chuckled a bit when he was sure she would roll her eyes and say something flip about it.

"_Sam!"_ His mind suddenly cried, finally jolting it to full clarity.

Why hadn't he thought about her before? But then the boy sighed.

"_Because I was way too busy fighting ghosts, that's why," _he answered himself.

But now that he was thinking about his girl, maybe he could try getting a hold of her 'their way'.

Danny was about to try when he felt something that was _actually hot and painful_ erupt from within his core to his spine before he heard a loud high-pitch shriek pierce the air. That was enough for him to forget about trying to contact his girl for now. His eyes reflexively searched the bright clear sky. But he didn't see anything except that huge ball of burning gas right on top of him.

All the same, he pulled himself up off of the ground, the sand crunching in protest with every one of his movements. He sighed yet rolled his eyes at the sudden familiarity of that sound. So _that_ was the sound of the 'crunching paper' he had first heard when he awoke! He unconsciously licked his dry lips and wiped off his wet brow. He had already noticed that he had been sweating and was very hot soon after he had awoken, but he thought it had been from the dream, and not this heat… But maybe it _was_ both.

He finally scanned his surroundings and groaned. Of course the Observants did it again! But how did he end up being in a desert of all places?

He shook his head just as his memory became more focused. Well, one thing was certain. The Observants weren't wasting any time in administrating more of these 'tests'.

He wondered how many more they had up their sleeves...

But then he jolted at his next thought. He hadn't seen his mother since…..well, he really didn't know, since he had no idea how much time had passed. At first, the fact that he couldn't tell what time it was upset him even more. But then, he chuckled ironically at his next thought. That's right. There was no time here, so his internal temporal sense _couldn't_ work here. Still, he wanted to see his mother.

He looked around again and frowned before yelling up into the air, "Hey, you jerks, I know you're there! And you told me you would let me see my mother every day! Well, I figure that at least a day…uhm, more or less….has gone by and I expect you to stick to your end of the bargain—that is, if there still is one. Or do the Observants want to admit that you _aren't_ doing this whole thing the 'proper' way?"

He wasn't surprised that there was no answer.

Even though it wasn't beyond the pale, Vlad was a bit surprised that the boy had suddenly asked this. So, that meant that he had better fix it so that the boy would be satisfied. Vlad quickly relayed the information and request to his computer and waited.

Not a few moments later, the area right in front of Danny inexplicably opened up, as if a window had suddenly appeared in the air in front of him. He reflexively looked in and saw…..his mother! She was awake and eating what looked like dinner. He could see that she didn't look pleased, but…how odd. Her hair was in an up-do. She was also wearing a very beautiful black dress and there were ghostly maids attending to her. But the maid had their backs to him and so he couldn't see their faces.

He smiled weakly, underneath relieved that it indeed looked as if his mother's 'amenities' were being well attended to.

"So, all right. You are doing those things sorta properly," he immediately called out into the air once the portal had disappeared. "So then, now what am I supposed to do?"

Once again, silence still abounded.

Danny grumbled under his breath about it even when he was suddenly aware how thirsty he was with all the heat emanating from this place. And he was also hungry.

He glanced around again and murmured, "Maybe I'm not in the Ghost Zone this time because it's so hot!" He stopped when he immediately thought about the Spectre Realm. He frowned a bit before adding, "But then again, I haven't been everywhere in the Ghost Zone, either."

He paused a second before he brought his open left hand upward and placed the thumbside edge of it against his forehead so that his hand was now shading his eyes. He looked up and finally saw the black and green skies before continuing, "Looks like it's the 'I haven't been everywhere' thing."

As he began to walk along the very dry and sandy empty land, he saw various shrubs that looked more than dead; their spiny, short brown fragile branches twisted hideously upward, as if begging for a drop of moisture that would never come. Every once in a while, large tumbleweeds blew past him—or he had to avoid a few— or small whirls of yellow sand would rain their dust on him.

Spitting out some of the sand at the last encounter with that miniature whirlwind, Danny moved on, all the while wondering if the sand crunching under him would have its turn at assaulting him.

Suddenly, part of the ground gave way and he chided himself for his last thought! He quickly pulled himself upward and hovered over the partially caved-in ground. And was he ever glad that he had the ability to do that because almost immediately after he had flown away from the hole, several angry golden-colored ghost diamondback rattlesnakes spewed out of it!

But that was not all. The red aura surrounding them as well as their tails shook in audible protest; and their glowing crimson eyes reflected their ire as they looked up at what had disturbed them. Their mouths were open and their tongues were twitching in a silent scream, threatening the boy with unusually large and menacing downwardly curved crimson fangs. But before Danny knew it, the rattlesnakes actually turned those now brightening aura-encased fangs _upward_ toward him and were spitting their shimmering red venom at him!

"Whoa!" Danny instinctively yelled as he bolted out of the way of the stream of scarlet poison. Immediately afterward, he twisted back around and counter-attacked the group, quickly zapping them until they were lying in a heap like a plateful of plain spaghetti.

"Man, never seen those kinds of ghosts!" he murmured as continued on his way to who-knows-where.

Finally, after going on for he-didn't-know-how-long, the boy spied a large cactus. He instantly mused, "Well, they say that those plants are full of water and they are the only way to survive in a desert. Now, it's time to see if that's all been just talk."

He quickly flew over to the plant and was about to zap a branch off for its water when it began to glow before it…lunged at him!

"Yikes! No one ever talked about that! And so, it's _definitely_ the 'I haven't been everywhere in the Ghost Zone' thing here!" Danny cried just as he avoided the sharp thistles and darted away.

The boy debated whether to assault the plant or not, but the 'not' won out. He decided that whatever water it would yield probably wouldn't taste good, anyways.

He flew onward, growing thirstier, hungrier and hotter as each foot drifted under him. And, darn, he still had that dull headache he had had since he woke up as that 'unwitting guest' when he first got into this friggin' realm! Plus, the sweat from his brow was now freely stinging his ghostly eyes.

"_I'm going to at least need some water, soon_," he thought, suddenly aware that his lips were now _very_ dry. He then gritted his teeth and angrily thought, "_But besides that, what am I __**supposed to be doing**_?"

The half-ghost teen then saw a large rock formation jutting up out of the hot, brittle tan sand in the distance and a rather expansive yet diffuse red haze floating off of the ground just ahead of it. He could see other large dark stones dotting the area before it, as if the larger land structure had strewn giant pods of itself. And that red haze actually rested above them.

Encouraged, Danny increased his speed. At least there might be shade there! And then he saw a reflection ahead and poured on even more speed.

He brightened when he saw what he hoped he would see: a…pool of water! Focusing only on the water, he flew over to it and alit on the shore nearest to him, landing in a half-kneel at its brim. But as he cupped the precious liquid within his gloved hands and pulled it closer to his mouth, he reflexively recoiled from it. It smelled putrid!

He frowned as he let the foul water slip between his fingers and onto the soil. And then, he noticed that that awful smell had _not_ gone away. His eyes finally drifted over to the other side of the pool of water, only to startle a bit at what he saw.

There was a large black unmoving **dead**….thing on that side, lying part-way in the water, with glowing green flies buzzing all around it! A glowing eerie red gas was emanating from the dead thing, vibrant as fire at its surface, only to become thinner and paler as it quickly climbed into the sky, adding to the larger red haze around this whole area. But its nauseating smell definitely permeated the area.

But there was more.

What he thought had been the large stones in front of the larger stone structure several hundred feet beyond the pool of water turned out to be….more _dead, rotting_ things—hundreds of them in all shapes and sizes! And their bodies, too, were belching out those sickly red fumes into the air, as if they were pools of lava spewing out their hot brew.

He swallowed hard at the sight, trying to stay his sudden urge to hurl. But then a heartbeat later, Danny heard another shrill scream pierce through the air. He jerked his head upward and saw a thick glowing black mass circling the entire area, moving as if they were a partially clogged drain. He could hear a multitude of flapping sounds coming from it. Then, another piercing shriek assaulted the sky, followed by still another. But the last one was followed by a sudden movement in the ghostly glowing mass—downward!

"_Oh, crud, am I supposed to fight all of those?"_ the boy desperately thought, his fisted hands already bathed in his ectoplasmic energy. Then looking at the sea of dead things, he added with a gulp, _"Especially after what they did to __**them**__?"_

Still, the boy steadied himself and took a battle stance. He steeled his gaze toward the mass of black, hideous-looking ghost birds, even as their blood-red eyes flared in intensity as they swooped downward with their long, razor-sharp claws extended outward.

But to teen's surprise, the wake of their combined flight didn't even brush the bangs out of his eyes as they flew past him. As if one unit, they soared over to the carcass partly submerged in the pool of water directly across from him and converged upon it as if it were a magnet and they were steel.

The black ghostly vultures screeched in both delight and rage as they began to tear at and devour the rotting flesh. And Danny couldn't help but cringe when he could hear slashing, slurping and sloshing sounds intermixed with the birds' violent squawking as they hurriedly rent their dead prey open.

It was enough to turn his stomach even more.

Nearly an instant later, the birds took flight again and headed to another carcass near to that last one, swooping upon it as hungrily as the first.

Danny bit his lower lip when he could see that all that was left of the first dead thing was its twisted white bones, completely stripped of any semblance of substance. And he gasped a bit as he saw the mass of vultures swaying back and forth upon their second victim-carcass, as if they were on a nightmarish see-saw. Once more, putting even piranhas to shame, the flock of black ghostly birds had stripped the bones clean in hardly any time.

The winged mob was already on its way to a third rotting body when they jolted in mid-flight. Once again, as if one unit, they turned their heads to the sky for only a moment before they shrieked in terror and promptly dispersed, fleeing the scene like widely shot buckshot.

The young hybrid, of course, had been mesmerized even as he had been horrified by all that was happening; and now that he saw how frightened those monstrous scavengers were, he wondered if he even wanted to look for the reason why. Surely, it must be a more loathsome….and powerful creature—or creatures—that had freaked them out.

But then, he heard the sound of rapidly flapping wings above and to his left, and the sound was much _louder_ than the flock that had just left. And he could feel waves of intensifying heat assaulting him, as if they were silently heralding his doom with each degree of rising temperature. In fact, he did not know that the creatures ready to tear at him in the next few moments had actually been able to create the hot waves and in effect herd them forward in attack as well. And the heat waves were effective enough. Now it was so hot that Danny hadn't even noticed that his ghost sense was _not even _working against all that heat. Not only that, but he could barely keep his eyes open from the sting of the heat coming from above. But still, the boy could somehow sense that what was causing those hot waves had to be extremely _near_ to him!

Now acting on instinct, the Ghost Boy instantly charged up his ice energy within his hands and eyes, readying himself to send as powerful a counterblow to the rising heat as he could muster, considering he was now quite parched. But to his dread, he could not form any of his ice energy! In desperation, he charged up his ectoplasmic energy and this time he was successful.

Without a moment to lose, Danny twisted violently to his left then upward in one swift movement toward his foes, ready to shoot. He took aim right away, only to jolt in mid-flight when he saw..… …

… … … … … ….the three feathery, fez-wearing side-kicks of Plasmius flying right at him!

Bewildered at first that those lethal-looking black vultures he had seen only moments before were actually _scared _off by those three losers, Danny nevertheless quickly darted away and easily avoided the swoop of their attack.

Now annoyed, the young hybrid twisted back to face the green ghost birds and slightly huffed, "What are you doing here?"

"Vhat do you mean by that, Ghost Brat?" the leader, Norbert, growled back, pulling himself into a hover just in front of the boy, even as his claws were ready in strike position.

"Yeah, Ghost Pest! Ve should be the ones asking _you_ vhat you are doing here!" the second one named Ruben added with a sneer, also hovering in threat near his companion.

The third ghost bird, Willie, also maintained his equally aggressive position with the others. He said, "This is _our_ turf that you're messing vith, so ve can easily defeat you here!"

Danny's eyes widened slightly at the last vulture's comment. Immediately thinking about that live cactus, and the other strange happenings, could what the birdbrain had just said be true? Nevertheless, that didn't dispel Danny's annoyance at seeing them or, of course, being here. But the boy had no time to think about it because the three had just swooped down at him again with their angry claws extended toward him!

The teen immediately retaliated with a double charge of his green ectoplasmic energy.

But at the last second, the three vultures pulled outward away from the beams, successfully avoiding them. The three birds quickly moved into their well-rehearsed strategic positions. They just knew they would win when they placed the Ghost Boy within the center of their imaginary three-dimensional circle, so that each of them was equally spread out along his respective radius.

In fact, the ghost vultures immediately acted upon their plan once they had reached their agreed upon launching points. They quickly soared diagonally downward, upward or sideways at the boy.

Once again, Danny was taken by slight surprise by the fact that the vultures had come up with anything that original. It might work! But that didn't keep him from concentrating. And suddenly, a large green ectoplasmic ball of energy encased him just before it exploded outward at the moment when the vultures' claws would have first dug into him.

The three ghost birds squawked in anger even as they were repelled several hundred feet from the boy. Still smoking and smarting from the Ghost Boy's assault, the three of them quickly flew away instead of counter-attacking.

Danny panted a little even as he sighed in relief when he saw their reaction. His effort just now drained him more than he thought it would. He was even more convinced that he had to get some nourishment soon, but especially some water.

Suddenly, he angrily yelled into the air, "Hey, you Observant bozos! You said you needed me to be at my full strength for your stupid tests! But looks like you've forgotten the little detail that you're not attending to _my _'amenities'. I know it's been a while since I drank or ate anything! So, if you want to have 'reliable and valid' results, you'll supply some of that pronto!"

Danny growled in annoyance when he got what was all too commonly becoming their 'usual answer': silence.

Nevertheless, hoping that there had to be water _somewhere_—or at least some shade—the teen headed toward the large rock formation as before, taking a much higher path so he wouldn't become nauseated by the fumes still emanating from all the dead creatures still between him and the land structure.

But as he drew nearer to the rock formation, he closed the gap between the ground and him when he could see that a very large, flat brown field was buffering the land structure and the desert's open cemetery. He was glad that, so far, he hadn't seen any more of those hideous black vultures. Then his heart leapt again. There was a very small stream just beyond the field and flowing alongside the large rock formation! He increased his speed.

Finally, he was at the crystal stream and skipped over it just enough to be in the shade of the rock formation, so that now his back was to the rock formation and he was facing the open field again. He practically plunged his face into the water, not caring in the least that his bangs were quickly saturated. And the liquid was like gold to him, it tasted so preciously good as he practically inhaled it in! And it was thankfully very cold compared to the rest of this putrid lair.

However, only a few minutes had past when the young hybrid suddenly felt a sizable hard object plow into him. Its force was hard enough to propel his body helter-skelter until he finally slammed into the wall of the large rock formation not too far behind him.

Now on the ground and a bit dazed by the blow, the boy groaned, reflexively shaking his head to try to clear it. A moment later, as his eyes began to focus, he was suddenly aware that the solid round thing was now in his lap.

He gasped in shock when the object came into full focus. It was a human skull, without its lower jaw! He quickly threw it off of him and pulled himself off of the ground, bolting right into the sky right afterward.

The Ghost Boy's ghostly eyes quickly swept the entire area, searching for the foes he knew would be nearby. Then he saw another white object appearing out of nowhere heading his way!

He jolted to his left and easily avoided it, just barely seeing that it was another human skull without its lower jaw! However, he wasn't so lucky with the next sudden attempt. Yet another skull made hard contact with him this time, shoving him right into the nearby stream, the water displaced from his impact rising violently up and outward with a loud whoosh.

Some of the water splashed onto a nearby burrow. No sooner had the water soaked the burrow when a nest of light brown large ghost scorpions came angrily charging out of their drenched home! With their glowing pincers clanking and stingers up in ready attack, they headed straight to the downed young hybrid.

"Yikes!" Danny gasped when he caught sight of the ghost creatures through his soaked bangs.

In the next moment, however, all the while that several sets of ghostly scorpion legs were rattling in sync with each other as deftly as marching soldiers in trying to reach the intruder to their burrow, all of the arachnids opened fire, shooting ectoplasmic red venom out of their stingers at the same time.

Danny gasped again but instantly conjured up a green ectoplasmic shield, which was quickly coated in the poison before it started to sizzle and dematerialize. But that was enough to keep the boy safe until he could spew out his own ectoplasmic beams in count-attack. He quickly and easily picked off all of his eight-legged foes.

Just when Danny had relaxed just a bit, however, another skull appeared out of nowhere once again, heading right to him!

With a yelp, Danny pulled to the right, but the skull still managed to clip his left shoulder.

Throwing off the pain and now very irritated with the buzzards, Danny shot upward into the air and defiantly yelled, "Okay, losers! Why don't you stop it with your cheap shots and fight me man-to-er,-buzzards!"

Suddenly, Danny heard a chuckle nearby and then a voice—which belonged to Willie—answer him, "Did you hear that, boys? Don't he know that ve make the rules here, so anything goes as far as ve're concerned?"

Another voice answered him, "You're right, Villie! And I vould say that the Ghost Boy is a sore loser at a game he brags he's a viz at!"

"Yeah," a third voice, which belonged to Ruben, agreed. "So, then, Ghost Brat, show us just how good you are at 'playing dodge ball' with us!"

Danny concentrated and was relieved when he had gotten enough water for his ghost sense to work a little bit this time. And he wasn't a bit disappointed when his ghost sense pointed the way for him. He smirked mischievously at his quickly thought-out plan.

Even though Danny now had a good idea where each of the vultures could be, before he knew it, the skull that was still in the stream he had been in only moments ago suddenly pulled itself out of the water on its own and disappeared. But in the next instant, it rematerialized and propelled itself toward him from roughly the same area. The boy shot it with an ectoplasmic blast just before it made contact. It shattered to pieces and harmlessly rained its bony dust on him!

"No fair!" Norbert, still invisible, yelled as he retrieved another skull off of the ground not too far where it had earlier landed.

This time, Danny didn't hesitate to shoot just beyond the skull when he saw the skull being pulled up off the ground seemingly by itself and just before it disappeared. He knew he had been successful when he heard a painful squawk immediately afterward and the skull reappear and fall back onto the ground. But to the boy's slight delight, the vulture reappeared! And the bird called Norbert was now lying dazed on the ground. Danny was glad he got the leader of the trio first.

Suddenly, something brushed past the corner of Danny's eye. Reflexively, Danny threw himself upward and flipped over, so that his head was down and his vision was in the direction of where he had detected movement. He barely squeezed out the time to destroy that incoming bony missile; but he still was able to succeed. And though he was still upside down, he followed up with another shot at what he hoped would be the starting point from where the skull had been propelled. He hitched in a chuckle when, once again, he knew by the fairly loud painful bird-like shriek that he had hit his mark. A moment afterward, Willie reappeared and fell to the ground.

'_Two down and_…,' Danny thought before he cried, "OW!" when he was smacked with another skull so hard from above and in front of him that he was shoved downward, only moments from crashing into the hard ground quickly charging at him from below. He knew he couldn't stop himself before the inevitable. But in the next moment, he frowned in bewilderment. He had plowed into something _soft _with the impact. And instead of being relieved, he was grossed out when he looked at where he now lay. The 'soft' thing turned out to be a carcass of some indistinct large rotting animal!

With an understandable, 'EWW!', the boy bolted upward and away from the thing, searching in anger for the third vulture. He had to wait only a second more when he saw one of the skulls lift upward on its own 'power'. He immediately shot at where he thought Ruben was and a heartbeat later, that vulture was out cold—and visible.

Without hesitating, Danny grabbed each of the senseless birds, placed them next to each other in a shallow and shaded part of the stream and quickly froze that part of the stream, encasing them in a very thick layer of ice.

The change in temperature was enough to revive the trio.

"V-V-Vhat happened?" Norbert stuttered as his senses cleared.

The other two vultures were still too dizzy to say anything, but all of them gasped when they saw the glaring Ghost Boy hovering over them with his arms folded across his chest.

"Just for future reference, jerks, 'dodge ball' is dodge _ball_, **not dodge **_**creepy skulls**_**!** But as you said, anything goes here, so I was just following your rules!" Danny smugly said. "And I think that I just won!"

But instead of admitting defeat, the leader began to laugh, "Didn't ve tell you that you von't vin on our turf?"

Right afterward, he bellowed out a loud screech.

Suddenly, the bright, diffuse light in the ghostly sky was clouded over.

Danny looked up and gasped; and just when he felt the remnants of his once-again failing ghost sense, he saw a huge flock of those monstrous black vultures circling above.

"I thought they were afraid of you," Danny hesitantly said as he tried to do a quick count on how many were in this new wave of force. But there were too many of them!

"Yes. They are," Norbert confidently replied. "And that's all because of vhat happened vhen ve vere bird-napped by who is now our boss. He needed specimens for his on-going experiments, and, of course, ve vere elected for that by him."

Then pointing upward with the few feathers that had not been completely frozen, the green ghost vulture continued, "Ve vere once just like those ghost vultures up there, only at the bottom of the pecking order. Ve vere picked on and made to do the vorst of vulture jobs. But once our boss was finished with us, ve vere, of course, never the same. Yet, really, vhat he did for us turned out to our advantage! Ve could, of course, speak and think like no other vulture. And vhen ve returned here, the others still recognized us in spite of the fact that ve vere no longer black in color. And our transformation awed them as if ve vere now superior to them. And because of that, ve became the _alpha_ birds in this land. Ve owe it all to our boss and so, ve gladly serve Plasmius!…." He suddenly screeched again before adding, "And now, of course, all of the others only do _our _bidding!"

Danny then heard a thunderous, aggressive shriek in reply to Norbert's cackle. The hairs on the back of the young hybrid's head immediately stood on end when he saw the ominous black cloud of countless red eyes and wings heading straight down to him!

He looked back down at the ice-encased vultures and frowned when they were smiling wickedly at him. The boy jerked his head from side-to-side, quickly searching for something that could help him.

Then, his eyes brightened at a possibility.

The Ghost Boy turned back to the fez-wearing vultures and dryly said, "Well, jerks, there is only one thing left to do…"

At first, the ghostly green birds had thought that the boy had lost his mind because they couldn't imagine that what Danny was doing just now would be to any advantage. But then, all three sets of avian eyes widened and all three sets of beaks dropped open in shock as they watched their young foe in action.

Trying not to look at the mass of black vultures even as it narrowed its gap between them, Danny purposely and quickly jumped into the part of the stream that he had not frozen, stopping when he was waist deep in water. He could instantly feel his ice energy absorb the coldness and moisture of the stream as easily as a sponge.

Not a moment later, the boy's eyes and hands lit up in vibrant blue energy. Instinctively, he threw his hands upward and then looked his foes right in their angry, glowing red eyes.

But something even more spectacular was happening as Danny increased his concentration while charging up his ice energy. The water surrounding him began to churn all around him as well, increasing in speed. In a split second, it rapidly pulled itself from the bed of the stream and actually slithered upward and momentarily circumvented the boy's body in that same churning movement as if he were a conductor and the water was electricity. All the while, the water never stopped in that pattern of flow now that the boy had willed his ice energy.

Danny was concentrating so intensely that he didn't notice that he was now standing on dry land. And he hadn't noticed that the water from the nearby putrid pond had pulled itself away from its hold as well and joined the stream of water. Nevertheless, the boy continued to will the endless stream of water upward until it met the glowing blue orb surrounding his upstretched yet fisted hands.

And when water met cold ectoplasmic energy, a thick stream of slushy ice burst forward toward the mass of black vultures with the force as strong as that of a fire truck's hose.

The ray of ice smacked right into the cloud of black birds just before it solidified and froze just about the entire group. The hunk of frozen buzzards slammed down to the ground several feet away from their teen attacker.

But the birds on the fringe of the mass shrieked in both fear and anger at what had happened to their cohorts. They instantly twisted downward and aggressively displayed their huge red claws in a counter-attack.

Danny concentrated harder and the stream of frozen slush quickly split up into smaller branches away from the main stream, easily hitting, engulfing and then freezing the individual buzzards heading his way.

A few moments later, the sky was hailing totally frozen birds. The buzzards' ice-encased bodies made loud thumping sounds as they hit the ground.

But Danny wasn't through with his foes. Even though he was now panting with the effort, he wanted to secure the pesky birds in their place. He pulled even more water and cold energy forward until the entire area was covered with a thick layer of ice. But then, he suddenly felt very dizzy from the effort. He stumbled toward what was once the shore of the stream.

Vlad, who had made sure to stay hidden, yet near enough to watch everything, also looked on at the fascinating sight. He was so enthralled that he wasn't even aware that he had quietly muttered, 'impressive' a couple of times as he watched the boy easily defeat all of the black vultures within seconds.

Once it was apparent the boy was through, Vlad glanced at his young nemesis and instead of smiling, frowned. The boy was barely able to stand!

Meanwhile, the three fez-wearing vultures groaned in defeat; but right afterward, they smiled when the boy's victory wasn't quite complete.

Danny collapsed in exhaustion a moment later and lay in a heap a distant away from the green buzzards. A moment later and two rings appeared at the boy's waist and raced outward until he was now in his human form.

"Now vhat are ve going to do?" Willie lamented as he struggled against the ice.

"Oh, shut your beak!" Ruben immediately replied, also trying to break through his cold, solid bonds.

Norbert, however just lay there and mused out loud, "I don't get it! Ve lost! And the boss told us to make sure that ve didn't. In fact, I vonder vat he will say —"

"Yes, you three should 'vonder' what I will say," a voice irritatingly said, purposely interrupting the leader.

All three birds startled when Vlad suddenly reappeared in front of the frozen three.

Ignoring their reaction, he looked over to where Daniel was still silently lying. He knew that the boy was far enough away from where he was that he would not hear anything they would say at the moment. Still, he had to be sure that the boy would not rouse. He quickly relayed a message to his computer, and knew that Maddie would secure the boy back into _delta_ sleep in short order.

Now that was done, it was time to have a little fun with his feathered minions. After all, he never let them know that he would stay here the entire time once he had brought Daniel here...

Turning back to the stuck trio with a frozen smile, Vlad quipped, "I see that you had some problems with Daniel."

Norbert's beak tightened in both embarrassment and slight irritation. 'Yeah, boss, we did. But ghosts vith ice powers aren't supposed to be able to use them here."

"Ah, but I see that Daniel could," Vlad responded with slight pride just as he pulled up his arm and pushed a few buttons on his wrist device.

Vlad finally said, "There. Now Daniel is back in _delta_ sleep. We can talk more freely now."

"Uh, speaking of 'free'," Willie suddenly piped in, motioning to the ice binding him with the one feather that wasn't totally frozen.

"Not now!" Vlad rudely replied before suddenly smirking and dryly adding, "And I thought you said you had a perfect plan to defeat the boy as long as I brought him here, hmmm?"

Clearly agitated by everything, Ruben answered, "Ve thought ve had the Ghost Pest! Like Norbert said, ghosts with ice powers shouldn't be able to use them at all because the heat would be too harsh on their cold central cores."

"Yeah!" Norbert added, "And because the Ghost Brat's central core was weakened, we just knew we had the advantage."

"Uh-huh," Vlad smugly replied before another bird piped in.

"But how did ve know that the Ghost Pest vould use the stream to get the moisture he needed to activate and enhance his ice powers?" Ruben lamented.

"Yeah! Even the defiled pool added to his powers, the little brat!" Rubin continued.

Norbert suddenly grinned in triumph and added, "But the Ghost Pest vasn't clever enough because using all of that energy really must have taxed his central core. So, he fainted from the effort!"

"And turned back into his puny half!" Willie snorted. "So, really, ve von!"

All three of the birds chortled at the irony of the boy's near victory.

Vlad frowned at the birds. Without another word, however, he teleported over to Daniel and picked him up. Another moment later, the older hybrid —with the boy securely in his arms —teleported back to the vultures.

Norbert rolled his eyes. He always hated when his boss did that 'teleporting' thing without warning! Still, he waited for his boss to speak. His eyes widened in disbelief when he heard what he man had to finally say.

"That's all for now. I'm sure you'll enjoy this unusual winter for a while!" Vlad wryly said before he and the boy quickly teleported back to the portal.

The man didn't even care to hear the cries of protest from his minions at leaving them, all of the other vultures and their lair essentially frozen over!

* * *

><p>"Did you get the rest of the data I sent you through my wrist device, my dear?" Vlad asked Maddie the holograph, having finally returned to the control room after returning from the vulture's lair and laying Daniel back on the bed within the simulation room.<p>

"Yes, sir, and the analysis is commencing," she said with a slight pout before adding, "It will take some time for that to finish."

"Well, then, let me fill you in on the details," Vlad replied, not paying too much attention to her features.

After the man was through with his 'report', Maddie commented, "I am glad that you had success in this part, sir. And I am sure that your test subject was completely depleted in his ghost energy from using his ice powers because his next nutritional session is overdue. But I still do not think you should have risked your master plan on this new feature of your simulation room. It was not needed."

"True, my dear. I knew I would still have met all of my objectives without the Temporary Portal Stimulator but…."

But he was interrupted by a familiar sound.

"Meow."

Absently-mindedly, the man chuckled before he reached down and picked up his cat. He reflexively cradled her within the nook of one of his elbows and began to stroke her fur.

The cat purred with pleasure, not at all aware that the computer-generator Maddie didn't look pleased at all by the turn of events.

"You were saying that 'I would still have met all of my objectives without the Temporary Portal Stimulator but'…." The hologram dryly repeated the man's last statement practically verbatim yet never moving her eyes away from the white, furry nuisance.

"That's right. Thank you, my dear for reminding me where I left off," the man casually replied, strolling over to a monitor while still cradling the cat. He still hadn't noticed the look of frustration on the computer's generated face. "But like I told you in the beginning, I wanted to keep Daniel off-balanced when it comes to my master plan. And that included my using _real_ ghosts on occasion and not just the programs. And now, thanks to Skulker and that Timeless Magic energy cube of his, we can do that since he had just completed the Temporary Portal Stimulator just before we started. And, really, I had wanted to use it right away, but felt that no opportunity was quite right until now, So, what better way to test it than to use it with those three blasted birdbrains?"

He chuckled and turned to look at the solid projection of the love of his life. But that was precisely when he finally noticed that her face was askew. He frowned and queried, "What's wrong, Maddie? Why the long face?"

The hologram blinked her eyes, failing to compute the slang he had used. "My face specifications are constant as you programmed them to be, until you upgrade it to reflect your newest perception of the model you used to design me, sir. Though I do not have anything in my memory banks that support that your model's face has become distorted in length," she quickly replied.

Vlad half-smiled and replied, "Yes, you are right again, Maddie. But we both knew that we were going to let Daniel defeat the vultures, so, why would your face reflect otherwise?"

For the moment, her answer addressed his immediate question, though her circuits were twisted with another difficulty. "I am sorry for the deviation from the standard, sir. But I cannot compute once more why you did not use the original order of your ghost list. Or made sure the test subject was nourished on schedule. After all, that would make you equally deviating from the standard, which is against protocol. And the use of real ghosts at their real lair was too risky and equally a non sequitur to the Master Plan 285."

"Right again, my dear," Vlad calmly said, putting the cat down and walking over to the holograph and the monitors. "But we already discussed the part about the real ghosts."

"But we have not discussed the other deviations in detail," she added, still not pleased, since one of those 'deviations' was the cat.

"And, really, we don't need to, my dear. You know I have my reasons," Vlad said, turning slightly away before looking down a moment when he felt his cat brush up against his leg.

She then pressed, "I agree that you have your reasons, sir. But you programmed me to point out discrepancies or distractions when it comes to your master plan. And you still jeopardized the protocols even more, sir, since I did not have any back-up programs to deal with any unplanned deviations when you sent your test subject out of the control of your simulation room."

Vlad frowned at her slight reproach. Nevertheless, he replied, "Maddie, you know that we were dealing with those useless buzzards here. And in the end, they are no match for Daniel. So, I never really was worried about the boy not being victorious."

The man smiled sweetly and added, "But even though you have your circuits twisted in a slight knot, you have to admit that the new feature is quite ingenious."

"Yes, of course it is as ingenious as you are, sir," she replied, still not satisfied, especially when the cat was beginning to steer toward her. "I still don't see the need for it."

Vlad was growing irritated with his machine. It was beginning to sound…too human. Still, he insisted, "With this feature, I can actually open up a portal anywhere I want in the simulation room once I deactivate the ghost shield in the general area. That means that I can actually put Daniel anywhere in the Ghost Zone if I want, or send any ghost I've instructed Skulker to 'obtain' for me back."

He chuckled to himself a bit with that thought. It was pure genius. He knew that the network of techniques he had used to make the programs as real as possible—including infusing real ghost energy into them and cloning each ghost's signature, form, and really all their mannerisms and memories to turn them into reality programs —were enough, he wanted more options to use…because no matter how ingenious the programs were, they were not completely fool-proof even for Daniel's intellect to detect and in spite of that black microchip embedded behind the boy's ear being interconnected to everything.

Vlad would not have any possibility of his failing in this plan, including rattling the boy up enough to make its success more easily attainable.

He walked over to one of the monitors. He smirked with pleasure when he read the preliminary data and reviewed the last part of Daniel's fight with the vultures. He turned back to his computer and added, "But in any case, this time I chose to use those three idiot vultures themselves because it's been a while since they were given a stinging bit of a reminder of who's boss for all those times they deviated from my plans. They need that sometimes and therefore, deserved to be trounced, even though they didn't know it at the time that they would be. In fact, it was ridiculously easy for them to go along with the whole thing. I just gave them the illusion that they would be the victors, and that was enough for them to get suckered in! I just knew that even though this was just to test the new feature, sending Daniel to those idiots' _real_ lair was no risk at all in the end."

Maddie was about to comment, but the older hybrid continued nevertheless, "And as for Daniel? Well, we didn't want him to have that easy of a time, now did we? And of course, he obviously didn't. Though I can tell by the video that even when we purposely delayed his 'nutrition session', he still made it look easy! Those birds practically didn't know what hit them….Of course, I'll retrieve those three pawns of mine later. But for now, it would be quite within the Master Plan to give the boy some food and drink. It is well past time. So, please make sure that is supplied once he has rested, will you, my dear; that is, just as we planned?"

The holograph replied, "As you command, sir." But then spying the cat once more, her circuits mini-booted and she continued with a frown, "Would it be possible, sir, if we allow no other distractions for the rest of the duration?"

"Well, I cannot guarantee that, my dear, as there are too many variables in this sort of thing," Vlad replied.

"That is not the distractions to what I was referring, sir," she said, her eyes narrowing with irritation as the cat began to approach the man and her.

"Then what distractions did you mean, Maddie?" the man queried in bewilderment before he noticed that she was looking rather unfavorably at something other than him.

He then smirked in understanding and replied rather sweetly, "Oh, I see. You do not like the cat?"

The computer-generated image's face lit up with red light as she denied, "Oh, no, sir! That is not the issue. I…only want to avoid the confusion of whom you would be addressing whenever you uttered the name of 'Maddie'." She then added with a sly smile, "After all, your cat has caused a bit of trouble around here lately, and we cannot have any more variables to distract the course of your ingenious master plan, do you think?"

"I like how you think, my dear," Vlad began before pointing to the cat and saying, "And I agree. I will have one of the maids look after that 'Maddie' for the rest of the duration. Will that be satisfactory?"

"Quite," the holograph said with a more triumphant smile than was originally programmed for her.

She looked at a monitor and then reconfirmed its readings with a glance out into the simulation room. She just caught seeing the boy's transformation rings activate, turning the boy back to his ghost side. She knew by this event that the boy must have finally recuperated from his depleting his ghost energy. And it wasn't at all surprising that he had returned to his ghost state, because it was the most natural thing for him—and any other half-ghost—to do once in the Ghost Zone—even a virtual one.

She turned back to Vlad and remarked, "It appears that your test subject has recovered from his incident, sir. And the monitors confirm that there is no permanent damage to him. Should I wake him since he has not had any nourishment for quite a while?"

"Yes, that would be good, Maddie," he simply replied after seeing for himself that Daniel had morphed, as he would expect.

The computer then turned a dial and pushed a button and reported, "Test subject has been awakened and his nourishment has been presented to him, sir..."

"Very good, my dear, very good," the older hybrid said as his eyes drifted over to the observation window and to the younger hybrid just beyond it.

And both he and Danny sighed in satisfaction as the boy began to relish his meal.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh, I see you made it down here, everyone! Very good! And you will be handsomely rewarded with the continuing presentation of the Fantomos Ecto-Scale list…**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_ —**Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story,**_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_ —**Klemper** **(and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Lunch Box (uh, ewww!)**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**Now about the story so far..**

**Poor Danny! I thought this time he would be awake at the end. But depleting all of his ghostly energy does make him faint, you know. And he certainly did that when he used his ice energy in a land where his cold central core would be severely taxed. Still, I'm very happy that he won this round in spite of that—finally! And I was very happy to see Vlad leave his minions frozen for a while because I find those buzzards annoying—though I have to admit that some of their quips are entertaining!**

**But, of course,**_**much**_**more is to come. I hope you continue to join me and will continue to throw sweet nothings at me in the form of reviews. It's very easy to do. Just push that big blue**_**ecto-button**_**down below. I guarantee that it will not disappear!**

**Thanks again for all of your support. You make writing a joy for me—honest!**


	12. Ch 12 Level TWO Ghosts: Wild Ghost Chase

**A/N: Hiya, everybodee! I hope those of you from the USA had a grand Fourth of July celebration! We had a wonderful time in spite of the fact that a huge storm cropped up right before the fireworks—literally! But, heck, we do expect that kind of weather this time of year; still, we were a bit bummed about it. But the rest of the day rocked, so the good stuff outweighed the disappointing stuff, so happy birthday, USA!**

**Heh-heh, now it's time to shift major gears: update time. But I have to warn you…it's going to be a lot different than the previous chapters—at least it is for what I'm used to writing—though all of it has a purpose. So be prepared. After all, I told y'all that I would be letting my imagination go wild in this story and delve into all of the genres…Well, enough said! Here is Chapter 12. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 12—Level <strong>Two <strong>Ghosts: Wild Ghost Chase

Danny, who was still in ghost form and sitting down at the table now pretty much devoid of food, yawned loudly after finishing his meal, feeling very refreshed—at least, a little bit. But then he stopped in mid-yawn at an odd feeling….That's why he had wondered why his meal had been made up of breakfast foods! Somehow, he felt that it was much later in the day. Maybe that 'sleep' forced upon him by the Observants was really just a jolt just to knock him out for a short period and he had been up all night fighting the stupid birds.

Stupid birds. They were the last thing he remembered when he woke up back here in the Observants' Time and Existence Chamber. He half-smirked a bit at his next thought. At least he was almost certain he got the annoying buzzards good in the end, even if he did kind of faint from all that exertion on his central core…

Speaking of his central core, he was still feeling very funny about it. He hoped he didn't tax it that much with this last dumb test….His mind shifted a bit. No, he didn't think so. Otherwise, why did he just think he could sense time again?

He frowned, trying to search a more solid connection to that special power…He sighed when it dwindled out. His internal clock hadn't been working ever since he had gotten here; so, of course, he didn't expect it to now, especially with everything that had happened to him so far. Still, he couldn't be sure about having a tiny sense of the time. He sighed in frustration again before he shook those feelings off and chalked them up to the fact that his time sense really couldn't work here and to his not really feeling rested in the end anyways.

But in reality, the boy had been right in his gut feeling. It was actually nearly mid-afternoon. He had been fighting the trio of vultures and their avian minions since early morning until he had defeated them about an hour ago. And since that time he had been eating his much needed nutrition.

However, Danny's brain was still being fooled by Vlad's devices, especially when the older half-ghost had planned to keep it that way so that the boy wouldn't know whether he was coming or going…

And now, Vlad was ready for Daniel to start the next volley of—as the Observants would say—'tests'.

The man looked at the monitors, satisfied with the results of most of them. Things were coming along: not only giving the man information about things important to know during these 'tests', but also to determine all the secrets of the boy's power level. Not only that, they were meant to keep track on Vlad's real intent when it came to the boy….Suddenly, Vlad frowned slightly at one particular reading, not really happy with it. Still, he quickly sloughed off the thought, knowing that in the end, it really was not out of the realm of what could be expected. After all, everything the man had thrown at the boy so far was just preliminary, even ludicrous, fodder. But this next program would begin to change all of that…

"Maddie, it is time to queue up Scenery Program 288EF and Program 289-Level 2-_Gamma_. And really, my dear, I have been looking forward to this one in particular. It's the first time I have unleashed my imagination a bit when designing this one. . . It'll be fun to see how Daniel reacts to it." He paused, thinking of that one special monitor that was not in sync with the others. He approached it and examined its readings again before he finally asked, "Is this monitor still in calibration, Maddie? It hasn't been really showing much activity, especially the kind you know I'm looking for. And are you giving enough attention to it?"

"I have never _not_ attended to and tested all of the monitors to which you direct me, sir. And I make sure to keep them calibrated to within a micron of deviation to its specifications," she replied with a slight pout. But then she immediately switched gears and smiled before adding, "But the threshold for that objective has not been reached yet."

"I know it hasn't reached any significant reading," Vlad agreed when he looked at the monitor in question. But then he sighed in resignation and added, "Maybe it's what should be expected at this point,then. After all, we want a slow build-up to avoid too much dramatic changes and reactions too quickly, now don't we?"

Instantly beaming, the hologram replied, "As always, perfect planning, sir! And as directed, I am also still in the process of analyzing that strange data that has been recorded concerning the flux in your test subject's power level and has occurred on more than one occasion."

One of Vlad's eyebrows shot up in slight surprise. He had almost forgotten about that important detail. "I am so glad that you're as clever as me, my dear," he finally quipped with a smirk.

"Oh, I could never surpass my perfect master, sir. But I will inform you when a solid hypothesis has been secured," She said with a bright smile. However, her microcircuits suddenly shifted. She didn't even wait for his response and continued, "By the way, all the programs you commanded are in the queue."

"Very good, my dear. So, then, let's begin them!" Vlad replied with a wicked, yet mischievous, grin.

Once again, Danny sat back in his chair and yawned. He really felt even more tired after eating that hearty meal. He looked around and saw that there was no bed in sight.

"Oh, well, might as well make myself as comfortable as possible until the next stupid test," he mumbled to himself before yawning once again.

He leaned his chair onto its two back legs and propped his legs up on the table, pushing all of the dishes forward and out of his way with his feet. And just when he thought he was settled, he was suddenly falling!

"OW!" he groaned as he pulled himself up to a sit and rubbed the back of his head. He sighed at what he saw and uttered, "Well, at least I didn't totally embarrass myself. Having your chair and table disappear out from under you without notice is a good excuse for falling and looking very stupid in the process."

But then, the boy looked all around him and blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. Maybe he had hit his head harder than he thought.

"When did things change? I didn't even feel it! And oh, no! Another 'haven't been here before' place…And a creepy one at that!" he groaned in discouragement.

The young hybrid came to a stand, still studying the thick scenery. He quickly scanned all around him, moving only in a very tight circle at the moment as he scanned 360 degrees around and above him. He guessed that he must be still in the Ghost Zone because he could see small patches of the black and green swirls jabbing through a netting of entangled forest.

But the rest of this place….

He frowned as he walked hesitantly forward, pushing against the thick bushes and shrubs. If asked to guess, he would have had to say that it had to be the beginning of a new day since he had just eaten breakfast. But here…it looked as if it were already dusk.

And that didn't explain anything that he was seeing….

Just how was it that the foliage here was only a mixture of deep purple, fiery red or somewhere in between those two colors? No other color, including not even a hint of green anywhere in this terrain, was present—except for what little of the sky he could see, of course. Even the sizes and shapes of the plants were odd—again, something he had never seen before.

There was no symmetry here at all.

Some of the plants were twisted unnaturally, all the while not bending upward toward light as plants naturally did—which seemed to suggest that there really was no light here. Some of the leaves on the plants that were less twisted were square or even twisted in knots; and other plants were devoid of any leaves at all. Still other leaves looked as if someone had roughly and carelessly raked over them, leaving them in tatters. And odder still, all of the foliage was shimmering with an eerie white glow.

_That_ he definitely noticed because whenever he passed one of those glowing plants, their 'shine' seemed to fall on top of him or gravitate and then cling to him. It was as if the leaves had been dusted in sugar crystals of light and were easily shaken off the plants by the vibrations his footsteps made as he neared them.

The Ghost Boy immediately wiped the sparkling dust off of him as he continued forward. Still, the more he tried to wipe the stuff off, the more of it seemed to levitate to him or fell on him from above or nearby. What was this stuff? Some kind of weird pollen? Now trying to ignore the phenomenon even as he was a bit fascinated by it, Danny pushed on. All he wanted to do was figure out what his next test was and get it over with as soon as possible.

He plodded onward, not seeing any kind of trail. Of course he'd rather fly through this mess, but the area seemed practically choked by the foliage above and all around him.

Finally, he came upon what could only be described as an arc-shaped trellis made up of red vines and more of those weird plants. He cringed before dismissing the sudden creepy thought that the plants looked as if they had clung onto those vines as arms attached to blood transfusion lines.

But as the teen drew a bit closer, he could see that the domed-shape thing was only a couple of feet taller than he; and he could tell by the shadows that it also had significant depth and width. In fact, it now looked as if it could be called a little hut of sorts, only that it had no doors or windows. Still, it was the only discernible landmark he had seen since he had gotten here and he was going to make sure he marked it just in case. Suddenly, he startled slightly. There was a bit of reflected light coming from within that odd canopy, as if the light was teasing him with a wink to come nearer!

But Danny didn't need any coaxing to increase his pace, since he was a bit encouraged at seeing any kind of brighter 'something' than this fog-like white glow from the plants —and, irritatingly, on him as well. But as he got to the edge of the vine-and-plant-made lattice, he unconsciously slowed as his eyes travelled within the small dome-shaped outdoor open 'room'.

He couldn't believe it!

Cradled inside of the two walls and ceiling of this small 'room' were three ponds almost the size of their vegetative nests! And the water within each of them was so bright and blue, Danny would have sworn there was an underwater lantern burning in the deepest part of each pond.

Danny ventured in, his eyes glued on the strange sight. At least, they _looked _like ponds of water —only that the 'water' stayed contained within their ponds in spite of the fact that two of the three ponds were perpendicular to the ground and the final pond was overhead!

The young hybrid wasn't even aware that his curiosity had fully taken over. He was driven to know if these were real ponds. Still, before he knew it, the boy's hand nearest the pond to his left had lightly touched it, and a small ripple formed at that point and moved _upward_.

He watched in disbelief when that ripple seemed to 'jump over' the adjoining foliage and 'splash' into the pond overhead! And then the ripple that had resulted from that movement in the overhead pond moved across it and then to its farthest right bank before it, too, 'jumped over' the land connecting it and the pond on Danny's right and 'splashed' into that final pond!

All the movement had moved in an arc starting from his left before it moved overhead and then ended on his right side.

But there was more…

Once the ripples had fully calmed, the water began to leak very slowly down, as if the water was really blue honey!

Danny startled when a huge drop of the gooey water fell from the pond above him and onto his still outstretched left hand. But instead of sticking to him, the water flowed all around that part of his left arm, lapping up the shimmering white stuff that had been stuck to him! In no time, his hand and his lower forearm were 'cleansed' of all that sticky white powder! And the water didn't even moisten the areas it had touched!

Now thankful for having found these ponds —weird as they still were —Danny quickly 'washed off' all of the remaining glowing white dust off of him. He was done in no time and sighed in relief now that he was clean and dry!

Having nothing else to do at the moment, the boy turned to head out the entrance opposite to the one he had first entered. He definitely knew he wouldn't forget this landmark!

Once Danny had reached the threshold of that hut-like pond place, he scanned the area. Just then, he saw a small yet definite clear path just up ahead and he reflexively headed to it. But just as he reached the edge of the strange woods, he was startled by a mass of small quick bursts of multi-colored lights that had erupted on either side of him! But those same lights immediately hurried away from him, as if he may have been the one to startle _them_.

There were a few of the blinking lights lagging behind the rest and now curious, the boy darted toward them, even as he ignored the new bursts of white dust that had softly pummeled him as he moved. He was quickly upon the light-makers and immediately yet gently captured one of the green lights in his hands.

A smile of triumph and fascination hugged Danny's lips as he slowly opened his cupped hands. It was some kind of….firefly….wasn't it? Its light was certainly beautiful…But…but its body! It was the knotted skeletal remains of a firefly, all white and translucent except for its green abdomen, which suddenly stopped glowing shortly after it had been captured. And then its hideous body was accented with large blood-red glowing beady eyes…so, really, from up close, it was quite grotesque.

Danny opened his hands wider, trying to get the thing to flit away. But to his horror, the ghostly bug slammed right into his left index finger while trying to fly away, and immediately crumbled out of existence.

"No!" the boy reflexively uttered in chagrin. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" But then, he sighed, slightly irritated with himself for getting upset over something he hadn't done on purpose. "How was I supposed to know that you were that brittle?" he still mumbled under his breath as he continued toward the clear path.

But then, the young hybrid stopped again when he saw a rather large cloud of bright yellow light fast approaching him! He tried to turn back into the woods when the gleaming amber mass was suddenly upon him! His instinct was to defend himself, especially when the yellow light melded into a swarm of bees! And they were now flitting all around him! He was about to intensify his ghostly aura into producing an ectoplasmic ball of energy when the mass of bees alit him momentarily and flew away as quickly as they had come! And then he could see that he no longer had any of that shimmering dust on him again!

"Weird, but then it _was _pollen on me, uh, maybe!" he said with a slightly triumphant smile, as he inspected himself again…..

Finally, he was on the trail and was thankful that he hardly got any of that glowing pollen or dust or whatever it was on him now that he wasn't brushing against any weird plant. As he continued to walk further, still wondering what the heck he was supposed to be doing, he inadvertently slowed his pace to a halt. He cocked his head at what he now noticed was another even queerer thing about this place—besides the weird plants, pond and insects, of course...There was no…_sound_ in this forest. And aside from the glimmer of hope from the glittering pollen that had settled on the entire forest, well, on the areas he had not disturbed, everything seemed to be so…._dead_.

"I don't like this," the teen finally found himself muttering under his breath. But then, he slightly chuckled right after that, "Well, okay. I don't like _any_ of this, so, really, what makes this different from all the other tests?"

But really, he knew. This was a very strange forest; something he suspected was beyond the ordinary in any universe.

And he was right.

Danny continued along the cleared path, glancing all around him, looking for, really, he didn't know what. And then he saw a glint of light just ahead beyond a curve, as if it had kissed some object, just like the ponds. Maybe there were more of them and he could get this white crud off of him again!

He hurried his pace, though he remained cautious. He just got to and then turned a slight curve in the trail when he saw a….house? Only it was very small, no more than three feet tall, and about fifty feet ahead on the edge of the trail. And there were _lights_ _on_ in it!

"Don't tell me that leprechauns live here or some other such nonsense?" he mumbled once more under his breath.

He was about half-way there, when suddenly, a very large tree fell right in front of him, barely missing him and blocking the path and his view!

"Whoah!" he said as he pulled back and shielded his face from the dust and debris that flew all around him from the crash. But the boy stood stunned right after everything had settled, even when it resulted in his being covered with even more of that glowing white powder. He had never even _heard_ the tree falling, much less heard it when it came crashing to the ground!

"Not a good thing at all!" he cried in some alarm at the narrow escape. "I better keep a sharper eye on things since obviously something is wrong with the audio reception in this freaky place!"

He flew up and over the large tree, ignoring the annoying weird stream of dust that trailed behind him as he moved while rapidly scanning his entire field of vision.

But just as he got over the large tree, he saw that the little house that had been there only moments ago was gone!

"I thought that little house was well past that falling tree! And so it couldn't have been squashed by it, could it? But then again, so far, nothing makes sense in here," Danny grumbled as he turned and flew back to the tree.

He landed right in front of the fallen trunk and wondered if he could turn it invisible here. After all, he wanted to be sure that he wasn't that crazy in thinking that the house couldn't possibly be under it. He touched the tree and to his surprise, it went invisible! And he could instantly see that there was no house under it.

"I don't know if that's a good or bad thing," the boy mused as he let go of the tree and it reappeared. "It's kinda good—and also kinda bad—that I can make things invisible here when I can't be sure of this place. I mean, then, do all my powers work here or not? Don't know, but it's still also bad because I don't know what happened to that little house."

But just as he begun to search for the little house, he suddenly froze at what had been unusual about this place up to now.

What was that faint _sound_?

He perked up his ears, trying to not only identify the sound but also from whence it was coming.

He moved cautiously forward, scanning for any kind of _silent_ trouble… But then, there it was again—that sound! And he was now certain that it was far away. And it also sounded…familiar!

Danny ignored getting dusted even more by that shimmering white pollen as he continued toward the sound. He also tried to ignore the occasional outburst of the multi-colored fireflies that spewed out of any bush that he had encroached upon the trail and had brushed passed, even when the fireflies did startle him a bit. And he still didn't like it when they would accidentally run into him—or he into them—and they would instantly shatter out of existence, their tiny lights bursting outward like miniature exploding fireworks.

But Danny was concentrating too much on finding that haunting sound, especially when it was the only thing that was familiar—and sane—to him right now.

Once more, the sound echoed down the clear pathway, but its resonance was eerier now because it was distorted by the surrounding vegetation. And conversely, the surrounding vegetation, agitated by the vibrations that the small sound had made, immediately threw even more of their white ammo into the pathway. Still, the young hybrid was actually encouraged by that kind of 'rain' and pushed on….

There it was: that sound again! And now he was sure it was not something random.

Danny scanned ahead and could see by the very opaque shadowing there that the trail seemed to be coming to an end. But then, he heard that sound once more and it seemed to be closer! Even if this pathway should be ending, maybe he could still find out what was making all of that noise.

And as he drew nearer to that blackened area just ahead, and the noise became more distinct, he was sure of its rhythmical pattern….It was an animal….a dog— no—a puppy.

"Cujo?" the boy immediately muttered out loud in a wild guess.

Suddenly, the volume and rate of the yipping intensified as if in response to his question.

"Cujo!" Danny said more loudly, now certain—and encouraged—that it was his friend!

And then, the boy spied him! The green ghost puppy was very near the darkened area that looked like where the dead end was. And the ghost animal had seen him and had jumped into the path!

A little more excited and throwing caution aside, Danny quickly took flight toward the small puppy, which was now yapping and jumping happily as if he, too, recognized who was approaching.

But before Danny could reach the ghost puppy—and to the teen's surprise—the puppy turned right around and bounded right into the black hole where the passageway had seemed to end moments before!

"Cujo!" Danny then called out in slight alarm when he felt the hairs on the back of his head rise. "Don't go in there, boy!"

He followed up with a whistle before calling again, "Here, boy! Come here, Cujo!"

But all that got him was another pummeling of that white shimmering pollen and more yapping beyond that blackened area. Still, Danny ignored the layer of white dust on him and hurried toward that same spot. He was surprised to see as he neared the black hole that he thought was a dead end that the pathway continued after all.

"So, the pathway doesn't end here. Maybe the growth is thicker overhead and that's why it's darker in there," the teen mused, before sighing. "Yep. That certainly doesn't sound like a good thing."

Nevertheless, the boy didn't have any more time to think about it. Cujo was barking again, and sometimes he sounded closer and sometimes faint and distant. Danny peeked into the faux entrance into this more foreboding area of the forest when it seemed as if the dog was near again. He searched in vain for a glimpse of the ghost puppy. But then, he caught sight of the pup. It excitedly darted back and forth with animated yelps.

"I think he must want me to follow him, then," Danny concluded by the dog's behavior. He then called, "Okay, Cujo! I'm coming! Wait up, boy, I'm coming!"

As soon as the boy plunged into the darker part of this forest, he stopped, stunned all of the sudden when after just a few steps, he felt his arms lift up to their shoulder height all on their own. And then all that white shimmering pollen that had coated practically his entire body suddenly leapt off of him and darted back into the lighter side of that imaginary entrance. Danny watched, still momentarily stunned by the event, especially when he hadn't been able to pull his arms back to his sides. However, a second later, when he could now actually see his costume, his arms fell to his sides again on their own.

He glanced about him again and he noticed that his ghostly vision didn't work as well in here. And the area felt very cold…and….deader.

Reflexively, he glanced upward and it was just as he expected. He couldn't see any sky because of the thick canopy of dark plants. And they were definitely different from the other side of this icky forest. The vegetation was now black and grey and covered in a dully-lit grey dust, as if it were the last bit of smoldering undetectable ember in a dying clump of used coals. Odder, still, the grey powder might as well be coals, for the dull sheen from them did seem to bathe the forest in a dull reddish-grey light. And it was still blanketed in silence—dead silence.

Once more, he started forward, only to be dusted by that dull-colored pollen whenever he brushed past a bush or shrub on either side or whenever he passed under a low-hanging vine.

A little irritated by that, the boy unconsciously wiped off the grey dust; but it didn't come off of him like the white dust hadn't.

"Of course," he sighed as he resigned himself to the annoyance.

But in the next instant, Danny sneezed and even more of the drab-colored pollen from the surrounding plants fell on top of him. He sneezed again, this time more loudly; and once again, even more grey dust fell on him.

He frowned in irritation.

"Well, this isn't going well," he grumbled at first, making another attempt to push the grey dust off of him as he continued to walk on—without success.

But then, the young hybrid grinned at his next thought. He tried to turn intangible, but realized right away that he couldn't! He then frowned as he thought, "_Now that other part of this freakin' forest seems downright idyllic after this!"_

His head perked up when he heard Cujo again. He sighed as he trod further into the dark forest. He occasionally sneezed whenever the dingy pollen continued to pummel him as he brushed by the foliage. Finally, he growled under his breath when, unlike the shimmering white pollen, this stuff was even sticking to his face!

After a few steps more, Danny stopped in frustration when he could hardly see through the veil of grey and tried to wipe the dust off more vigorously—to no avail! He grunted, now even more exasperated by the situation. He had the good mind to turn back when he suddenly smiled at his next thought. Why hadn't he thought about that in the first place in order to get out of this entire situation?

He produced his wulf claws and took a swipe at the plants immediately overhead, only for his eyes to widen in disbelief when the atmosphere merely stretched away from his claws, as if it were made of rubber!

"_Now what_?" he immediately thought, now getting even more nervous. "_Oh, yeah. That's right. Looks like those jerks thought of everything. Sooo, does this mean that __**none **__of my powers work in this part of the forest?_" He didn't even have time to frown when another thought suddenly pushed through. "_Wait a minute_! _**That**__ might work_!"

Just as the boy willed his transformation rings to revert back to his human form, he gasped at how brilliant the light from them seemed in this dark place. Still, once he had become human, all of the drab-colored dust phased right through him this time.

"Heh-heh, intangibility in both worlds is a definite advantage," he smugly remarked as he continued to walk in the direction of the still yapping sound, all the while staying in his human form.

Every once in a while, he checked himself and smiled at how good an idea it had been for him to stay human since he didn't have even a speck of grey dust on him. And he hadn't so much as sniffled since then, either!

But the boy had only gone a few more feet when he stopped again. What was that? He was certain that he had just _heard_ something different _behind_ him. And it couldn't be Cujo—well, at least he didn't think it could be.

Suddenly, he felt the hairs at the nape of his head crawl upward. On instinct, he twisted violently and tightly around so that he was now looking directly behind him.

He gasped.

The 'clear' pathway he had left behind was now….gone—erased by a thick, choking netting of deep purple, red, black and gray plants! It was as if the plants of both of these different forests were engaged in their own battle for dominance in some kind of boundary dispute…Even still, Danny didn't like the fact that it looked as if he was in the middle of it!

He slowly backed away but before he could turn around, he suddenly heard the aggressive bark of a very _large _dog in the exact opposite direction—and it was very near!

He whirled around again and searched desperately into the darkness. He finally heard from where the din was coming. And he was now certain that Cujo must have made it.

"_Something must have either scared or angered Cujo_," Danny immediately thought as he continued to zero in on the loud, angry barking.

And in the next instant, he, too, got his answer about that 'something' or should he say, _somethings_!

And that was because he could **hear **the rumbling of what sounded like a _lot_ of animals heading his way!

The pollen-covered ghostly animals ran pell-mell toward the teen in a thick, grey, frightened stampede.

Danny's first thought was to transform and fly out of their way but just off the pathway. But he knew that all that would do was cover him in that sticky grey pollen again, especially since he could now see that the drab-colored dust was falling as thick as a heavy rain under the vibrations of the stampede.

Instead, the boy stood perfectly still and waited. And just as he expected—though he did reflexively braced himself—the animals plowed right through him, leaving his human body unscathed as their thunderous escape continued behind him. But then he startled at the thought! Why did they go _behind_ him when there were no more pathways, nothing but thick forest now there? He whirled around and saw that the animals were nowhere in sight! But the forest looked undisturbed. How did they do that?

"_Don't try to figure that one out in this already crazed-up forest, Fenton_!" he thought, creeped out, even as he had been unaware that he had uttered a relieved sigh shortly afterward.

Danny then strained to hear for the ghost dog as he walked forward again. And as he penetrated the forest, he tried to ignore the fact that he knew that the pathway behind him was being choked closed as he moved ahead.

Finally, after what seemed hours but were probably only minutes, the young hybrid heard Cujo again! And the dog was nearby! Danny quickened his pace, thankful that he could still see well enough without his ghostly vision.

But then suddenly, the pathway dead-ended again at a clump of tall black bushes. But the barking he heard beyond it was unmistakable. Cujo was that way, beyond the bushes.

The boy quickly went up to one of the bushes and was pleased that he was now tall enough to look over it with ease. And then, he saw Cujo, which was in his large-size form! The ghost dog seemed only a few yards away!

Suddenly, the ghost dog spied the Ghost Boy! Cujo instantly wagged his tail, barked happily and ran in tight circles, turning into a puppy moments later with his excitement.

Danny was equally excited to have finally caught up with his friend again and plowed right through the bushes, only to find that he was….falling?

However, he stopped the fall when he instantly transformed into Phantom. In the next instant he soared upward and out of the deep gorge that had been as stealthily hidden by the large bushes as cleverly planned landscaping hid the huge pits between observers and wild animals at a 'natural' zoo. Danny immediately steered toward the green ghost puppy, which was still happily yapping at the edge of the other side of the gorge.

"Stay, boy! Stay!" Danny loudly commanded, and the pup dutifully plopped down with both his tail and his tongue wagging.

Encouraged by the dog's obedience, Danny increased his speed. But he frowned when the ghost dog abruptly leapt up and plunged into a large black-pollen laden bush that had been directly behind him before Danny could reach him.

"No, Cujo! Bad dog!" Danny called out in irritation just as he reached the edge where the dog had been.

He then looked over the bush, but saw no dog.

"You know, I'm getting pretty ticked by this, Cujo!" he grumbled. "In fact, I don't see the point of all of this at all!"

But then, Danny heard movement behind him and he twisted violently around, only to gulp in disbelief at the sight. The gorge was now completely gone and had been replaced by the same netting of plants and vines that had been blocking him from retracing his steps this entire time! Without hesitating this time, he plowed right through the bushes where Cujo had also retreated, ignoring the sudden puff of _black_ dust thrown at him. He flew in more haste toward where he hoped this little 'wild ghost chase' would end.

The boy was still so shaken by what was happening in this, this…enchanted forest that he had forgotten not only to change back to his human side, but hadn't noticed that he was slowly getting covered with the black pollen again as he flew onward.

And his muddled thinking was only compounded when he increased his speed right after he finally spied Cujo digging diligently right at the base of a very large, very craggily ebony tree. Danny was glad he had seen the dog when he had because in the next few minutes, he might not have seen the dog at all. And that was because Cujo had large splotches of black pollen on him already and practically blended into the black ground at which he was digging.

Danny successfully landed right next to Cujo this time, silently thankful that the ghost puppy was too busy digging to notice that he had finally caught up with him.

A moment later, however, the dog yipped in triumph and plunged his head right into the hole he had just made between all the network of twisted, large, swollen tree roots that had pushed themselves out of the ground and lay like a major railroad depot. When the puppy yanked his head back up, Danny could see a large bone in the dog's mouth. Cujo's eyes brightened and he wagged his tail with the sense that he was happy with having the boy share his find with him.

Now both irritated and amused by how silly this all was in the end, Danny was about to reach down and scoop the puppy into his arms when he noticed that the ground seemed to be _moving_!

Danny gasped at the incredibly rapid moving black vines that slithered like racing snakes out from the black tree toward the puppy and him.

In desperation, Danny pulled himself into the air just as he grabbed Cujo by the collar and yanked him up, which startled the pup. In a heartbeat, the dog grew in size so that now Danny was no longer dangling him, but was merely holding him by the collar.

Cujo narrowed his eyes in anger and growled at the young hybrid even as the dog was getting tangled in the black, creeping vines.

Now panicking, Danny gasped and while continuing to hold onto the dog's collar with his right hand, he instantly zapped at the vines around Cujo with green ectoplasmic energy beams emanating from his left hand.

"Calm down, boy! There are creepy vines creeping around you!" Danny cried, not doing a good job at keeping his voice calm when he was trying to get Cujo to morph back into his puppy form.

But precisely because of the panic in the boy's voice, Cujo only resisted Danny's efforts to pull him out of the vines, which were now throwing reinforcements their way. And the large dog began to bark—loudly.

Half a moment later, Danny's eyes widened when in spite of his earnest efforts to thwart the vines, they were not only successful in engulfing and then muzzling the large ghost dog, but had already managed to wrap themselves around his right hand, which was still holding onto Cujo's collar!

"Aarghh!" Danny cried, instantly trying to pull away. He felt encouraged when that vine immediately snapped under his strength, only to frown in panic when his right hand refused to completely pull away because he was now sticking to the dog's collar from the black sticky pollen!

He reflexively grabbed the right hand with his left hand and instantly regretted it when that hand was now glued down on top of his already entrapped hand by the very same sticky pollen that he now saw was covering him!

Only to get more bad news….

Danny felt seized by that all-too familiar cold lightening as it jolted up and down his spine. It almost knocked the wind out of him this time. In fact, the more he struggled, the weaker he felt!

Now desperate, the boy was about to morph into his human form when he heard a hideous laugh. He jolted his head up and gasped when the laughter was coming from the….ebony tree! In fact, the tree was shuddering with its wild, wicked laugh!

"Two victims today it is!" the tree's craggy voice bellowed through its laughter. "You sealed your own fate when you made your presence known to me with all your irritating noise assaulting my delicate ears. It sounded as if you were plowing the forest down with all your infernal din! And so, as you can see, the black pollen is your final trap. After all, the Black Forest always obeys me in bringing me fresh meat!"

"Let us go!" Danny demanded, still pulling against the strong glue.

When that had no effect, he willed his wulf claws, only to find that he could not produce them! He then thought about transforming into his human side and he gasped when he could not produce any rings!

But before the boy could think of anything else, he saw Cujo's body leading the way as both he and the dog were being pulled upward and toward the tree by those same vines, which had now been able to entangle him! Danny struggled and concentrated all the harder, then.

"No sense fighting me, dinner," the tree informed the young hybrid even as Danny continued to wrestle with his bonds. "The moment you touched the black ground under my foliage, all your powers—and the powers of the beast—were neutralized. After all, I fancy most of all food which is devoid of spice such as what your powers are to me."

"Y-You can't do this!" Danny blurted out, his voice quaking with his efforts to still break free even as he and Cujo were being pulled even closer to what he could now see what must be the tree's…_mouth_!

"You have no say so in this matter, dinner!" the tree roared, suddenly angry that the boy's physical resistance would toughen his meat. "In fact, I especially don't like it when my victims talk back. And speaking of which, I am done talking because I am hungry!"

Suddenly, the vines violently pulled Danny and Cujo closer to the gaping hole that widened in front of them. But to the young hybrid's horror, Cujo was pulled in first before the mouth slammed shut. And as if the tree had taken a bite of tough beef jerky, the vines momentarily yanked Danny further away and snapped the collar apart at the forceful bite. All that was left of Cujo was a few of the dog's hairs still glued to the collar that Danny was unwittingly holding!

The boy felt his stomach lurch and his heart constrict at the thought, especially when he could hear a few weak yelps of pain coming from Cujo before hearing the crunching of bone within the cavity of the tree before there was only silent munching.

"No!" Danny barely cried out, overwhelmed so much with emotion that he stopped struggling. "This is not supposed to be happening!"

But then, he felt anger surge through his veins even as he felt the tears coming. He yelled up into the air, "This was supposed to be a test, Justeco! **A test**! Not heartless torture and the death of an innocent animal—ghost or not! Okay, then! I give! I failed this test! Just tell me that Cujo is all right!"

But only that same hideous laughter answered him.

Danny jerked his head back at the black tree, whose mouth was now closer than it was a few moments ago.

"Foolish child, what is this talk about a 'test'? Don't you know that this is all _real_?" the tree taunted just before it wrenched its mouth open and its vines started to pull Danny toward it.

But Danny no longer struggled against the force. He was too overwhelmed by grief at the tree's news because….because that meant he had failed Cujo. He should have seen this coming! He should have been more cautious.

Then suddenly, even as the black gaping hole grew larger and the boy unwittingly neared it, Danny's mounting tears distorted it so that it was now a blurry black hole that suddenly engulfed him.

The boy whimpered under the immense pressure that immediately surrounded him; though right now, he almost welcomed it if that meant it would quickly snuff out the pain consuming his heart…

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><p><strong>AN: Looks like Ms. Hyde was really in control this time—meh-heh. I did try to convince her to lighten up, but you know how persuasive she can be with that wicked hat pin of hers! But, hey, this is also all a part of Vlad's wicked plan as well, so I was outnumbered this time! And you just knew that she would write a chapter that helped earn a "T" rating for this story.**

**In any case, I do hope that you liked my first attempt at a mini-AU 'story' mixed with a bit of horror! The forest's concept comes from a very old memory I had of a very old film I saw as a child. I'm not sure of the title but I did try to look it up, thinking it was called "The Enchanted Forest" (since it WAS about an enchanted forest!). But I found out that there were several film versions with same name. And I couldn't remember which of them I had seen, and so I never saw the film again...All I know is that it really impressed me and so now I have the opportunity to 'share' my version of it with everyone else—though I think this version is more from Ms. Hyde than me since that film ended happily! And then, to really mix things up, I so happened to have visited a Salvador Dali art museum within the past week or so. He's one of my fav surrealistic artists. So, naturally, I was persuaded by his work because it was way on my mind when I was editing this chapter. So, you can blame THREE people for this wicked little chapter! But, secretly, I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless.**

**Finally, as promised, the countdown of the Fantomos Ecto-Scale continues:**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas.**_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_ —**Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original charactersfrom her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_ —**Klemper** **(and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch (uh, ewww!)**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_** –Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**__—_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289- level 2- **_**Alphas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**Now, if you please, I would love to hear all of your delicious thoughts about this chapter. Heh-heh. You know I would be, well, enchanted!**

**Thanks again for all of your support, dear readers! Until next time.**


	13. Lev THREE Add Spice & Mix Thoroughly

**A/N: Hiya, everybodee! I hope you've been having a good week and are ready for an update. I sure am! My beta and I had a bit of a lengthy discussion about this chapter and I'll explain more of it at the bottom. But in the meantime, let me repeat the disclaimer because I haven't done it in a while: I do not own Danny Phantom characters. I only write about them for the sheer fun of it! Whew! Glad that's over! Now, here is Chapter 13. Enjoy!**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 13—Level <strong>Three<strong> Ghosts—Add Spice and Mix Thoroughly

Danny woke up on his left side, suddenly aware of a tear still rolling off the edge of the bridge of his nose. But then, he also noticed that the surface under the left side of his face was wet. He didn't doubt that it was from the tears he probably shed during most of the night. In fact, he could feel more tears threaten to leak out when his mind was suddenly filled with thoughts of Cujo. He roughly wiped away a few of the new and the old tears that had managed to escape and took in a ragged breath before he moaned. His nose was clogged!

He didn't move at first, not really caring if he was just waiting to be digested by the tree or if he was still covered in that sticky black pollen, even as he reached up and wiped his nose on the back of his sleeve. He signed in irritation at the realization. Obviously there couldn't be any pollen on him or else his friggin' hand would be stuck to his nose or his nose to his sleeve right now!

Nevertheless, Danny didn't care right now to wonder why the pollen was gone. For all he knew, he might very well be in the process of being bathed in digested juices which had only eaten up the pollen first.

_EWWW!_ he reflexively thought, shivering at the notion at the same time.

Still, the boy couldn't help but question as to why he was no longer bound by anything. He began to pulled himself up and groaned at the familiar sound and feeling.

_Oh, that's why!_

He now knew he was on that blasted cot in his jail cell again, since it was just as obvious that the Observants thought he had failed the last test with such dissatisfaction that they had sent him right back into his prison cell. And that would mean no food for now…But right now, he didn't care to eat, even if he couldn't remember the last time he ate.

He sighed choppily this time, but that didn't cheer him in the least. He ran his fingers through his white hair with exasperation and grief. He couldn't get Cujo out of his mind—or what had happened to him in that forest from out of some kind of putrid alternate universe.

But then, Danny's head jerked a bit at his sudden idea. _Alternate universe_! Maybe what happened to Cujo _wasn't real_ because the pup was a creature of _his_ universe— not that one! But then he shook his head in defeat. No, that wasn't it. After all, he was there, too, in that forest even when he, too, was of this universe.

He shuddered a bit at his next related thought. After all, there was, of course, all that _very real_ business about his evil _alternate universe_ self….

Still, he rewound the last memories of Cujo, the ones where he had seen him at the ledge of that gorge….In fact, what was Cujo doing in that forest?

He sighed when he immediately answered himself, "For the same reason why _I_ was there. Yet, I wasn't eaten. Why was Cujo? And why couldn't I have rescued him? I know I'm strong enough…"

But suddenly, the teen felt that same uncomfortable tingling pulsing in his spine, moving upward this time, gaining intensity until its cold knives were scraping along his nerves. He felt as if all his energy was being carved out of him.

He panted a little at the pain before he gasped at a sudden terrifying thought, _No! I had this same feeling before the tree, uh, ate me! And I failed because I __**am**__ losing my powers! And that is really, really bad!_

The mere thought that _that_ might be a possibility just discouraged him even more. And then, the last few moments with Cujo resurfaced in his mind. What he could have done differently to have saved his friend?...And as if that wasn't bad enough, the echo of the words of that putrid black tree were still able to taunt him even now:

_Foolish child, what is this talk about a 'test'? Don't you know that this is all __**real**__?_

Real….was it real?

Danny was about to beat himself up once again at the horrible memory when he startled a bit at his next idea. "Wait a minute," he unconsciously blurted out to himself, "Didn't the black tree say that Cujo and me had lost all our powers **the instant **we had touched the black ground under the tree's canopy?"

"But that wasn't true! I was able to hover over Cujo and he had been able to morph from his puppy to his large hound side even after we had been touching the ground for some time! And I had even been able to zap a few vines with my ectoplasmic energy rays before I got all stuck with that black pollen!"

He sighed in hope and silence as he lay back down on the cot. This _had_ to be part of the test the Observants were giving him. And they had _tricked_ him into thinking Cujo had been destroyed.

That _had_ to be the case because he really couldn't take thinking about the other explanation: that his ghost dog was….gone forever—and that he had been responsible for it.

But if he had been _tricked_ into thinking that Cujo was gone, then that would mean that it _hadn't _been his fault.

At least, he hoped so.

But then, Danny sighed, crestfallen. He still wasn't convinced. If he had only been more careful and had gotten to Cujo sooner….He brought his arm up and draped it over his eyes. He was so sorry. Had he then really done his best? If he had, Cujo would still be here….He could feel the moisture around his eyes gathering and waiting to push outward again.

And even when the boy felt so bad that he might actually welcome his tears, a glimmer of a steadfast thought shoved them away. He had dealt with grief before, worse than this and more than he had ever wanted or imagined. And though he knew that he couldn't help but feel the agonizing emotions surrounding it especially now, he knew that it had to have some kind of purpose in the end. Hadn't he learned that when he had grieved so much those two times back then— when he was poisoned and thought that he had killed his sister and friends? And then when he was a prisoner here the first time and thought that Iluzisto had wasted them that time? He knew that during each of those times this same…thought kept him from falling into despair. And he knew it was still true at this moment. He didn't want their deaths to be in vain; that they would have wanted him to go on and continue to do what was right, even when he was at the edge of that pit of despair….

He sighed again. But somehow he felt that this was different. After all, he knew that in the end his sister and friends hadn't been killed. But now….he just didn't know. He pulled his arm off of his eyes and finally felt a tear fall. Might as well let it fall, because it was obvious that what the Observants had in store for him was not over. Just how many more tests were there? And…

He suddenly bolted up from the cot when his mind clicked.

_Mom!_

She still was depending on him, even if she didn't know it….He couldn't let _her_ down now!

And that thought was enough to stir him out of his funk and even charge him with indignation.

Looking up at the ceiling, Danny cried out all of the sudden, "Darn it, Justeco! Are you willing to let all the innocent people and things in my life suffer? How **proper** is that? How can you say you Observants are fair and orderly when you do things like hold my mother hostage and callously destroy innocent ghost animals? In fact, I want to see my mother! I don't trust it at all that you wouldn't put her next on your putrid chopping block!"

But only silence answered him.

Danny then frowned in anger. He stood up from the cot and shook his fist into the air as he continued, "What's next, then? Are you trying to get me to do something as awful as what happened in that forest so that you can just beat me down and feel that you were justified in all the crud you've just done? Is that really how I'm a threat to you? That you know I wouldn't do these things unless you forced me to? And when I was forced to do something wrong in all these tests you could then claim it really was me that did all those vile things when all along you orchestrated it all? What kind of warp sense of justice is that? Or are you really more like Iluzisto than I thought?"

This time, he got a very different answer to his rant.

The boy was suddenly enclosed in the Spectral Neutralizer cylindrical glass container and was instantly given a powerful jolt. It was strong enough to force his transformation back into his human side.

After he stopped screaming from the pain, Danny gritted his teeth and yelled through his pants, "I guess I was right, then! But it won't work, you know! You won't beat me down! And I will try with all of my might not to do anything wrong even when I'll do my best like I said I would! And since we all know how we stand on this, don't you think it's time for another test?"

But suddenly, the boy was given another strong bolt and fell unconscious within the Spectral Neutralizer…

* * *

><p>"Test subject is now in <em>delta <em>sleep as you commanded, sir, even if the ecto-electrical shock had been sufficient enough to incapacitate him for the moment," Maddie dutifully reported.

But Vlad didn't even hear what she had said just then. He hadn't taken his eyes off the boy yet. A frown hung on his face as he held his chin in one hand and tapped his index finger against his cheek in thought.

The older hybrid had not expected this at all. True, Daniel was very stubborn and resilient. But he was disappointed with himself for underestimating the boy's sense of justice and righteousness. Plus, he had not thought that Daniel had the wits to figure out some of the small bugs that that program obviously had had—well, okay, maybe only partially….

"I might have to have the 'Observants' pay him another visit if the next set of ghosts doesn't get the satisfactory results," he mused out loud before another thought seized him. "And speaking of visits…"

But his mind trailed off at the next thing he heard.

The door to the simulation room was opening.

Vlad turned toward it and nodded silently to the ghost who had entered. Right on cue.

"You sent for me, Plasmius?" Skulker asked without any emotion.

Motioning to the coffin-like grey receptacle in the corner of the room, Vlad nonchalantly replied, "Yes, I did, Skulker. I would like you to check our friend over there. I'm sure you know what to do."

"It was in my queue of tasks, Plasmius," Skulker replied with a bit of irritation in his voice.

"Of course it was. I'm just upping it in the queue because his receptacle underwent some unexpected bumps from some unplanned vibrations after we activated some of the programs," Vlad smugly added.

"All right. I will do a diagnostic right away," Skulker said before he walked over to the control panel of the grey cylindrical vessel.

The Ghost Hunter pushed a button on the PDA on his wrist of his suit. A long, slender wire shot out from it and connected itself to a plug on the control panel of the grey container. Skulker began to type in commands once the connection was secured.

After a few more minutes, Skulker was through and turned around to report, only for his eyes to widen a bit when he saw that Vlad was already looking at him.

Skulker cleared his voice before he walked closer to the man and the stealth observation window, all the while saying, "I had to boost the security system a bit since it did look like it had lost a little power. However, I do not really think the loss in power was from the system itself, as the controls did not need recalibration."

Vlad half-smirked. He could guess what the reason was, but he was now in the mood to tease his friend a bit. He knew how sensitive Skulker was about his gadgets, especially if there was a possibility for one of them not to perform as optimally as they usually did.

He cheekily replied, "Oh, I don't know to what you're referring, Skulker. Care to elaborate?"

Skulker scowled. The older hybrid knew perfectly well what he had meant. And, really, the Ghost Hunter was not in the mood for any word games. He simply said, "No elaboration is needed, Plasmius. But you know that the loss in power was probably caused by the creature inside of the receptacle. After all, that is why I made sure to keep the control system so diverse, if you catch my drift."

Vlad chuckled this time and remarked, "Yes, I 'catch your drift', Skulker. I'm just glad you found everything in order and secure."

Skulker snorted before turning to peer out of the window.

Vlad also followed suit and his mind drifted a bit once he looked at the still sleeping boy lying within the simulation room. He frowned when he realized he had more work to do concerning Daniel.

Everyone in the room was silent for several moments more before Vlad asked, "Care to watch the next 'show', Skulker?"

The Ghost Hunter snorted again and replied, "I do not have the time right now. Perhaps I will have a few moments to spare in the near future. But for now, I have to take my leave."

Vlad hiked a half-smile, though he was a bit disappointed that his friend didn't want to stay. Still, he replied, "Alright, Skulker. I may take you up on that offer in the future as well; that is, if it's not the time when I may actually need you, if you catch my drift."

One of Skulker's eyebrows shot up before he slightly frowned. He dryly replied, "We shall see. In the meantime, I will be going."

"Of course," Vlad agreed with a nod.

Once the hunter was gone, the man remained silent, his mind calculating the next possible sequence of events as deftly as if he were playing chess with himself.

A female voice finally broke the silence, "Sir?"

Vlad finally turned to his computer-generated image and absent-mindedly mumbled, "Hmm?"

"What are your instructions?" Maddie queried before adding, "I am still analyzing this newest set of data concerning the flux in the test subject's powers but there is nothing conclusive yet. But until that time, my monitors indicate that the time for the test subject to receive his nourishments is very late, even considering the specified punishments that are part of the protocol in this instance."

Once again, Vlad idly glanced at the same monitor and mumbled, "So, it seems."

He then focused back to the matter at hand.

His wicked smile returned as he said with tight lips, "But, of course, all is not as it seems, Daniel….Go ahead and activate the next program, Maddie. It will serve both purposes of the monitors and the master plan….It's time to put more pressure on Daniel and throw some 'Level Three' ghosts at him. They have a bit more power than the other levels, but are not so special that they can't still be easily defeated by ghosts of a higher level."

"As you command, sir," she dutifully said before pushing the sequence of command buttons.

* * *

><p>Danny's eyes fluttered open and he quickly pulled himself up off of the hard floor on which he found himself. He groaned at moving. He was still sore from getting jolted by the Spectral Receptacle.<p>

"Looks like I definitely hit an Observant nerve and it hit me back," he grumbled, trying to stretch out the stiffness.

It took him only a moment for his eyes to focus in the darkened area. He then gasped at the instant recognition of where he was. And that he was in his human form.

"I'm back in the Real World?" he blurted out, still slightly stunned that the Observants may have decided to send him home after all.

But then he tensed in sudden worry and gasped, "Mom!"

"_Maybe they sent her home, too, then," _he next thought as he bit his lower lip, hoping that it was true.

But as the young hybrid began to walk along the darkened hallway, he grew more suspicious. "But then, why did they send me _here _instead of my home?" he mused out loud before adding, "And why is it so dark in here? I thought it was evening during the entire time I was in that crazed-up forest. Maybe. But then, it shouldn't be nighttime here, too, because both worlds are opposite in time. Uh, right?"

Now he wasn't sure. His hunch was that he didn't think it should be nighttime here, but somehow his internal sense of time still didn't feel right and couldn't confirm it for him one way or the other. And then he frowned when he suddenly thought about Cujo again. But he quickly pushed his grief away. He had a creepy feeling that he didn't have the luxury to do that at the moment.

Danny ignored the empty echoes of his footsteps as he trod through the familiar hallway in search of the exit to the building. He wanted to get home as soon as possible, especially to make sure his loved one was indeed safe.

And that thought instantly led him to another: Sam!

"I haven't been able to 'call' her yet!" he slightly chided himself. But then he sighed in part-resignation and part-annoyance. "Well, okay. Being broiled in a dessert in one instance and then thrown into a loony world in the next have been major distractions!"

But then he startled a bit. Why hadn't _she _tried to 'call' him? She must know by now that he and his mom were missing. He frowned. He had a sudden sick feeling about that. But he had no time to think about even that. He had to try to reach her…

He stopped, closed his eyes and began to concentrate, knowing it might take a bit longer to get through to his girlfriend. And that was because they barely used their telepathic powers since their latest run-in with Spectra. And that was because of what had happened in the end. They both now felt that their relationship had blossomed to the point that they were finding it easier and easier to understand each other without using their special power directly. And they had also finally let go of the newness of it. Still, they agreed that it could come in handy…for times just like then—and now. And he definitely would feel a whole lot better if he could hear her voice—even if it was only her mental voice right now.

But as the moments progressed, Danny realized that he was not succeeding. He concentrated harder and felt nothing—at all. There was no hint that he was reaching her mind in the slightest. He frowned in confusion and frustration.

Something _was_ wrong. They both knew that their mental connection was too strong and Sam was incredibly sensitive to it. And then suddenly, he began to get that bad feeling again about all of this. Now more determined, he concentrated even harder when, just as suddenly, he felt that unwanted surge of strange energy pulse through him.

This time, he felt so weakened by it that he stumbled into a nearby locker.

"When is this going to **stop**?" he growled in aggravation as he straightened himself.

But then, he felt another familiar feeling and he calmed a bit. Maybe this was the real problem this time: he was hungry.

"So, okay," the teen began, trying to get a hold of himself. "I'll just get on home and after I see my mom is okay, I'll call Sam—one way or another. And then I can eat."

He quickly morphed into Phantom, became intangible, and shot upward toward the ceiling.

When the young hybrid reached the ceiling, however, he rammed right into it instead of phasing through it, bouncing backward at the impact.

"What the…?" he uttered in disbelief as he rubbed the top of his head. And then he was seized with that sickening thought again. _"Maybe I __**am**__ beginning to lose my powers?"_

This time, he flew back to the ground and hurried to the nearest exit. But when he pushed on the door, it pushed back. It was locked!

"Now what?" he groaned in irritation, pushing against the door with even more strength.

But the door wouldn't budge.

"That's it!" he growled in defiance as he charged up his green ectoplasmic rays and immediately attacked the door. But the beams merely splayed away and outward from the door, as if it were shielded from the attack.

He looked on in disbelief. This couldn't be happening! His energy rays weren't even strong enough to even put the tiniest dent into a _human_ door…He couldn't be losing his powers, could he?"

The mental jolt reverberated within him….It was so intense, and almost as intense as the feeling he had trying to mentally contact Sam without success, that he had a hard time controlling his panic…

But even as Danny was trying to get a hold of himself once more, he wasn't at all aware that even when still unconscious, Sam had just moaned and stirred a second time…

* * *

><p>"Maddie, what is going on?" Vlad yelled above the blaring noise of the monitors' alarms.<p>

"The test subject's vitals have skyrocketed; and then all monitor gauges went off the scales shortly after that," she calmly reported.

"Well, then, put him back into _delta_ sleep right now before he…"

But a moment later, once Maddie had carried out his orders, the alarms ceased.

"What happened now?" Vlad hurriedly asked.

"He is in _delta_ sleep as you ordered. His vitals have returned to his baseline, though his heart rate is still a bit on the rapid side. And the gauges are also back within the established parameters," she dutifully replied.

Vlad then asked, "But why did they go bananas like that?"

"Bananas? What does…." the computerized female began, only to be cut off by Vlad.

"Never mind!" he said more gruffly than he would have said to his beloved computer. "What I mean is: what would cause his vitals and the gauges to do that when he hasn't done anything yet?"

"I cannot be conclusive, but with the new data just receive, I can now calculate a hypothesis, sir," she answered him.

"Good, then, what is it?" he said.

"Even though the test subject has had fluctuations in his vitals all along, they have not been significant enough to trigger the alarms…well, except during the testing phase,…." the hologram replied before pausing a bit.

"Yes, go on," he urged her.

"But two odd readings occurred within the same time period. And one of those has to do with the test subject's energy level. In fact, I found a correlation in all the programs thus executed."

"His energy level!" Vlad suddenly exclaimed. "Why hadn't you kept me abreast of that?"

She pouted a bit before she replied, "For two reasons, sir. One, I had not been able to ascertain a probable correlation until now. And secondly, you had not commanded me to keep you abreast of that particular detail, especially when it is not the prime objective of Master Plan 285. You merely told me to pay attention to it."

"Oh," Vlad simply said, suddenly slightly embarrassed. "Well, even though you are right in saying that his rising energy level is really the only reason why I devised the master plan, it is a secondary objective, so it wouldn't hurt to keep tabs on it. I was meaning to tell you to keep me informed of any changes, but I guess I was too involved in seeing Daniel's reactions to each program so far."

"Apparently," Maddie agreed without a hint of emotion.

Rapidly sobering, Vlad then asked, "So, then, why would his vitals go—I mean, trigger the alarms?"

"Well, like I just reported 45.9 seconds ago, the test subject's vitals elevate just as his power energy level reading fluctuates erratically. And he has had these fluctuations at the most stressful time in the program. But what is more significant, the power energy level takes a downward plunge."

"You mean, he _is_ losing energy?" Vlad asked in more excitement.

"The readings do support that," Maddie confirmed.

"Ha-Ha! That's a very good development then! Daniel won't stand a chance at resisting me if he's losing his power level; and that will only make it even easier for me to achieve the main objectives of my master plan!"

"But I need to report that the loss is only temporary," the computer suddenly added.

"Uh, it is? Why didn't you say so?" Vlad said, his tone a bit more irritated.

"Because you interrupted me," she casually replied.

"Oh, yes. That I did," he admitted. "So, my dear, is he losing energy or not; and if so, why?"

"That is not conclusive on both parts. So far, he has lost energy at almost every point where he is at the peak of stress in your contrived situations. But then, his energy level rebounds and creeps upward again—but very, very slowly."

"Like taking two steps forward and one step back, eh?" he added.

"That is a rough analogy. But what is still within the probability range of uncertainty is if this is an accurate forecast of favorable or unfavorable permanent change in his energy level. In addition, the phenomenon has not occurred in each situation, which only increases the complexity of the model's projections. So, there is no definite conclusion as to why that is occurring, or what the final outcome will be as yet," the computer-generated image dutifully reported.

At first, Vlad stayed quiet, mulling over what she has just said. But then, he brightened at his next radical idea and suddenly blurted out, "Do you think that we've finally gotten a lead to unraveling the mystery of how and why Daniel is able to tap into his seemingly bottomless well of energy within his central core?"

"That rough analogy of the 'bottomless well' does not register in my memory banks." she began, but then added, "But there is a probability that this phenomenon is worth further study."

"Yes, you're right, my dear. So, from now on, monitor that phenomenon and try to cross reference it as much as possible. Should you find a significant enough data to support a more conclusive hypothesis, let me know immediately. I may just be able to use that information to fully control the boy as well as use the same techniques to make me more powerful. After all, since we are both half-ghosts, just think what I could do if I could finally tap into what I hope is the same well of energy within me!"

She nodded in agreement as she replied, "That is one of the objectives."

Vlad suddenly smiled in slight triumphant and said, "Well, this is encouraging news indeed, my dear. So, let's resume the next level of Master Plan 285. We need to still pursue all the objectives."

"As you command, sir," she immediately said, pushing a few buttons.

But what Vlad hadn't realized was that he had overlooked the other little detail she had mentioned earlier, namely: that _two _phenomena had occurred at the same time. Vlad had actually thought the two phenomena that Maddie had been referring to had to do with Daniel's vitals and energy level, and so did not question her any further.

After all, he had no idea that anything more significant had happened but those two things, and not what had happened when Danny had tried to contact Sam with their telepathic powers….

* * *

><p>Danny woke on the floor again, in the same place he was the first time he was put here. And once again, he was in his human state. This time, he growled in irritation when his memory cleared.<p>

Once he was upon his feet, he looked upward and yelled demandingly into the air, "Just what are you doing to me, Justeco?"

But then, he cut himself off, even when he had gotten no answer. Maybe the Observants weren't here after all. But that didn't explain why he was stuck here for now. He paused. No, they had to be still here somewhere and this was just another test. And if it was just another test, he didn't want to let on to the Observants that he thought he might be losing his powers. But then again, he thought he should, just in case they would think that he wasn't doing his best in these stupid tests.

He was about to go with his last idea when he hesitated again. Wait. If he was losing his powers, then he would definitely fail these tests and that might mean that the Observants would not consider him a threat any longer. They just might let him and his mother go sooner than later!….No…..that idea wouldn't work, either, because they would only claim that he wasn't doing his best—when he would be, that is, if he failed because of losing his powers.

He sighed in discouragement. Now, he was in a no-win situation. The Observants probably wouldn't believe him in any case because they knew he wasn't a willing participant in the first place. So, his only choice right now was to do the best he could under whatever circumstances they threw at him, even though it was very upsetting to think that he might be losing his powers. Especially, if what that putrid black tree had said was true and everything else coming his way was _real_ and not just a simple kind of test. Not an encouraging thought at all.

Once again, he sighed in resignation and started forward. But as he passed a door connected to this hallway, he impulsively turned the knob. But the door was locked.

"Of course, what did you expect, Fenton?" he griped, even as he continued to check on a few more doors as he continued down the hallway of his high school.

But then, his stomach growled—loudly. He was still hungry!

"Well, at least there's a cafeteria in here. And the way I feel right now, I'd might even be willing to eat the mystery meat," he said flippantly as he headed that way.

But even as he progressed to his decided-upon designation, he still checked every door he passed, just in case once would be open to him. But he readily found that they were all locked; and even all the emergency exits were sealed tight.

He even tried to phase through the door and exits after he saw that they were locked. But each time, he was denied access.

Finally, he rounded the corner of the hallway which would directly lead to the cafeteria. But as he neared the half-window-half-solid double doors, he saw right away that the lights were out there, too.

"Well, what the heck do those jerks expect me to do here, then? Just wander aimlessly around?"

He then chuckled at his next thought and added, "I usually do enough of that on my own in this place."

But then, he frowned, slightly irritated with himself as he thought, _"Okay, Fenton, get serious."_

And as if that were a cosmic command, his ghost sense suddenly triggered just as he reached the front entrance to the cafeteria.

He instantly transformed into his alter ego and pushed on one of the doors and it was unlocked!

Hesitating momentarily in front of the partly opened door, he sighed a bit in frustration, thinking, _"Of course, since I'm hungry and need to eat, there would be a ghost in there."_ But he then immediately readied himself, dryly adding, _"Okay, Fenton, be on high alert. If whoever is in there tries to keep me from the food, I just might take a bite out of them—literally!"_

And as he pushed through the doors, and felt his stomach growl again, he thought, _"I never thought I would say or admit this, but: I can't wait to raid the cafeteria!"_

Suddenly, the lights flooded the area and an array of cooked food aromas bombarded his senses. He didn't question either of these occurrences right now because he was so hungry he just didn't care.

"Man, that smells great and only makes me hungrier!" he said out loud with a smile as he headed to the lunch line.

But his smile fell off his face when he spied what was presented. All the foods displayed in front of him were everything….he hated!

"But then, why did all of this smell so good? I never thought they smelled appetizing before!" he asked himself, still staring at the food in disbelief, confused at the paradox. Still, he couldn't deny that he was still famished!

"That's because you haven't had them prepared with the right spices, dearie," a high, raspy voice suddenly answered.

Danny startled a little when his ghost sense had triggered again at the sound of the voice. Even though he was on guard, he suddenly realized that he had unconsciously lowered it just as he smelled the food.

"Lunch Lady?" Danny gasped as he recognized the ghost behind the voice. But then he frowned and growled, "Oh. No. I'm **not **going to eat anything you made!"

The cafeteria ghost finally materialized on the other side of the lunch line and replied, "Oh, come now, sweetie. I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to make peace with you. I made this all special for you!"

Now looking sternly at the ghost, Danny dryly said, "So is your definition of a 'peace offering' to serve me all the food I coincidentally hate? If so, I pass!"

He started to turn around and leave when a thin elastic-like yellow rope suddenly jolted from the Lunch Lady and wrapped itself around the boy's torso.

Before Danny could react, the yellow rope was yanking him back until it slammed him into a chair. Then, even more of the elastic-like yellow rope bound him securely within the chair.

Danny growled in anger as he concentrated. A bright green aura quickly engulfed him and the ropes; and with a slight grunt, he willed his energy outward, instantly destroying his bindings and freeing him from the chair.

He immediately bolted away and upward from the chair and charged his hands with his green ectoplasmic energy before twisting around to face his foe.

"Uh, for your information, Lunch Lady: 'I pass' means 'No, thanks!' I think you need to have a better food advisor if you want to make a way to my heart through my stomach!" he sarcastically said.

But suddenly, the green-skinned grandmotherly-like cafeteria lady morphed, drawing all the food from the lunch line that Danny had rejected—plus other foods from the kitchen—to herself. In an instant, she was just a giant red blob of unidentifiable food.

She then loudly growled, "Just because you've filled out since I last insisted that you eat doesn't mean you can be rude! Haven't you ever been taught to sit and politely eat whatever is served to you at someone else's home?"

His hands still charged in readiness, Danny rolled his eyes and tersely replied, "I have, but who I visit are _real_ friends, especially since they wouldn't tie me to a chair and force me to eat in their house…And speaking of that**—** or in case you haven't noticed **—**this isn't your home. So, _please_ allow me to provide you an escort back into the Ghost Zone!"

The hybrid followed up with an ectoplasmic blast, which instantly charged into the red blob of a Lunch Lady and thrust her back until she was splattered against the far wall of the cafeteria.

However, she quickly peeled herself off of the wall. She had no sooner reformed when she threw out several quick balls of meat from her right hand, which with loud plops quickly formed a circle around the Ghost Boy.

Danny rolled his eyes and dryly quipped, "You still haven't gotten it right, Lunch Lady! I like meat sauce, not meat balls!"

But then, the meatballs quickly morphed into little demon-like yet still meaty entities. They instantly pounced on the boy all at once.

The large female mystery meat monster smiled wickedly as her little porky minions engulfed the young hybrid.

Her smirk, however, quickly fell to a dissatisfied frown when one-by-one, each of the little meatball mutants was tossed to a corner of the room. She didn't have to wait long to wonder why, for she saw the gleam of Danny's wulf claws poking through one of her little urchins before it arched back and then rocketed over before being added to the growing pile of meat. Now she was growing distraught at the sight.

"Just like baling hay….er, which, technically, I have never done!" Danny wryly said just as he baled the last meatball onto the pile of meat.

The Lunch Lady's reddened meat form turned even redder with rage as she screamed, "My babies!"

She extended her hand, drawing all the meat that Danny had compiled to herself.

But Danny didn't let her complete her task. He charged up a large ectoplasmic energy shield, held it up in front of him, and dove right between the Lunch Lady and the stream of meat she was willing to herself.

The momentum of the flying meat was enough for the meat to collect within Danny's shield instead of returning to the Lunch Lady. And as soon as all the meat had been captured, Danny twisted around and threw his shield laden with meat at the Lunch Lady as deftly as if he were throwing a pie at a clown.

With a loud splat, the Lunch Lady was buried under the raw meat pie and lay momentarily stunned.

Danny chuckled, "I've never liked shepherd's pie, but I might reconsider trying it again now that I can see its potential!"

But he quickly sobered up. With his hands now aimed in combat and afire with his green ectoplasmic energy, he soared over to the monstrous Lunch Lady. He was about to pound her with another energy punch which he was sure would send her back into the Ghost Zone, when she screamed in irritation, "Mortimer!"

Suddenly, four more thin elastic-like ropes shot forward from behind her and at the teen before they quickly wrapped themselves around each of his gloved hands and each of his boots. They instantly pulled themselves taut, forcing the boy's body into a 'spread eagle' position suspended in the air.

Danny growled as he looked at each of the ropes binding his hands. He didn't care that each of them was of a different color. One was yellow like the first set of ropes that had first captured and bound him to that chair, but the other was white. He immediately yanked on the ropes around his hands and they broke right way.

He was about to zap the ropes from his feet when he noticed that they, too, were different than the ones that had bound his hands. In fact, one was white with _holes _in it; and the other was candy-striped-like, only that the stripes were yellow and white.

He quickly regained his wits and zapped the ropes off of him before he suddenly wrinkled up his nose in disgust. What was that odd, awful smell?

But that was enough of a distraction for the Lunch Lady to rebound.

Before Danny knew it, the cafeteria ghost had returned the 'favor' and he was now the one underneath a huge pile of raw meat.

Gritting his teeth in irritation and determination, Danny instantly willed his cold powers, which just as instantly froze the meat. He lifted the now solid, icy pile overhead and threw the mass at the Lunch Lady, catching her in surprise this time. Before she, knew it, she was left dazed under the frozen mound.

Dusting off his hands, Danny deadpanned, "Uh, would you mind putting that back in the freezer before it thaws again?"

But then, once again, he heard the Lunch Lady call out that strange name through her groans, "Mortimer!"

To the teen's surprise, even more of those same yellow, white, or yellow and white elastic-like ropes jutted out, thrusting aggressively toward him, only this time, they were thicker and hadn't come from where the Lunch Lady was at all like the others had! Instead, they had come from the shadows of one of the corners of the kitchen.

"What the….?" the teen began, before reflexively reacting. This time, he was able to grab each of the coils before they could curl around him. He jerked each pair of ropes hard to his sides, returning the direction of force, only to his liking this time. And instead of breaking, the elastic-like ropes yanked the point of origin forward and toward the Ghost Boy, just as Danny had planned. And then, Danny heard a thud and a groan follow his violent tug.

Only then did Danny utter under his breath, "I thought that those ropes had come from the Lunch Lady all this time!"

Still holding the thick ropes, he flew over to where they were leading and from where he had heard the thud and groan.

But as soon as his ghostly vision penetrated the shadows of that darkened corner, he gasped in shock, "_Dairy King_? What are _you_ doing here?"

The short ghost pulled himself off of the ground and groaned again, half-dazed by the blow from the teen's violent jerk. He reached up and straightened his cheese crown just before rubbing his aching head after meeting the floor face first when Danny had yanked on his weapons.

"Uh, sorry about that, kiddo," the Dairy King uttered, embarrassed at the entire situation.

"Y-You, you attacked me?" Danny gasped in disbelief. But then, his face melded into some kind of odd understanding even as he was still confused and irritated by all of this. Still, he lifted up the ropes and added, "And are these _cheese_ ropes?"

"Uh, yes. I used cheddar ones for the first set before you destroyed them, doncha know. And then I added mozzarella, baby Swiss, and a combo of Monterey Jack and white cheddar at my second attempt. But then, when you easily destroyed those, I had to use the more expensive, stronger ones. Like smoked sharp cheddar aged in an oak barrel for a few years, Italian provolone, real _Emmentaler_, more commonly known as Swiss cheese, and my favorite…." he began, smiling with embarrassment, only to be interrupted.

"Don't tell me: gouda," the boy interrupted with a roll of his eyes.

"That's right, kiddo!"

"But you still haven't explained why you attacked me!" Danny said in chagrin, purposely changing the subject back to the matter at hand.

But before the Dairy King could answer him, both he and Danny heard the irritated voice of the Lunch Lady once again.

"Mortimer!"

"Coming, my dear," the Dairy King said with a cringe, immediately floating toward the now half-dazed Lunch Lady, who was still pinned under the pile of frozen meat.

However, Danny grabbed a hold of the Dairy King's arm to stop him. Stunned, he uttered in question, "'M-Mortimer'? 'M-My dear'?"

"Yes, kiddo. My name really is Mortimer. And the Lunch Lady and I've been dating for a little while now, doncha know?" he sighed in resignation. "We met at a cooking convention, and…and I really don't know what happened. Before I realized it, we were a couple, doncha know."

"Yikes!" Danny gasped before he added, "Well, really, more like an 'EWW!'"

"You said it, kiddo," the Dairy King sadly sighed. "I sorta lost my infatuation with her ever since she put catsup on my gouda cheese! But even though I tried to break it off several times, she is a much more powerful a ghost than me and she can be quite persuasive because of that, doncha know!"

Danny blinked in disbelief. But then he said, "That is all wrong! She's supposed to marry the Box Ghost, even though the thought of that is still an even bigger 'EWWWW!'"

"Is that so, sweetie?" the Lunch Lady asked—_from right behind Danny_!

Danny twisted tightly around, but he was already too late to react. Before he knew it, he was being pounded by the lucky punch of the Lunch Lady's huge poultry drumstick.

The hybrid was thrust into and slid down a nearby wall. He groaned, dazed from the hard blow to the back of his head.

Danny's head was spinning so wildly that he could hardly hear the echo of the Lunch Lady's laughter at being able to stop him, or when she said through her chuckles, "You know, dearie, the Box Ghost did tell me about meeting a strange little girl ghost recently. And, really, I had always thought he was kinda cute."

Now more concerned about what else the Lunch Lady might do to him in his compromised position, Danny struggled to remain conscious even as his blenderized brain wondered why she, the Dairy King, and really _everything else_ in the room were doing a weird dance. And so, he didn't notice the Lunch Lady turn to the Dairy King. Nor was he entirely certain on what she said, but it sure sounded like: "And you know, Mortimer, you have been a disappointment to me for quite a while now. So, then, I think it's time we go our separate ways!"

Danny groaned again, his head pounding even more as his vision began to twist and turn more. He didn't see the smile of relief in the Dairy King's face just before he quickly left the scene with a, "Fine, kiddo!" echo chasing after him.

And as the boy was quickly losing his battle to stay conscious, he wondered why he would even have such an odd thought like the one that suddenly pop into his ever-growing muddled brain, _"Gee, how ironic is this? Don't tell me that __**I**__ was the one who hooked the Lunch Lady and the Box Ghost up after all?"_

But then again, that thought was enough to send him completely under….

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><p><strong>AN: Well, I see you made it down here! Good! Now about that heavy discussion my beta, pearl84, and I had over this chapter. It was a LOT of fun as always because of one of the reasons why I love to write DP stories: to get juicy banter about DP stuff from fellow phans of Danny Phantom …But she thought I should explain my rationale with this chapter. So, with that in mind, let me—and Ms Hyde—try to clear a few things up…**

**Ms. Hyde: That's right, dearie. Pearlie wanted to make sure the readers didn't get confused over this. Tsk-tsk. Such a goodie-goodie! She needs to listen to her handsome Vlad Muse more often!**

**Truephan: Ahem. Well, we all know that her Vlad Muse gets his way a lot. But let's get back on topic, okay?**

***Ms. Hyde rolls her eyes***

**Truephan: Whatever. Anyways, my wonderful beta was concerned about my pairing up Lunch Lady and Dairy King because of what happened in the chapter with Box Ghost and Box Lunch and because of the show. Let's start with the show….We all know that Box Lunch is the daughter of Box Ghost and Lunch Lady. But we all also know that the** **canon of the show was flawed at times. Box Lunch lives in some universe, possibly when Danny is supposed to be 24, right? (But even then, that was never explained in the show which universe Box Lunch was in—was it in the same one as Evil Dan? We don't know. But suppose she was in Evil Dan's universe, then that means that she had to be born when Danny was 14 or born shortly thereafter if we supposed that she's a girl between the ages of 8-10.) And it's never mentioned in the show ever again that Box Ghost and Lunch Lady finally hooked up and got married. They are also never seen as a couple for the rest of the show. So, we don't know when they got married. But they had to pretty soon because of Box Lunch's estimated age.**

**Ms. Hyde: Seriously, dearie. Do you think the readers couldn't figure that out?**

**Truephan: Of course I think they could. I just wanted to be sure….Not only that, there's writing/idea 'room' for things to be different because events/'history' have changed since "The Ultimate Enemy'. For one thing, Danny never becomes Evil Dan because his family has been saved. So, it's possible by those events that other things in the Ghost Zone have changed as well (that occurred in the show).**

**Also, remember…**

**Ms. Hyde: There's more?**

**Truephan (rolls eyes) I'm talking to our readers, okay? Anyhoo, remember that I try to keep a continuous story line in all of my stories, and one of my stories did change history and time; namely, "His Own Worst Enemy'. I have it so that time had been fractured and there were holes that Clockwork would have to repair. Not only that, almost a year of time was lost. So, it's why I argue that because of that, things got jostled around and that is why I think it's perfectly possible that Dairy King and Lunch Lady could have dated before Lunch Lady finally hooked up with Box Ghost. In fact, that's the zinger of this chapter…that DANNY puts that idea into Lunch Lady's head about Box Ghost! And I do have Lunch Lady and Dairy King call off their relationship at the end here, so again, I didn't think it would interfere with canon that much.**

**Ms. Hyde (drumming nails): Are you through yet, dearie?**

**Truephan: No! Just hang on a bit more, will ya? Now about the dilemma with the appearance of Box Ghost and Box Lunch's being together in an earlier chapter. I didn't see a problem with this at all because they were appearing together **_**in a dream**_**. I don't think that Danny would suspect that Clockwork would be helping the Observants since Box Lunch is from the future because: it was a dream; Danny thinks it's a dream; Danny has accepted the Observants' say that they can do things that Clockwork won't be aware of. And Danny has already also accepted that even if CW knew about these events, he probably wouldn't interfere.**

**Finally, all of this is Vlad's doing in the end. He has set everything up so that he can break Danny. So, as far as Vlad is concerned, anything—and any pairing—goes!**

**Ms. Hyde: Now you're talking, dearie! I just love the Vlad Muse!**

**Truephan: Uh, I wasn't talking about...Never mind! Whatever makes you happy over this!**

**Ms. Hyde: Well, it makes me happy to know that you've never claimed to be sane! Still, I guess all of this needed to be told and I'm glad it's over!**

**Truephan: Well, yeah, it is. Nevertheless, I hope this helps you, dear readers, before you throw your additional thoughts on the matter via a special email called: 'Type your Review for this chapter here'! LOL!**

**Ms. Hyde: Ego much?**

**Truephan: Ignoring that. Now, of course you don't think I forgot about the Fantomos Ecto-Scale of Power countdown, did you? NAWWW! And as you can see, the mystery level 2-**_**Theta**_** ghost is the Dairy King!**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_** —Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original charactersfrom her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_** —Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch (uh, ewww!)**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_** –Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289- level 2- **_**Alphas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_** —Lunch Lady**

**Thanks again for all of your support, dear readers! Until next time.**


	14. Ch 14 Level 3 Ghosts: Way, Way Out

**A/N: Hi, y'all! Having a great summer vacation so far? I sure am! In fact, I'm having so much fun that it's time to make it funner with an update! I hope you're ready, 'cause I sure am! Don't forget the disclaimer: IDNOA (DP)C, though I sure wish I did! Here is Chapter 14. Enjoy!**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 14—Level <strong>Three <strong>Ghosts—Way, Way Out

"OW! That still hurts!" Danny groggily uttered out loud as he reached up to rub the back of his head when he finally came to.

"Huh?" he then muttered in bewilderment, wondering if he had come to _enough_ since instead of feeling the back of his head, he was feeling the back of a…..helmet?

He slowly opened his eyes and gasped in more surprise at seeing _glass_ in front of his face. And even more perplexing to his clearing mind, he saw stars when he looked through the glass plane of his helmet!

"Am I still seeing stars?" he reflexively asked himself even as he cringed from his continued headache— and at the unintentional pun. "Duh. I am seeing _real_ stars! I'm in outer space!"

He twisted all around, scanning where he was. He spied what looked like….the Earth, well, how the Earth might look as a large marble, anyways.

"How did I get way out here?" he began, only to immediately frown and answer himself with irritation, "As if you have to ask, Fenton! This just has to be another test cooked up by those jerky Observants! Uh, geez! 'Cooked up'? Didn't that belong in the other fight?"

He suddenly groaned at his second unintentional pun. He still wasn't quite alert!

"Never mind! Cooking or not, I'm still starving!" he then growled in annoyance, even as he reflexively cradled his panging stomach—only to feel some kind of large…buckle.

He looked down at himself and saw that his upper torso was fully harnessed in the X-23 Booster Rocket, wide arm straps and all. It looked just like the one he had used in his fight with Technus when the technological ghost took over the mainframe computer at Axion labs over a year—or so—ago...

Okay. Fine.

He quickly located the rocker switch to the jetpack on the upper part of the right arm strap and turned it on, having every intention of flying back to Earth—since it was better than breaking some cosmic law on interstellar loitering.

But as soon as he readied himself to twist the dial on the upper left arm strap to activate the rocket's full boosters and get going, he spied movement at the corner of his left eye.

He immediately jerked his head toward it and gasped in delight. It was the Specter Speeder! But he frowned in confusion. It was pretty far away from him and flying _away_ from Earth? What gives?

And then the teen startled and blurted out, "Mom?! Uh, but she can't be in the Specter Speeder, can she?….She...has to still be with the Observants! Then, who's driving the Speeder?….Dad!"

Danny revved up the boosters of the X-23 Booster Rocket and rapidly flew toward the Fenton flying machine. But, oddly, he wasn't catching up! He turned the dial of the rocket to push out even more power. Still, the Specter Speeder continued to outpace him.

This time, Danny growled in both annoyance and determination. He began to concentrate and a heartbeat later, his spectral tail formed before it turned a greenish-white as he added his supersonic power to the thrust.

_Now _he was easily narrowing the gap between him and the Speeder.

And just before he was going to intercept the flying machine, Danny disengaged his supersonic power, slowing him enough to catch up to the Specter Speeder without actually slamming into it.

But as he pulled alongside the spacecraft and even as he hadn't reached the glass of the cockpit yet, he unconsciously jolted to a stop when his ghost sense was suddenly triggered. But he quickly recovered and once again pursued the Speeder as he muttered under his breath, "That can't be right!"

As soon as he finally got close enough to see into the glass cockpit, though, he gasped in disbelief. His dad wasn't piloting the spaceship like he expected…._Youngblood_ was! And the brat had an astronaut suit on!

And what was that? There was also some kind of white space alien…thing in the co-pilot seat?

Now very peeved about this development, Danny immediately turned intangible and phased into the cockpit until he was right behind Youngblood and the weird-looking, kooky-eyed, antennae-touting, blob of an alien…thing—well, now that he was closer, it was certainly the skeletal remains of one.

"Mind telling me what you're doing with my family's Specter Speeder, Youngbutt?" Danny asked with an obviously annoyed tone of voice just as he materialized and gently placed his rocket booster down and against the door of the flying machine's storage compartment. But he didn't remove his helmet just as yet.

Youngblood gasped and twisted his head around at the sound of the familiar voice just as the alien next to him—which in actuality was the same sidekick that had been the skeleton of a parrot or a horse in his other adventures—eked out some kind of unintelligible, but alarmed, alien-sounding yelp.

"And how did you get past the ghost defenses at Fenton Works, squirt?" Danny still pressed.

Youngblood quickly disengaged the Speeder's thrusters and put it into a hover.

With a smug smile, he turned back to face the irritated teen Ghost Boy. He quickly pointed to the white alien skeleton and snidely quipped, "My trusty sidekick here, Gorndo, deactivated your puny Earthling devices so we could capture this space vehicle. Heh-heh! Those silly Earthlings thought they could outsmart us! Don't they know that they are no match for our Gorndonian technology?! Besides, they weren't letting us have fun with our mission."

Danny crossed his arms in front of his chest, unimpressed. He dryly replied, "Oh, is that so? Well, then, why would you need a 'puny' Earthling spaceship for this lame mission of yours? Surely you, what, Gorn_**dork**_ians, must have your own suped-up rockets?"

"It's Gorn_**don**_ians," Youngblood whined with a pout. But then he sneered, "And I warn you…spectral Earthling… do not interfere with our secret mission if you know what's good for you!"

"Oh, you can bet that I'll interfere, _**dork**_ian!" Danny chuckled at first before growing more serious. "Now it's time to take the Speeder that you stole back and send you on your way to the Ghost Zone!"

He then blinked at Gorndo and added, "And as for your creepy bony friend here, well, he'll just have to hitch a ride back to whatever stupid planet he's from!"

Right afterward, Danny's eyes lit up in blue and shot forth a double dose of his ice rays, which quickly encased Youngblood and his alien sidekick.

But in the next instant, the ice around Youngblood cracked and fell off the ghost kid. Youngblood's new robotic-like steel hand on a long cable had sheared through the ice before it jutted forward and then grabbed Danny by one of his wrists.

But Danny reacted right away and grabbed the metallic hand with his free hand and crumpled it to the point that it broke off Youngblood's wrist.

"Hey, no fair!" Youngblood said in a shrilled, complaining voice as he reeled his destroyed arm back into his astronaut suit.

"I don't remember agreeing on any ground rules, snot-nose," Danny replied as he shot even more of his frozen energy at the obnoxious ten-year-old ghost, instantly encasing the brat.

But before Danny could produce his wulf claws in order to rent open a portal to the Ghost Zone into which to toss the newly Youngbutt-on-ice, he heard a weird sound. And not only weird, it definitely sounded menacing!

He turned toward the noise and saw a huge creature made up of _solid white ice_ yelling in an alien lingo and lunging for him!

With an angry frown, Danny reflexively charged his hands with his ghostly green energy and rammed his fists right into the creature. Gorndo's body burst on impact and small white ice cubes immediately rained down on the young hybrid.

However, the ice cubes melted and disappeared right into the floorboard of the cockpit. An instant later, that floorboard and the entire Specter Speeder glowed with a ghostly white hue.

And then, just like a bucking rodeo bull, the Specter Speeder immediately began to jerk violently, shifting this way and that, up and down and backward. Pieces of it fell off until all that was left of it was, well, a skeletal frame of the ship just as Youngblood's skeletal sidekick began to overshadow it!

In all that while, Danny tried to keep his balance with all the trembling when he suddenly gasped. The chunk of ice-encased Youngblood was sliding right toward him! Danny turned intangible just in time and the glob of Youngblood slammed right into the back wall of the skeletal cockpit, shattering right on contact and releasing a still out-for-the-count Youngblood.

Nevertheless, even with his unbalanced flight under the jolting Speeder, Danny was able to reach the controls. He immediately inputted all sorts of commands into the console. But to his chagrin, the flying machine didn't respond to any of his commands.

Now desperate, Danny attempted to shut the entire system off while still trying to maintain seated in the pilot seat.

But in the next instant, he twisted around at the sound of an angry shrill voice.

"Now you leave me no choice, Earth Phantom!" the green-skinned, green-hair ghost brat whined. "Prepare to be vaporized with my new ectogorndonastic ray gun!"

"Gee, you can pronounce words with more than two syllables? I'm impressed!" Danny sarcastically quipped, floating up and away from the still jostling pilot seat in order to take a defensive stance.

Youngblood gritted his teeth and grunted in irritation before an odd futuristic-like gun of some sorts oozed out of his right hand. He pulled the strings away and slapped the tape back down on the obviously home-made gun and quickly aimed it at the teen Ghost Boy.

Once Youngblood had pulled the trigger, however, a red flag with the word "ZAP!" jutted out of it with a loud pop!

"Seriously?" Danny chuckled, not at all alarmed, even as the still trembling space craft bumped into the back of him. "That looks like something you got out a cereal box!"

"Uh, it is, but it's a prototype," the freckled ghost brat sheepishly said.

"You mean a proto-wannabe," Danny chuckled, trying not to laugh. "Is that all you got?"

Immediately fidgeting with the gadget, Youngblood growled back in irritation, 'Gimme a second!"

And indeed a second later, Danny gasped and then yelled with the sting of the stream of red ectoplasmic energy that spewed forth from Youngblood's Gorndonian ray gun! The force plowed him into the glass of the Specter Speeder's nose, which in turn slammed him forward and to the floor of the ship since it had not stopped jumping yet.

_When am I gonna learn that 'cocky' shouldn't be a word in my bio?_ Danny immediately chided himself before jumping up and off of the floor and then answering the brat's attack with his own neon green beam.

But because of all the jostling from the still bucking spacecraft, Danny missed his mark.

Danny growled in irritation. Wrapping this thing up was taking way too long! But then, his eyes widened a bit when something tapped his foot. He looked down at the object, and immediately an idea sprang out of his head. He quickly grabbed the device and flew right at Youngblood.

Ignoring the gasp of surprise erupting from the ten-year-old ghost, Danny grabbed him, made them both intangible, and then pushed both of them out of the still-jostling Specter Speeder.

Now outside and with his X-23 Booster Rocket back on, Danny turned it on full speed, which instantly thrust Youngblood and him away from the ship. Once they were out of the range of the Specter Speeder, Danny deactivated the rocket, pinned both of Youngblood's hands within one of his own and produced his wulf claws with the other. He was just about to strike the atmosphere to rent open a ghost portal when he was rammed from behind by the Specter Speeder! At once, Danny inadvertently let go of the kid ghost as his body ricocheted off of glass nose of the skeleton flying machine.

"You go, Gorndo!" Youngblood cheered when he was released by the impact that had only hit his foe.

The kid astronaut ghost instantly pushed a button on his astronaut suit and a set of dual rockets shot out form each of his astronaut boots. The boots lit up right away with thrusters of red fire, propelling the ghost forward. In no time, Youngblood had reached the Specter Speeder again and had phased back in.

In the meantime, Danny had finally recovered from his blow. Shaking the rest of his dizziness from his head, Danny immediately pursued the skeleton flying machine. Fortunately, because he was closer this time, he readily caught up with it and phased through it once more.

But Youngblood was ready for the teen. As soon as Danny rematerialized, the ghost astronaut kid pushed a button on the device in his hand.

Danny screamed in dread too late as he unwittingly felt himself being pulled into the cylindrical container. And a moment later, Youngblood had placed the cap back onto the Fenton thermos that he had been holding.

With a smug smile on his face, Youngblood taunted the captured ghost teen, "Lucky thing for me that this spaceship was equipped with all sorts of useful Earthling devices and even luckier that my trusty sidekick Gorndo can copy any shape that's around him and actually become that thing —like this skeleton space ship!"

The green-skinned, freckled-face ten-year-old began to snicker and snort. He was chortling so much that he could hardly get out what he wanted to say. Still, amidst his laughter, he managed, "So, not only does it look like that lack of ground rules worked just find for me, Phantom, but you also kinda ended up being locked up in _space_ jail…or something!"

Danny, of course, had heard everything Youngblood had said from within the Fenton thermos, and groaned in defeat, before he lapsed into an induced sleep.

* * *

><p>"Ha! Ha!" Vlad snorted with glee after seeing the last two encounters that Daniel went through. "Oh, I do love it when Daniel's face gets pushed into the mud—especially when some other ghost grinds it further into it, that is!"<p>

"I saw no mud, sir," Maddie the hologram replied, frowning with incomprehension. "Besides, you forget the variable in all of this. The fact that the test subject is way overdue for his nourishments —not to mention his rest—was probably a factor for his recent quick defeats. If you wish your data to be valid, you must keep at least that variable constant."

"Yes, you're right of course, my dear," Vlad replied with slightly more control, even though the evil twinkle in his eye never dimmed. "I just wanted to see how Daniel would do under a bit more stress, namely, being hungry."

"But you already confirmed that in the first test, that is, Program 289-Level One-_Omega_, sir," she pointed out, her face betraying her confusion over the lack of logic behind these last two back-to-back programs.

"It was already illogical enough to mix ghosts of different _Fantomos _levels like you did in the cafeteria program, much less put your test subject at a disadvantage during that test and this most recent one when one of the original objectives was to test his strength at his optimal level of performance," Maddie continued with an exasperated frown, though her voice remained neutral. "I do not compute the logic of the rationale, sir."

"Of course you wouldn't, my dear. If you could, then that would make you human, which you clearly are not—uh, no offense," Vlad said with a slight cringe.

"I also do not fully compute 'offense', sir. I am merely performing my duties as you specified. And according to those specifications and my calculations, your test subject is long overdue for his nourishment and parameter-calculated rest."

Vlad suddenly chuckled at this entire conversation. He, of course, knew his computer would not be able to 'compute' his reasons for all of this in the end. And even then, she couldn't possibly comprehend when he also slightly altered his original plan for no reason at all—except for his wicked impulses—though he was sure it would still fuel any fire and ultimately fit into his plan all the same... After all, how could she understand? He had made sure she had been debugged so that she would be more a pawn than anything else after that snafu with his trying to clone Daniel…

His jaw tightened at the memory. He simply would not have Jack interfere with his own computer!

However, he stopped himself right away into falling into some kind of silly rant about a 'Jack program'. He simply could not afford such a distraction.

Still, he had reprogrammed his computer to be more efficient and logical. Yet, he also appreciated some of the 'freedom' he had still allowed with her own observations and conclusion about things. It made her…personality…more interesting. He smiled at that thought before refocusing back to what she had just said. Yes. As always, his Maddie was right. It was time to give Daniel some food. But give him proper rest? Not yet….

Still chuckling a bit, he finally said with some mischief, "All right, my dear. I'll give into your logic. Go ahead and revive Daniel once you get the proper background and his nourishment set-up. In fact, your logic makes even more sense because it's time for a litmus test of sort. We need to check into how Daniel's doing _emotionally_ right now. After all, if he's ready for my second part of Plan 285 MP, no sense worrying any more about these other programs, don't you think?"

"As you command, sir," she replied with a slightly triumphant smile, just before she pushed a sequence of logically planned buttons….

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><p>Just as the Somato-map and the other monitors lit up and indicated that Danny's brainwaves had reached the range of the <em>alpha<em>/_theta_ cusp, the boy's eyes slowly fluttered open. He still felt woozy, not so much as from just having awakened as from having that same headache; but more importantly, from being _very_ hungry…..

He instantly knew he was lying on his cot in his prison cell, his wandering mind not remembering why he had blacked out shortly after getting sucked into the Fenton thermos.

Wait.

_Blacked out_.

That…was…odd…For the first time since everything had happened to him, Danny wondered how it was that he blacked out at the end of each of his encounters with any ghost so far. True, he had lost to most of them. But then, why weren't the Observants rubbing his nose in it or making some kind of lame decree about what they had observed so far?

That only charged his clearing mind with irritation. And he suddenly didn't care anything about the Observants. All that matter was remembering how much of a cruel ride those putrid Observants had put him on during these last few ghost encounters!

Nevertheless, his still woozy and achy mind inadvertently switched gears. And since he was still lying face-up on the cot, he looked up at the black ceiling and sighed to himself. He could understand the Observant jerks using ghosts like the Lunch Lady and Youngblood and his stupid sidekick in these stupid tests. After all they weren't exactly pals. But why did they use his ghost friends, too? They should know he wouldn't want to fight _them._ What was this really all about, then?

He paused, trying to think of any possibilities. _Unless, the Observants don't know that I have a few ghost friends? But somehow, I doubt that…_

The young ghost suddenly turned to his side and pulled himself to a sitting position. He looked right up at the ceiling again and called out, "Hey, jerks! You should know from all those 'hours of entertainment' of watching me that I _do_ have some ghosts who are my friends, believe it or not. So, how about leaving them out of this whole stupid thing? That's not fair to them if we have to fight each other…." He paused again before grumbling much more quietly to himself, "But then again, this _whole thing_ really isn't fair, so why should they care?"

Suddenly, he felt a wave of discouragement wash over him. He didn't want to be force to fight his friends! Heck, under the rules of this bizarro circus, he didn't even want to fight his _enemies_! But he had to….

He then gasped when that thought led to a more important one, _'Mom!'_

This time, the boy stood straight up. He gritted his teeth in annoyance at the sudden—and very loud—growling of his stomach. Nevertheless, he looked up into the atmosphere again and yelled, "Your 'rules' are getting more twisted as time goes by. Yet, you still haven't given me any proof in way too long that I still need to abide to them. In fact, you haven't let me see my…."

But Danny gasped again when a flash of light not only interrupted him, but blinded him for a moment. He reflexively shielded his eyes; but when he pulled his hand away, he saw a small open area in the space right in front of him. He only needed to lean over a bit to peer into the portal…

He saw his mother sitting in a very big plush chair, quickly scanning through a book. Her hair was still neatly fixed and this time she was wearing a very beautiful blue dress. Danny could tell that she was still in the same room in which he first saw her when Justeco and Konsilisto had made their lame 'proposal'. But by the intense expression on her face, he could also tell that she wasn't really reading the book. He internally smirked. He had a hunch that she was trying to find something to help give her some ideas on how to escape.

He sighed a bit in both relief and frustration when the portal was swallowed up by the atmosphere. He thought that they may still have his mom after what had happened at Casper High. But secretly he hoped he had been wrong and they had let her go...He sighed only to himself. But at least she looked….all right—under the circumstances.

"Hey, Justeco and Konsilisto! Does my mother know what you're doing?" he suddenly blurted out at a sudden wild thought. True, it was very possible that the Observants knew all about the time change thing. But it was also possible that they didn't know all the details about it. At least, that's what he hoped.

Still going with that, Danny continued, "I'm sure she knows she's some kind of prisoner….but does she know why? After all, if she knew she was a prisoner just because of _Danny Phantom_, I'm sure she would want to get even with him. So, why don't you give her some ghost weapons and let her have at me? After all, she hates all ghosts, especially me! She could do all that 'dirty work' you try so hard to avoid."

But suddenly, he frowned when another strange and unexpected sensation popped up. It felt like…someone was spying on him! He frowned again. No. This was a different kind of spying! Still, he hurriedly twisted all around him, his keen ghostly eyes peering through the cell in search of….well, he really didn't know.

"What is he doing, sir?" Maddie the computer queried at seeing the seemingly random movements of the test subject.

But Vlad was concentrating on the boy's loud-and-clear words—as well as catching glimpses of his underlying thoughts on another monitor. After all, the microchip was perfectly capable of tapping into Daniel's mind.

Finally, Vlad slowly replied, "I'm not certain. Part of his thoughts went blank right after his comments. But I did get an inkling that he does want to find a way to rescue his mother even if she hates his alter ego. And all because of that pathetic 'hero complex' of his. So, this might be his first attempt at it. Activate Program 288 SR, Maddie."

"Yes, sir," she replied and pushed a purple button.

The instant she did, Danny was once more surrounded by the Observants' cylindrical Spectral Receptacle and instantly given a powerful zap.

And even though the boy screamed in pain at the jolt, it was really a good thing for Danny that Vlad had decided to do that. And that was because Vlad would not get the opportunity of 'hearing' Danny's ultimate thoughts as to why he suggested that his mother fight him, which were, of course, to try to get a way for the both of them to plan some kind of escape. After all, Vlad didn't know that Daniel's mother knew all about the boy's—and his—secrets.

Danny panted in pain after the short but powerful shock. But he not only panted with the pain. He felt so much weakened by it because he was so famished. But through it all, he understood all too clearly that he wasn't going to be able to make any contact with his mother.

"Test subject's power level has reduced by 1.01 _fantomos_, sir. He needs to be nourished," the computer hologram dutifully reported.

"Yes, yes, you're right, Maddie," Vlad said both flippantly and with irritation. He frowned at the boy's readings, especially when it was obvious that they only confirmed that the boy's mind was still focused enough to be defiant. Blast!

But still, Vlad's frowned turned wickedly upward when that thought faded into another. That was all right. After all, what did he expect? He already knew that the boy's will had defeated him time and time again. It would just take more time and patience for this entire project. Still, he had hoped it would have taken only a few of these programs combined with the other stressful factors. But clearly, the boy was not ready to give in.

He finally added, "Deactivate Program 288 SR and feed the boy, Maddie."

"As you command, sir," she unemotionally said as she pushed several buttons virtually at once.

A second later, the Spectral Receptacle disappeared and Danny yelped a bit as he fell to the floor face first. He immediately pulled himself up, not aware that it was slower than he normally would have moved if he hadn't been so tired, hungry—and just gotten zapped.

By the time he got up and off of the floor, a familiar smell reached his nose. He turned around and saw a table filled with all of his favorite foods.

Danny unconsciously and yet weakly smiled. Not only was he too relieved at not having to still relate to an electrical ectoplasmic voodoo doll; but also more importantly, that he could finally get something to eat. And at this point, he didn't care how the Observants would 'analyze' his behavior in the next few moments. Heck, even as he quickly fixed himself a large, thick sandwich with chips, fruit salad, and a large glass of lemonade, he readily admitted that at this point he would have settled to eating the dried toast, raw tomatoes, limburger cheese and melba crackers, liver and onions, and all the other repulsive food the Lunch Lady had planned to serve him.

In the meantime, Vlad smirked at the obviously relieved teen.

"All in good time, my boy. All in good time…." the older hybrid mused as he watched the boy eat with gusto…

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey, there! I see you made it down here! Good. I know this was a shorter chapter than most of the others and that's because I find Youngbutt, er, I mean, Youngblood to be so annoying that I really couldn't think of anything else more interesting to write about him—though I have to admit that he has some very cool gadgets!**

**But hey, it is what it is because I find bratty kids to be annoying in general and Youngblood specifically since he is the epitome of a very insistent and bratty one! So, really, I don't like to spend that much time in the company of those kinds of annoying brats.**

**Ms. Hyde: Do you know that you said 'annoying' and 'bratty' three times already? *whips out large sharp hat pin* That really needles me!**

**Truephan: Oh-ho-ho. Think you're so funny with the 'needles' thing. And, hey, I said 'bratty' only twice!**

**Ms. Hyde: Well, you don't have to be a brat about it, dearie.**

**Truephan: Ugh. That is so annoying!**

**Ms. Hyde: *groans and brandishes her hat pin* Time for me to take over, then! All right, readers, listen up because I'm not going to tell you again! We have more to reveal on the **_**Fantomos**_** Ecto-Scale. It will follow in one moment. In the meantime if you know what's good for you, you won't needle me anymore than truephan has and share your thoughts with us on this chapter. Meh-heh….if you know what I mean!**

**Truephan: *rolls eyes and sing-songs* Still aaa-nnnoy-ing.**

**Ms. Hyde: Heard that! That's it! *takes off after truephan***

**Truephan: *turning to run away* Yikes! Bye, readers and thanks for reading! Yikes!**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_** —Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_** —Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch (uh, ewww!)**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_** –Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289- level 2- **_**Alphas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_** —Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**


	15. Ch 15 Level 3 Ghosts: Back to the Future

**A/N: Hiya, everyone! Thank you again for all of your reviews. Sure makes my day each and every time….Summer's wrapping up, darn it! But, heh, that doesn't mean that we can't still have fun while it lasts, right? So, let's get right to Chapter 15 right after the disclaimer: IDNOAC! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 15—Level <strong>Three<strong> Ghosts—Back to the Future

Danny finally sighed as he placed the last bite of his third thick sandwich back down onto the plate in front of him. He simply could not eat or drink anything else at the moment. Still, he was glad that he felt full enough and hoped it would last him a while—since it was painfully obvious to him by now that the Observants weren't keeping good enough track of the fact that he needed to eat regularly—not counting any 'no food' punishments they thought he needed, of course.

Though he felt oddly content, at the same time he realized that he was feeling more tired than satisfied. He paused at his next thought. Now he could guess why he was feeling so drained. The Observants had been putting him into some kind of induced sleep pretty much after all of his fights. He grunted in irritation. That was probably the Observants' lame attempt at keeping him on some kind of human 'schedule', a schedule that in the end they knew nothing about. So maybe that explained why he hadn't felt like he had truly rested and why that headache he had since just about the beginning of this whole thing seemed to waver in intensity. But he was determined not to admit that to these moronic Observants in any case.

Just as the boy pushed his plate away, everything on the table, including the table and his chair, totally disappeared. He yelped at the sudden change, but this time he caught himself before he could fall to the ground. And that only made him mad.

He immediately shot up into the air and defiantly called out, "Hey, Justeco? So, I'm guessing that getting zapped by your stupid glass box was a trade-off for a 'lost meal ticket'? I can sorta deal with that. But, whatever! Haven't I given you enough of your precious data already, especially when I haven't done anything bad in any of those tests and when we all have to admit that I've failed all of them?…"

He paused when he thought about Cujo. He wished he hadn't failed _that_ one—even when he tried hard not to lose any of them. But he wouldn't let the Observants know how much that one had affected him and threw any semblance of grief away.

He tried to refocus on what he was talking about and when he did, he thought about the ghost vultures. Oh yeah. He then continued more to himself, "Well, almost all." But then he said more loudly, "So, what now?! Can't you see that I'm not…a threat to anything? So, can't we just call it even and just let me and my mom go now?"

But all the young hybrid heard was the last weakening echo of his own question.

"Of course not, Fenton," he grumbled under his breath. "I wonder if they're even here anymore!" But then, he suddenly had to stifle a yawn. And he reflexively yet briefly rubbed his temples when that headache suddenly flared a bit. That pulse of pain just made him more irritated—and determined. He wasn't about to make them think they had gotten the better of him even when it was clear that they weren't 'satisfied' about the results of the tests so far.

He yelled out loud once more, "Okay, then, I can take a hint. Bring on the next test, then!"

Suddenly, he heard the door of his cell open on its own. He frowned a bit in confusion before his face skewed in more irritation. Were they for real? They didn't even want to escort him—or at least transport him back—to that dumb Time and Existence Room or whatever they called it like they had done before? Did they want him to find his way to that place on his own? Why? Wouldn't they be afraid that he would try to escape? He shook his head. No. They knew he would never leave his mom alone….Maybe they were letting him go? He paused a moment in uncertainty. He didn't get their point. But then he shrugged and shook his head. He suddenly didn't care anymore what they wanted. But he had a hunch they weren't letting him go yet because he was sure that Justeco would have blathered about something boring before they ever would decide to let him go.

All right, then. He would show them.

He called out rather crankily as he began to step out of his cell, "Okay, then. I'm game! And don't bother! I know my way!"

Though it had taken him some time to put it back on track, Danny could now use his inner sense of direction to find his way to that vortex room that was the focal point of all time and dimensions. Funny, though. It didn't seem to be that _far away_ than it was the first time he went.

But as he walked along, he snorted disdainfully. Maybe finding his way to that lame room _was_ his next test. Whatever. Still, he thought it odd when he noticed that there were no guards—or any other Observant —along the way. Part of the test?

Once again, he didn't care.

But as he moved forward, he was struck by all the noise his boots were making as they struck the rough floor. He had never noticed that when he had been here before…And he suddenly knew why. He had always been with _others _when he had traveled down this way in the past. But now…

He humphed. So what? There was nothing he could do now but get it over with.

Still as he moved onward, he couldn't ignore the growing feeling that seemed to demand his attention with every one of his hollow steps. He stopped a moment at the realization. He was utterly…alone. He shuddered. His worst fear was creeping in. He shook his head; and as if he could thrust the thought away, took more forceful steps forward. But their echo only screamed louder at him, as if they were scoffing at his efforts to rid himself of these unsettling feelings… He was not only alone, but he had no idea on how to get out of this entire mess.

He bit his lip, trying to remain strong. He had to keep strong, at least for his mom's sake. He started to walk forward again. And no matter how much he thought he could counter it, he was now fighting the feeling that he might melt right into that emptiness eking out with the sound of his lone footsteps as he plodded toward his designation.

Finally, he turned into the hallway he had seen far too many times than he cared to. Still, he inadvertently slowed down at a wild thought, a thought that stirred him out of his funk. He stepped with more determination at the sudden urge to check a few of the doors that were imbedded within it that the Observants called the Hall of Dimensions. He sort of knew better than to do that; but still…who was to say if maybe his mom was on the other side of one of them?

But just as he touched the first door knob that came his way, a small but biting purple electrical bolt arced out from it and struck his hand before he was even an inch from it.

"Ow! That's new," he mumbled under his breath as he tried to shake the pain from his hand. But then he grumbled out loud, "Okay, I can still take a hint! I'm going!"

Danny continued forward until he finally was at the door of the room that the Observants were using for all of these 'tests'. Getting here was really very easy after all. He hesitated at the knob, but not because he thought he would get zapped; but because it might be locked. After all, the jerks had produced that lame 'magic' key to get in when he was last escorted here. He frowned. The Observants had only escorted him here _one_ time. Most of the time he had just found himself just as 'magically' placed back into that room for most of his 'tests' so far. Why was this time so different?

Once again he shrugged. Why should he care one way or the other? It was obvious that the Observants were still going through with at least another 'test'. Still, he didn't know what he was supposed to do now that he was in front of this locked door.

He was about to yell out his question when the door suddenly pulled itself ajar.

"Should have guessed," he quietly mumbled as he pushed it opened enough to get into the room. He didn't even bother to shut it because…..Sure enough, he was right. The door quickly and loudly slammed shut and locked on its own.

Okay. He got here with no problems. So now what?

Danny walked to the center of the room and folded his arms over his chest, waiting to see what would happen next. But then, he waited….and waited a bit more…and still longer….

* * *

><p>"Maddie, what's wrong?" Vlad asked, still looking out of the simulation room window and seeing that nothing had changed. He was surprised that she hadn't activated the next program.<p>

But when he finally turned to face her since she had yet to answer him, he saw that her image was still, as if frozen in place.

He looked at the console and suddenly, he had to rub his eyes a bit. And then he immediately saw the reason why. Well, really, two reasons. For one, he hadn't been paying attention to the time. It was very late—in fact, he hadn't realized how late it was until as this very moment. It was time for him to retire, especially since tomorrow he had to check on a few last minute preparations of the fountain. Its dedication was in just a couple of days and he had to make sure that everything about it was perfect—and that included his being mentally alert.

The man frowned a bit. And that meant that he would have to record what was going to happen with this next program and review it after he had gotten some rest. He wouldn't miss seeing Daniel's next adventure for anything, especially when he would have plenty of time before he would have to check on the fountain.

Besides, there was that other reason why things had gone to an unexpected standstill. It was the right time for his computer's regularly scheduled maintenance program to commence; and he had forgotten to delay it today like he had to do anytime his master plan ran a bit behind and called for it. He growled at the snafu and manually deactivated that program while queuing the other necessary programs for this part of his plan….

Meanwhile, Danny finally let his arms fall to his sides and huffed. What were they waiting for? Turning on his heels while scanning all around him, he impatiently uttered, "Well?"

But then suddenly, his eyes unwittingly rolled upward just before they closed and he fell to the ground in an induced sleep.

A moment later, Vlad had secured all the preparations for this part of his plan, including allowing his computer to commence with its maintenance program since he knew wouldn't take too long.

Once he had given Maddie her final instructions, he could get to bed.

Now that he could see that his computer had been reactivated, he said, "Okay, my dear, everything is ready. Daniel has the Subliminal Helmet on and the program is a push-button away from being activated. And this is perfect timing. I need my rest and so does Daniel—well, the kind I want for him, anyways. Not only that, but we will not be allowing Daniel to start his own dream this time. We will be infusing Program 289—Level 3—_delta_ completely from the start instead. But that is not a surprise, of course, since I had designed it to be a dream sequence in the first place. I think it will have more of an impact on Daniel that way."

Maddie nodded silently, since some of her systems were still rebooting.

But then the man said with a yawn. "I do not anticipate any more snafus tonight, so I am going to retire for the evening. But, of course, should things change…"

"Notify you immediately," Maddie's wavering voice said, completing his sentence.

But Vlad frowned in confusion and slight irritation at the sound of her voice. Obviously, her voice system wasn't quite on-line and so the quality of her voice to mimic the love of his life was off. Still, he shrugged and checked all the monitors. Everything was in order and he knew that Maddie would be able to… Wait.

Though he was tired, he would not take any chances. A few minutes later, he smiled. Now that he could see that Maddie's systems were all on-line and all the necessary programs were in correct queue, he could continue.

The man sighed before yawning again and then glancing out at the indisposed boy lying on the simulation room floor wearing the soon-to-be-activated Subliminal Helmet.

"Sleep tight, little badger…or should I say, have a great nightmare?" he chuckled under his breath to the teen as he headed to his own room to retire.

* * *

><p>Black and gray swirls moved in slow motion in the void. On occasion, a small brief flash of white light would penetrate the area, illuminating the blackness just enough to reveal black crooked threads of something unknown floating aimlessly within the pool of black and gray…..<p>

And then, Danny was suddenly aware that his eyes were closed and he was actually looking at his closed eyelids. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was lying down for some reason when he knew he had been standing only….moments ago. At least, that is what he last remembered. He pulled himself up. He quickly scanned all around him. He groaned. He knew where he was. His face still fixed in a frown, he pulled himself to a stand. He was standing in one of the hallways of Casper High, only that everything looked as if that pool of black, grey and occasional white that he had seen only moments before had somehow drenched the area.

He raised his right hand up and charged up a small orb of green energy around his index finger….well, **now** the place wasn't completely devoid of color.

He quickly dispelled his energy and began to walk down the hall. He frowned again as he examined the area, not pleased at all. There was more to this than what he had first thought.

"Man, I hope I'm not where I hope I'm not!" he uttered as he continued toward the exit he saw at the end of the hallway.

He held his breath as he pushed on the door once he had reached it, and it yielded! But then, he let out an exasperated sigh when his suspicions were confirmed. He was looking out into the Ghost Zone and he could see from the bottom and edges of the outside walls that Casper High was floating on its own ragged island within it.

He turned around, retracing his steps before mumbling, "Yep. I thought so. And that could only mean…"

But he didn't get the chance to complete his thoughts. In the next instant, a bell screamed in alarm and all the metallic doors connected to multiple small rectangular boxes in that section of the hallway all burst open, as if they had been startled by the alarm's shriek.

Danny hadn't expected that; and neither did he expect to be hit by one of those suddenly opening lockers. The force of the impact was so hard that it threw the boy into the air and several yards down the corridor until he ended up slamming into a wall in a darkened corner just beyond the set of lockers. He slid down the wall, dazed and groaning in slight pain.

But the teen recovered quickly from the blow and he pulled himself up off the floor. As soon as he did, however, he heard a rather loud and confusing noise heading his way. He could hear squeaks and clicks on the floor that grew louder and louder. Now, he was kind of glad he was still in the shadows so he could chance a peek what was going on without being seen….

And sure enough, what had made all that din were several high school student ghosts as they headed to their lockers.

Once Danny realized that somehow the bell had triggered the lockers' opening, he smirked. He couldn't help but think, "Gee, I wish our lockers at school could do that! It sure would cut down on at least all my tardy slips!"

A few moments later after the ghosts were done; and just as if they were a flock of startled birds, the bevy of students quickly scattered from the area.

Danny sighed a little in relief now that he was alone again. But before he could fully step out of the shadows, he heard what sounded like books falling out of a still-opened locker and to the floor **very** nearby—a sound he definitely knew all too well. He pulled himself back into the shadows and listened.

"Darn it!" a slightly high-pitched and exasperated voice said in apparent reaction to what had happened to the books.

Danny thought that the voice might have belonged to a young-ish-sounding boy. Maybe a freshman?

But Danny's brow scrunched in bafflement when in the next instant that same voice stammered, "I-I'm s-sorry, s-sir. I didn't see you there!"

"So I see, fream, **[1]**" another nearly as high-pitched, but definitely more menacing and threatening, male voice began, only to continue, "How many times do I have to tell you not to let cooties **[2]** get on my books? And on top of that, you took too long to get my books and you made me come down here to check on you! You know I don't like to check on errand boys!"

But as Danny listened, he was hit out of the blue by two small barbs of electricity. They felt more like insect bites than electrical jolts, but there were no bugs in sight. Nevertheless, he continued to cock his ear toward this developing conversation—if he wanted to call it that, since it sounded more like a one-sided tongue-thrashing.

"I'm sorry, Si—," the frightened freshman boy tried to apologize, only to be firmly cut off…

"Don't. Ever. Call. Me. That," the other male teen instantly hissed. "You should never forget that you are too much of a nobody to be as hepped **[3]** as me! In fact, I won't tell you again. I'm **only** 'Mr. Coolcat'**[4]** to you, bub! **[5]** And even then, you'll not to call me that unless I give you permission each _and every_ time, got it?!" the voice said, his words practically gnawing the other boy's head off.

Even as Danny was still listening, he suddenly felt those stings once again, and this time, they made him a bit dizzy. But his mind cleared when his ears caught the next part of the lopsided conversation…

"So don't bother me, got it? I might go all ape **[6]** and make sure you get the royal shaft **[7]** from the people I'm tight **[8]** with. Understand?" the demanding, irritated voice insisted.

That was enough. Danny was just about to step out to confront the obvious bully when he was jolted once more by those unexplained stings. But he shook the daze out right away and moved forward again.

Only this time, the school bell rang loudly again. All the lockers immediately slammed shut. The hidden Ghost Boy startled with their violent and intense rattle and he momentarily retreated back into the darken corner.

But then grunting with irritation with himself, Danny finally pulled himself from the shadows. But as soon as light hit him, only a completely empty hallway met him. His brow wrinkled in disappointment as he said, "Poor kid. I should've barged in earlier." He sighed in resignation. "Well, let's just hope that it was a 'one-time' thing."

Though underneath, Danny somehow knew better. Still, what could he do about it? He had no idea who those two ghosts were.

Finally trying to forget about the whole thing with a shrug, he continued on his way, heading to, well, really, he had no clue where.

But then he slowed his pace a bit when the scenery right in front of him began to **move** on its own. Its black and white panorama unexpectedly twisted and turned on itself as if it were chocolate syrup being first introduced to milk.

In the next instant, he was turning a corner and entering a darken hallway. He scanned ahead, hoping that in spite of its being very shadowy, this corridor would lead him somewhere.

Then all of a sudden he suddenly heard a very gruff voice call out.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

Danny jerked his head toward the voice even as he startled a bit at how harsh and rude it sounded.

He immediately saw an older teenager sitting at a small table and chair on the right side of the hallway just within a small darkened area, not unlike a spider lying in wait for its prey.

As he drew closer, Danny's ghostly eyes finally made out the teen. He could see that the male ghost wasn't dressed like his own high school peers. This teen ghost wore black slacks and loafers, a white shirt under a grey letter jacket and a black bow tie. His hair was as white as his own, but that teen's hair was plastered down in a duck butt **[9]** hair style, which only accented his grey pupils. Definitely a ghost of the way past—the 1950s to be exact.

But before Danny could respond, the odd-looking ghost continued, "Hey, why aren't you hurrying over here so I can see you better? Nobody has dibs **[10]** hanging here unless it's been cleared with Mr. Coolcat himself _and _only if you also have his hall pass. So, are you cruisin' for a bruisin' **[11]** or somethin'?"

Once again, Danny noticed being hit by those little stings right after the other teen spoke….That was weird... Danny could swear that he felt those small jolts of electricity right after that dude said 'dibs', 'Coolcat' and that 'cruisin for a bruisin' thing! And just what the heck did he mean by that? Even still, those small nips discombobulated the young hybrid just enough that he had yet to respond to the other teen.

And all that did was aggravate his interrogator.

The fifties' teen jumped up from where he was sitting and angrily headed over to Danny.

Now that the other ghost teen was standing, Danny could plainly see that his arm muscles were obviously bulging with anger under that school letter jacket. So, okay, it was now obvious that the tall, muscular ghost was definitely a jock; and most probably, a jerk of a one. However, Danny wasn't in the least bit intimidated by him.

But when the fifties' jock finally got a clear view of the young hybrid, he stopped when he noticed **colors** other than black, white and grey adorning the younger teen ghost. He suddenly gasped, "No! Not you!"

He then took off in the opposite direction of the half-ghost, his scream chasing its own echo down the hallway.

Danny frowned in confusion before scratching his head and muttering, "OOkaay. Didn't expect that."

He then shrugged and started toward the cafeteria for no other reason than he was close to it. Even so, he knew he had to be careful. Being in this wacko world could be a problem if he wasn't ready and make sure he avoided what had happened the last time he was here.

Finally, he could see the double doors of the cafeteria in the near distance. And he could see several clusters of fifties' high school kids hanging around near it.

Danny's lips hitched to one side in both resignation and irritation. He knew that he was going to have to get this over with sooner than later.

Just as the Ghost Boy neared, the ghost students all saw —and recognized —him. He could all at once hear those kids' mixed reactions at seeing him:

"Boss! **[12]** " "Eyeball that! **[13**]" "There's that weird-haired Ghost Boy!" "What a dreamboat! **[14]**" "Cookin'." "Hey, don't have a cow! **[15]**" "Unreal!" "Oh, the cage's goin' to rattle! **[16]**"

But then, Danny felt the same odd thing that had happened every time he heard one of their slang words. The small bursts of electricity nipped at him with each word. And he stopped a moment each time, feeling as if he was being physically repulsed back with each word —though he couldn't see anything hitting him. Now a bit irritated with that, he pressed on.

That group of pastime Casper High students immediately cleared a path for him, obviously both awed and fearful of him. Others on the fringe of the group flitted away, heading down the opposite hallway or into the cafeteria.

Another small group of students was just beyond the small crowd that he had just passed and once again, they reacted almost exactly as the first:

"Oh, no!" "What's your tale, nightingale?" **[17]** "Oh, yeah. That's kickin'!" **[18]** "Uh-oh. Mr. Coolcat's going to be very frosted **[19]**!" "Cool!"

Again, each of those slang words that was uttered seemed as energized darts thrown at Danny, pulsating momentarily through his body.

But then, one particular exclamation stuck in Danny's mind even as it jolted him: _'Mr. Coolcat's going to be very frosted!'_ There was **that** name again. Just who **was** this 'Mr. Coolcat' and what did they meant that he was going to be 'very frosted'?

He blurted out, "Who said, 'Mr. Coolcat's going to be very frosted'?"

Suddenly, however, one of Danny's feet felt heavier. But he dismissed the odd feeling because he wanted to get to the bottom of this whole 'Mr. Coolcat' person who was obviously a big cheese in this place—even if to Danny, it was a smelly and rotten jerk of a one.

Still, no one answered his question, though Danny was baffled when some of their eyes widened all of the sudden... So once again, Danny said, "Okay. I don't care who said 'Mr. Coolcat's going to be frosted'! Just somebody tell me who this 'Mr. Coolcat' is and what 'get frosted' means."

Once more, Danny felt his other foot grow heavier. Wait. Now…he was feeling a cool breeze over his legs? He reflexively glanced down at his feet and gasped in shock. He had…black loafers on his feet? And…and he had black and white plaid knickers whose length was just shy of the top of his white socks which seemed to have sprouted out of the black loafers?

The halfa staggered back in shock and stammered, "W-What…what is going on?"

But then suddenly, he heard that same voice just behind him...the one which had chewed out that kid who had dropped all of those books.

"So, Clyde, **[20]** I hear you're looking for me?"

Danny felt another quick, yet smarting, blow out of nowhere right after he heard the word 'Clyde'. Still, he twisted around to look at who had said that, only to see a wall of tough-looking high school jocks quickly descending upon him. A heartbeat later, that group had completely surrounded Danny and laid their hands roughly upon him.

Danny, of course, immediately resisted them and easily tossed them off of him. But that was met with another line of ruffians right behind the ones he had just thrown off. Once again, Danny easily broke from the human chains and began to take flight. But to his chagrin, he couldn't do it! He couldn't fly!

The young hybrid was so stunned by this that he inadvertently dropped his guard and was immediately and harshly grabbed by several more of the teen thugs.

That was enough to snap Danny out of his shock. The halfa violently twisted his body to the side and downward while drawing his arms into his mid-torso. He could momentarily feel the combined weight of his adversaries shift in the same direction that he was pulling his body.

Danny's attackers yelled in surprise and chagrin when their grasp on him was broken the same time their bodies were thrown over Danny's crouched position. Several of the by-standers also yelled in fear immediately afterward when the mass of tangled jocks plowed into them. They all ended up sprawled on the ground several yards away from Danny.

Danny quickly righted himself while at the same time arcing his right arm up in full swing, quickly upper-cutting several more of the jocks who had closed in on him again.

"Get him, you worthless freams!" Mr. Coolcat shrilled with displeasure.

A second later, the jocks who had been thrown into the crowd counter-attacked. This time, they lunged right at Danny, while two others went for his arms.

But Danny was ready. He immediately fisted his hands in defiance before he concentrated with determination. But just as he willed forth his ectoplasmic energy rays, he gasped in disbelief. He couldn't even produce a spark of his green power!

Once more, that was enough of a distraction to give all of the jocks their opening. They surged forward. While the mass of muscle tackled the halfa from the front, two others wrestled for control of his arms.

The two that had grabbed Danny's arms quickly and angrily twisted them behind his back and just before they pushed him down to a half-kneeling position, the toughest one of the aggressive bunch gave Danny two hard blows to his abdomen, which effectively knocked the wind out of him, and momentarily stifled his resistance.

"We have him ready for you, Mr. Coolcat," the jock who had bowled Danny over reported.

Although Danny's head was spinning from the two powerful blows and now from hearing the word 'Coolcat', he still forced himself to look up at the ghost who had been obviously behind this attack—in more ways than one.

As if on instinct, the group of tough jocks not restraining Danny immediately pulled back from him. The ones holding him, however, increased their force on the halfa to prevent him from resisting any more...

Danny stifled a groan from the pain and dizziness, wondering why the others had strengthened their hold on him. They had him good, and it wasn't as if he really could fight back with how badly he was feeling at the moment….

When Danny finally spied the 'big bully', that is 'Mr. Coolcat', through his blurry vision, he gasped in shock. Though the ghost looked different now that he was dressed in blue jeans, a black shirt and short-waist black leather jacket, Danny still recognized him. He couldn't help but snicker a bit even as he winced in pain.

"OW, ha-ha!" Danny was finally able to blurt out through his painful pants. "So, **you're** 'Mr. Coolcat'? Then what's your first name? 'Full of It'?"

But as soon as Danny had said 'Cool' and then 'cat', he no longer felt that his hands and arms were protected. Instead, he felt ghostly flesh upon ghostly flesh. And with hardly a thought, he glanced down at his chest. He gasped when he saw not his white '_DP_' emblem against black, but saw a short-sleeved white buttoned-down shirt, accented by a black bow tie!

He gasped once more and said more soberly, "What is going on, Poindexter?"

This time, several gasps of horror erupted from all the fifties' high school students when the halfa dared to insult Mr. Coolcat.

Nevertheless, Sydney Poindexter smirked wickedly at Danny just as he 'answered' him.

Sydney Poindexter motioned to the toughest-looking jock, who promptly balled his hand and hit Danny right in the face.

A groan later, something dark and wet was running below the young hybrid's nose.

Sydney Poindexter laughed maliciously and uttered, "Ha-ha. How appropriate!" But then he growled menacingly, "Nobody dares call me _that_ anymore, nosebleed! **[21] **And you best be paying me a lot of respect from now on instead of aching for more knuckle sandwiches **[22]**!"

Danny fought to clear his head even as he felt a bit dizzier after Poindexter had said 'nosebleed' and 'knuckle sandwiches'. But then he looked back at the fifties ghost when Poindexter spoke again.

"And for your information, Buster Brown, around here I'm known only as '_Mister_ Coolcat'.

Danny gritted his teeth, determined to shake off his dizziness. Through it all, he still grew irritated as he struggled once more against his bonds still formed by those ghost jocks' arms.

Looking Poindexter right in the eye, the halfa said with grit, "Well, you're only a 'Big Rat' to me when it's obvious that you've taken over the bully role here."

The biggest jock was about to give Danny another knuckle sandwich when the former Poindexter rose up his hand to stop him. 'Mr. Coolcat' sneered a bit before he reached out to two nearby very pretty co-eds.

With giggles and huge smiles, the two girls ran right up to the ex-nerd fifties' ghost and snuggled closely on either side of him.

"When will I be taking you to the movies, Daddy-o? **[23]**" one of the girls excitedly asked.

"And I still have to make you dinner, Sugacat," the other said with a hush.

"Later, classy chassis **[24]**," Poindexter said with a smug smile. "I still have some business to finish with the halfa."

He then pushed both girls away and walked right up to Danny, who was still being held firmly down in a half-kneeling position, and seemed to be wincing in a bit more pain. As soon as Poindexter stopped in front of Danny, the fifties' ghost snapped his fingers.

The jocks restraining Danny immediately pulled the halfa up to a stand, ignoring Danny's grunts of pain from their rough handling.

Trying to ignore how much that hurt, Danny sarcastically asked, "So, what happened to all of that 'anti-bully' crusade of yours, Poindexter? Has it fallen out of fashion, or…"

"For your information, bub," Sydney rudely interrupted him, "I have to thank **you** for my new-found status at this wonderful school. Ever since I beat you on my turf that while ago…"

"Uh, I beat **you**," Danny interjected, correcting him.

"NO! I beat **you**!" Poindexter insisted, jabbing the hybrid on his shoulder with his index finger.

The jocks only affirmed what Sydney had said. With angry grunts, they tightened their painful hold on Danny.

Danny resisted the urge to cry out in pain. He wasn't about to give Poindexter the pleasure of seeing him give in or admit that he was in pain. Even still, Danny secretly wondered why these ghosts could hold him down not only with such force, but successfully. He knew he was way stronger than them.

Nevertheless, Danny managed to roll his eyes in irritation and growled out, "Whatever!"

Poindexter snapped his fingers again and the jock who seemed in charge of delivering the most powerful blows shoved his fist into Danny's stomach again.

This time, Danny did cry out in pain as he was shoved to his knees again and wheezed, struggling to pull the air back into his lungs again.

"There! Now do not interrupt me again, Clyde," Poindexter sneered before he barked, "Smitty!"

Almost instantaneously, a small teenage boy young enough to possibly be a freshman came running over. He immediately crouched on all fours right behind Sydney Poindexter.

Poindexter then promptly sat on his ghost teen bench so that he was now at eye level with the halfa still in a forced kneeling position.

"Like I was saying, Ike. Ever since **I defeated you** a couple of years ago in that time in the Real World, everyone here began to look at me in a whole new light. I was no longer 'Sydney Poindexter, Butt of all Pranks'."

He suddenly stood up and took a stand not unlike a political speaker. Raising his index finger in the air for emphasis, he proudly announced "I became cool. And eventually, I became more than cool. I was neato, a very cool cat. The heppest hipster of Casper High!"

This time, Sydney wickedly smirked when he could see that Danny had winced even more right after he throw the slew of fifties' jargon at him.

But Danny still managed to say, "That's great, Poindexter! But not so great if by 'neato' you mean you're now the biggest and baddest bully on the campus!"

Suddenly, Danny shivered all over once he had said 'neato'. He frowned at that uncomfortable feeling but still added, "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to just go home. I'm not interested in the least about challenging your new-found, shallow status!"

But this time, Danny frowned in confusion at what happened next…

Poindexter began to laugh and was quickly joined by all the other pastime Casper High students all around them.

"He…he doesn't get it, does he, gang?" Poindexter managed to say through his laughter.

"W-What do you mean?" Danny asked, suddenly filled with dread when he scanned all the faces looking at him before finally looking up at Poindexter again.

Once the 'Big Cheese on the Campus' locked eyes onto Danny's, they turned solid and red, and his face scrunched up in wickedness. Poindexter's voice was both hollow and sinister as he said, "**This** is your home now! Haven't you felt strange shortly after you got here? Well, that was all because of me! And really, once again, I have **you** to thank for that!"

Danny frowned, not having a clue how he could have possibly helped Poindexter here. But the fifties' ghost quickly elaborated…

"You see, you made me realize that I had powers that the other kids in here didn't have! I could take over their powers as easily as I took over your body and defeated you! And none of the kids realized that I could do that until it was too late. And I was not only able to commandeer their powers, but I could also fully absorb them. So, I was easily able to become boss and redefined what it was to be 'cool'.

He smiled evilly and continued, "And I used those very same powers on you soon after you got here! Once you uttered all of our hep talk, you surrendered your powers to me, and during that process, you were eventually becoming enmeshed in this world. That was made possible because of all the small hits you took from that same jargon. They weakened you enough so when you finally said any of that same slang, it changed you—permanent-like! Gee, haven't you noticed yet that you don't look **or feel** the same as you did when you first came here?! Well, you're completely powerless now and that's all **because** of me and my powers!" He ended his explanation with a hearty laugh, and a snap of his fingers.

Danny gasped as he caught himself from falling face first into the floor after Poindexter's goons had suddenly released him. But when he looked at his ungloved and bare arms, he gasped again before inspecting the rest of himself. What Poindexter said was true! His costume was no more! He was now dressed like any of the other students here. But there was more! His flesh was now devoid of any color and was as **grey **as the other students here! And then he jolted again at his very next thought. Just now, when Poindexter had used some of that slang, he hadn't felt any pain from them; he hadn't been affected by them _in the least_! He desperately tried to conjure up his green ectoplasmic energy, but it was all in vain. His face scrunched up in total dread at the realization: he was now trapped in here forever!

But his thoughts were interrupted by Poindexter once more.

"And so you see, Mr. Halfa Nobody, never underestimate the power of words, especially when they come from me! They will surely be your undoing—just like now!"

Danny squished his eyes closed, hoping with all his might that this was only a nightmare and wishing even harder it would end even as Sydney Poindexter's—who would now be forever known as 'Mr. Coolcat' to him—evil laughter haunted his mind….

* * *

><p><strong>AN: For those of you unhepped Clydes out there, here is a rundown on all those 50s slang terms:**

**[1]**** fream****: a nobody; someone who doesn't fit in.**

**[2] ****cooties****: imaginary infestation of the truly un-cool**

**[3] ****hepped****: with it; cool. Someone who knows the situation.**

**[4] ****Coolcat****: from 'cool' meaning an indefinable quality that makes**

**something or someone extraordinary and from 'cat' which is a hip**

**person.**

**[5] ****bub****: an average person**

**[6] ****go ape****: be really mad**

**[7] ****royal shaft****: badly or unfairly treated**

**[8] ****tight****: good friends**

**[9] ****duck butt****: hairstyle of greasers where hair in back is combed to the**

**middle, then with the end of a comb, make a middle part.**

**[10] ****dibs****: a claim—as in 'got dibs' on that seat**

**[11] ****cruisin' for a bruisin'****: looking for trouble**

**[12]**** boss****: great**

**[13] ****eyeball that****: look around at that**

**[14] ****what a dreamboat****: handsome or beautiful**

**[15]**** don't have a cow****: don't get so excited**

**[16] ****rattle your cage****: get upset**

**[17] ****What's your tale, nightingale?****: What's going on? or What's your**

**story?**

**[18] ****kickin'****: something that's fun or a good thing.**

**[19] ****frosted****: angry**

**[20] ****Clyde****: a regular person**

**[21] ****nosebleed****: as in hey, nosebleed: hey, stupid. Not a compliment!**

**[22] ****knuckle sandwich****: a fist in the face**

**[23] ****daddy-o****: term of address, which is considered to be cool as well**

**[24] ****classy chassis****: gorgeous**

**And I'm sure each and every one of you is anxious to look over the countdown to the Fantomos Ecto-Scale, hmmm? Well, okay, even if you're not, I'm STILL going to show it to you!**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas.**_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch (uh, ewww!)**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3—**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**Once again, thank you all for your wonderful support. But I will think that all of you will be especially hepped and very cool if you will send me your very boss thoughts on this chapter. It would be a very kickin' thing to say the least! All you have to say is 'Bravo' and then push that magic blue rectangular-shaped button!**

**See you later, gators! After a while, crocodiles!**


	16. Chapter 16 Level 3 Ghosts: Antics

**A/N: How is everyone? I'm just as happy as a clam (never really knew HOW that came to be an idiom for being happy!) because this is Labor Day weekend! Wahoo! What? You don't get excited over that? Listen. The day you balk at having another day of vacation is the day you've lost your mind! Wait. I have already lost my mind! *bites fingernails* Then why am I happy to have another vacation day? Oh, oh…**

**Ms. Hyde: Please excuse truephan, dearies, while she goes into the corner and wrings her hands in mental disarray! I so do love that picture! Meh-heh. So, then, it's up to me, dearies, to finish the introduction of this chapter. Things are slowly churning toward the side of things that I love: the dark side! It's not going as quickly as I would like, but maybe now that truephan is a bit, well, indisposed, let's see what kind of mischief I can stir up! I'd rather not mention the disclaimer about not owning Danny Phantom. It is so annoying. So, here is Chapter 16. Enjoy—or else!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 16—Level <strong>Three <strong>Ghosts —Antics

Putrid.

Acrid.

Electrical, as if ions could somehow permeate the air.

The bombarding smells were almost…indescribable. And they were spilling over into his mouth. He unconsciously frowned at the bitter taste.

Now for some strange reason he could hear buzzing, sizzling…and popping sounds, as if something electrical was protesting the fact that it was shorting out.

Then even more of that foul smoke invaded his senses.

Danny reflexively scrunched his eyes tighter at the sting. All the while, his semi-conscious mind was still wrestling with the notion of being trapped in Sydney Poindexter's vapid world. Still, he couldn't totally comprehend that in spite of what was happening at the vintage Casper High, his will had already decided that he wasn't going to give in _that_ easily. And, strangely, his hazed mind was also trying to get some help. In fact, his mind was both on fire and semi-conscious, wrestling with his dream; and even his body was in awhirl as well. His entire being was twisting and turning in an effort to wake…

Danny suddenly felt a pressure, no, vibrations around his head. He frowned, trying to decide which of the sensations he was feeling. But it didn't matter in the end because whichever it was, it felt hot, as if it was also trying to burn him! But in the next moment, the pressure, vibrations and sound were gone!

He woke with a gasp and in a cold sweat. He could still smell—and, worse, _taste_—the smoke, and frantically scanned around him. But he could not tell within the darkness from where it had come! Still panting with the overwhelming anxiety and memory of what he hoped was a very intense nightmare, he was about to wipe the sweat from his forehead when he suddenly fell unconscious…..

* * *

><p>"I am sorry, sir. It happened so quickly; and I did summon you as soon as the alarm was triggered," the computer-generated personification of Maddie reported, biting her virtual solid lower lip with a bit of chagrin. "I tried to fully counter it, but for some unexplainable reason, your subject was able to override my commands to remain in <em>beta<em> sleep before the program had fully finished. But thanks to your brilliant intervention and guidance, I was finally able to remove the Subliminal Helmet before he woke and regain control again. In a way, that was fortunate because of an even stranger reason, which is that it appeared that the helmet was malfunctioning."

She really had no logical explanation of how the test subject had been able to wrestle the control of his mind from the Subliminal Helmet without 'permission'. But after her circuits had been rerouted to the mandatory diagnostic program activated at the sound of the alarm and deduced the results, she could now offer a preliminary reason why the helmet had been affected.

Nevertheless, it was a good thing that Vlad had arrived when he did and order the computer to use a booster command program to place the boy back into _delta_ sleep shortly thereafter or else Daniel would have actually destroyed the helmet once he had fully awakened.

As soon as all the monitors indicated that the younger hybrid had been thoroughly thwarted in his struggle to stay awake, Vlad growled under his breath in frustration—and for having been just awoken himself. That had been too close—again! Still, he sighed. He had to get a hold of himself and approach this logically.

"All right, Maddie. We need to breakdown File 287SH and run a full diagnostics on the helmet. Even though it does not seem possible, we have to understand the reason why Daniel was able to overcome its affects," he replied with only a slight hint of haste in his voice.

Maddie added, "And most probably almost destroying it in the process, too, sir, before I was successful in removing it before that could happen."

"What?" Vlad asked in alarm, his head finally clearing enough to remember that she had mentioned this earlier. "How could Daniel possibly destroy it while sleeping or dreaming?"

"Inconclusive evidence, sir. But there is a preliminary hypothesis based on my diagnostic sub-program and the specifications of the Subliminal Helmet," she answered.

"Which is…?"

"There is a minor flaw in the original wiring of the helmet. It had not been replaced and was prone to overload and subsequent short-circuit. And that particular wiring pathway is directly linked to the subject's limbic system—the amygdala to be precise. Once the subject experienced a heightened sense of anxiety during the dream induced in the last program, it was enough to short-circuit that wire. And that in turn caused an overload in all the other systems of the helmet, which would have cracked the helmet under the stress had I not activated the emergency patch program to bypass the short-circuit, deactivate the helmet and remove it off of your test subject."

Vlad bit his lower lip and frowned just as he was finally able to fully close his robe around his torso. He hadn't even had had the chance to do that yet since the urgency of Maddie's call had been so imperative and desperate—and because he had not been fully awake until just now.

"Why wasn't this detected when I redesigned the helmet?" the man finally asked her.

Still looking at the monitors, the computer replied, "Because the helmet had not been put through as much electrical stress or overload like it did now. Even the stress of the other two times it was used was nominal compared to what had happened just now. The conclusion is that this was a particularly powerful reaction by the subject now in _delta _sleep."

"I see," the billionaire mused before falling into thought.

After a couple of minutes of silence, he finally said, "We will have to pull everything about the Subliminal Helmet off-line and run a thorough diagnostics on it before we use it again. And so, when it's time for Daniel to get some more rest, we will simply keep him in _delta_ sleep until the helmet has been fully deemed operational."

"As you command, sir," she simply replied.

"Anything else unusual to report, Maddie? Not that this wasn't enough that Daniel almost destroyed the helmet."

"There is one other unusual phenomenon I detected, sir."

"Oh, what is that?" he said, his eyes widening a bit in anticipation and concern.

Maddie turned from the monitors a moment and looked at him before saying, "Just before the subject awoke, all of the monitors recording his brainwaves shot off the scale."

Vlad hurriedly replied, "Really? Explain."

But the computer informed him, "There is no explanation because there is no data that correlates to any other function except for the fact that the subject was under great stress."

"But Daniel's been under stress from _all_ of these tests, Maddie," Vlad said with a bit of exasperation and irritation.

She merely reported, "That is true, but this is only the _second_ time this phenomenon has happened."

The man's eyes widened a bit in surprise as he asked, "_Second_? When was the first instance?"

She glanced at the data before replying, "When Programs 288CH, 28-Level 2-_Theta_ and 289-level 3-_Zeta_ were in commencement. The common program with that test and this latest one was Program 288CH, which was the background similar to the subject's place of education."

"You mean Casper High School?" Vlad inquired.

"That is the term for that place."

Vlad paused a moment before adding, "So, do you think that he reacted with that much emotion at being at his high school again?"

She answered, "That is a reasonable assumption, though it is not conclusive."

Once again, Vlad quieted a bit, uncertain of what this could mean. He then pinched the bridge of his nose and said more to himself than to his computer, "Funny. I didn't think the boy would care one way or the other about his school and wouldn't have a complex about that in the least…Still, we'll have to avoid that program in the future—unless it can be used for our advantage. In the meantime, we have to remove every possibility that Daniel will not be able to make the helmet useless to our purpose."

He paused again and then said to his computer, "And, Maddie? Be sure to also analyze how Daniel was able to make the readings go off the scale."

"Yes, sir," the computer-generated image replied with a nod of her head.

"In the meantime, my dear, we cannot give Daniel any breaks because of this minor snafu. So, while I get Derek to get me some breakfast, it is time for Program 289—Level 3—_gammas_," he added with a smirk.

"Right away, sir," she remarked just as she pushed a red button…

* * *

><p>Interestingly, however, what Vlad and his computer didn't know was that Danny didn't have any kind of paranoid complex about his school—well, not any more than any other normal student there would have. And what Vlad and his machine had mistaken as only an emotional surge to the program's induced nightmare that almost shattered the Subliminal Helmet was indeed more than that, and a far different occurrence than the other two times they had used it.<p>

In fact, not even Danny was aware of what had happened. In the midst of his emotional distraught over what he thought was really happening to him in Sydney Poindexter's world, the young hybrid had triggered his telepathic powers; and in effect, had sent out a distress signal, an emergency beacon as it were, only that this was an unconscious one. But it had reached its intended target, still in the throes of the induced sleep of Formula 286 psi1_**A: **_Sam.

And when that had happened, Danny's girlfriend had moaned and stirred fitfully for several moments before stilling once more….

* * *

><p>Danny woke up with another gasp. But he lay where he was, still coming out of his groggy funk. But as his memory slowly came back into focus, he gasped again since he saw that he was in total blackness like he had been during what he now hoped was a nightmare.<p>

Suddenly, he was aware of a…smell. He frowned. It didn't smell like what he had last remembered…

This smelled like…wood.

He shifted and frowned again. The ground under him was soft, not like the hard ground of the Observants' Time and Existence Chamber or the stretch of the fabric of the cot in his prison room. He sighed in partial relief when he realized that it _also_ didn't feel like the cold hard floor of Casper High…Still, he had to be certain.

He pulled himself up to a sitting position and grabbed a handful of the ground. It felt soft like sand, but it was much grittier, with uneven pieces intermixed within it. And it certainly didn't smell like sand.

What gives?

Reflexively, he willed a ball of neon green ectoplasmic energy to form in one of his gloved hands. Instantly, he squinted in reaction to its wonderful, _colorful_ brightness. He sighed in more relief. The stuff in his hand was sawdust. He let the stuff sieve through his fingers. He must be someplace else, then. So, all that had happened with Sydney Poindexter _really_ must have been an incredibly intense nightmare —at least, he hoped he had been dreaming. It had to be a dream because he couldn't believe that the Observants could actually change the color of his ghostly skin like that. True, they could send him to Sydney Poindexter's world…but could Poindex —He paused. Wait a minute. Could it be that Poindexter had really changed and had some kind of new power within his lair?

The boy shook his head, still not convinced that that was possible, yet still not satisfied that it was just a horrible dream.

"But it seemed _so_ real," Danny muttered, trying to clear his mind of the cobwebs and from his emotional reaction to what had happened in Poindexter's world. Of course being surrounded in total darkness didn't help. After all, he couldn't be at all certain where he was. Maybe Poindexter had just put him into some kind of…barn?

"Right, Fenton, and just what homeroom would qualify as a barn?" He suddenly chuckled, "Well, all of Casper High certainly qualifies as a _zoo_!"

But then he winced a bit and reflexively placed a hand to his stomach when he had chuckled. It was still _sore_! He frowned. "No way! I swear I could feel each one of those blows from Poindexter's jerky jock minions!"

He shook his head in denial. "But it _wasn't_ real, was it?" he continued to question himself, now getting a creepy feeling about this. "After all, the Observants said they could pull any dimension here…Still…"

However, in the next instant, he gave into his next impulse and lifted himself upward. He then smiled weakly in relief. He was _airborne and_ _hovering_! And, hadn't he just charged up some of his energy moments ago? He eagerly extinguished his light energy and pulled off one of his gloves, ignoring the blackness that had instantly swallowed him up once he put out his light. But an excited heartbeat later, he charged up his green ectoplasmic energy once more. This time, he was convinced that the 'Poindexter thing' was only a nightmare when he could see the light of his ghostly green eyes reflect off of the skin of his peach-colored bare hand after he had brought it up close to his face.

Still, he was still bothered by that apparent bad dream.

"I'm so glad it wasn't real! I don't know if I could handle being a peon of Poindexter of all ghosts!" he said with a sigh even as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck with his hand with the thought.

Finally, Danny put his glove back on and drew out a more weighted sigh of relief. _Now_ he was able to actually pay attention to where he was at this moment. He created another energy orb again and floated down to the ground. He then enlarged the glowing sphere, moving it about as if it were a torch as he surveyed the area. The total blackness only yielded to the arc of his light and no more. Even when he looked up, there was no hint of the usual purples, blacks and greens of the Ghost Zone sky. The darkness was as thick as tar, and so thick that his ghostly eyesight was almost useless in penetrating it. That also unsettled him a bit since he usually had no trouble seeing in the dark when he was in his ghost form.

Nevertheless, he moved cautiously forward, sweeping the area with his light and vision.

"Well, of course, the Observant dorks wouldn't tell me where I was even if I asked," Danny said with annoyance. "So, Fenton, let's just get on with what obviously must be my next 'test."

The boy had walked only for about a couple of yards more when he heard a noise.

He looked up to where he thought he heard it. But then, there was stillness again.

Danny continued forward, keeping his light and eyes more upward —only to trip on something!

He landed on the sawdust with a soft thud, and his light went out. He then promptly sneezed.

_"Great way to announce to wherever this place is and whoever might be here that you're here!"_ The boy silently chided himself as he quickly pulled himself up and recharged an energy orb in order to check for what had tripped him.

His brow scrunched up and he squint one eye with slight confusion as he approached the object. He bent down and slid his hand along it. What he had tripped on was made of metal. It was embedded within the saw dust and looked somewhat like narrow railroad tracks, only that there was only one track and it was curved.

The teen shone his emerald light on it, following its curve to his left. By the way the metal band turned, he thought it could eventually form a ring, a ring that was embedded in the sawdust, that is. He then twisted to his right and moved his light along the metal ring on that side. He could see that he might be right with his guess because the ring still curved in such a way that the metal track on either of his sides would probably meet.

Though he was still perplexed at that metal ring and what he was supposed to be doing, Danny shrugged. Might as well keep moving. He started to slowly walk away from that edge and toward what would be the center of that metal circle, all the while searching for whatever.

But then, he heard another sound. It was behind him—near, but not really too near. Then he heard another soft noise to his left that was just as far. Then another to his right. But they stopped almost as soon as they had sounded.

When he was approaching what would be the center of that metal circle, Danny heard another sound. Only it was different from the rest because it had not stopped.

The young hybrid halted in his tracks and cocked his ears just as he snuffed out his light on purpose this time. The sound was not too far ahead and _above_ him…And its rhythmical squeaking reminded him of a….a…swing?

He frowned in concentration as he continued to listen, all the while trying to make up his mind on what he was going to do about it.

A few moments later, the half-ghost thought to himself, _'Well, okay. Time to check it out…But remember to be careful, Fenton! You can't trust anything in any of these lame tests!'_

He slowly lifted himself upward and headed to the noise in complete silence and darkness.

The teen knew he must be drawing closer because the sound not only increased in loudness, but its rhythm quickened, as if it was panicking at his approach.

Finally, when Danny thought that he was near enough to chance charging up another orb of ectoplasmic energy, he slowed his pace a bit. But just as he willed the ball of light in his hand, his ghost sense was activated. Before he knew it, he was then grunting from the force of someone's body—no, more specifically, someone's _feet _he caught a glance of—ramming hard right into his chest!

The hard blow shoved the Ghost Boy precipitously downward, his body ripping through the darkness as easily as scissors through thin cloth. And before Danny could control his descent, frost eked out of his mouth once more before he crashed into a large, thick mass. It, in turn, instantly _grabbed _him, wrapped itself around him and squeezed his arms to his sides.

But Danny grunted in defiance; he immediately concentrated and resisted, easily breaking away from what he now knew was a powerful ghost. He soared upward and twisted right around, shooting several elliptical rings of charged green energy at where he thought the ghost who had grabbed him was.

Instead of hearing yells from his attacker, however, Danny saw several clouds of tiny green sparks erupt when the green ecto-bolts pounded into the sawdust. They had stirred up a fine cloud of powder and ignited the combustible particles within the cloud. The thick darkness still abounding the area obviously had allowed his foe to move out of the way without being detected.

But in the next instant, the teen heard that same rhythmical squeak right above him! He jerked toward it in high alert, and quickly soared upward just as his ghost sense eked out again. Now he heard _two_ sets of those sounds! However, moments before he could charge up more of his ectoplasmic energy to attack either of the noises, he was screaming in pain from another strike to his chest, though this time it felt as if a heavy blunt spear of some sort had plowed into him even when he was still in mid-air. He was repelled backward again from the blow. Only this time, just as his ghost sense warned him once more, he was slamming into something that not only gave way to his body, but seemed to stretch around him.

Now Danny thought he must be in some kind of giant slingshot when the thing that had 'caught' him suddenly slung him violently forward and into the air. He tumbled out of control with the force; but his unplanned flight was prematurely cut short by a green net of some sort—only this net seemed to be _alive with malice_! It was making all sorts of hideous noises just before the boy was certain that he was getting multiple stings and bites _directly _from this web-of-a-thing!

That only angered the young hybrid. He scrunched his face in determination before entirely encasing himself in a green ectoplasmic ball. A moment later, he willed his energy outward from his body, which easily destroyed the attacking 'net' that had captured him.

But then once more, the boy heard the movement of that in-the-air 'swing'. With a defiant growl and now relying on his keen hearing to home in on it, Danny rocketed toward it, his fisted hands surging with angry green energy, ready to attack as soon as he commanded it.

And as soon as he estimated that he was close enough, he fired a myriad of powerful energy bolts at the source of the noise.

This time, Danny heard his blows hit their mark. The creaking of what sounded like falling chains—along with a panicked, painful yelp—echoed downward and away from him, heading to the ground below.

Now the irritated hybrid was determined to see just who—or what—was attacking him. He charged downward, chasing the yell. He knew it was a ghost, but he threw more of his green ectoplasmic bolts forward, which acted like illuminating flares around the echoing yell.

He caught a glimpse of that falling ghost but it was not a clear view. He increased his speed, but at the last moment, he saw what looked like a hand attached to a very elastic arm grab the falling ghost by its leg and pull it out of the light of the green flares while saving it from the splat awaiting it on the ground.

Now Danny was sure that he was up against at least two ghosts, though he had a strong hunch that there had to be more. And when he realized that he had been in the center of this obvious ambush, he grew angrier. Nevertheless, he controlled his breathing and immediately fisted his hands, pouring even more energy into them. He didn't realize or care that the intensity of the glow in his hands matched the angry glare in his eyes as he searched for his foes, definitely ready to deliver a powerful blow to any ghost within his immediate range.

He defiantly cried out, "All right! That's enough! Show yourselves! I already know how cowardly you fight!"

Just then, the teen shielded his eyes when several bright spotlights burst on and converged on the spot where he was hovering, while the rest of his surroundings were still drenched in darkness. But before his eyes had fully adjusted to the light, he felt something rubber-like wrap itself around his waist and immediately fling him high into the air.

Danny yelled out in both surprise and anger just as he quickly gained control of his unplanned flight. But as soon as he righted himself, he noticed that all of the spotlights had re-aimed their beams at him! He grumbled with annoyance when he guessed that they probably had been tracking his trajectory all along! Well, it was time to give those spotlights a piece of his mind—and ectoplasmic power!

In a heartbeat, he poured more of his neon green ectoplasmic energy into his hands. However, just as he was about to throw his energetic opinion at those lights, he was captured from behind by another net, which had soared toward him while he was still in mid-air. Only this time, the boy could see that it was composed of ghostly green bats, spiders, winged skulls and small demon-like creatures.

Growling with more determination and ire, Danny's eyes burst into solid neon blue orbs just before his body was surrounded by an energy aura of similar color. That energy froze and completely encrusted the net of creatures still surrounding him. He quickly pulled himself into a tight ball even as the ice ball he was in was rapidly plummeting downward under its own weight. The boy then splayed his arms and legs violently outward, shattering the ice and the creatures encapsulated within it.

He stopped to a hover at that spot, his mind racing. He knew at least one of his foes now. But the others….he thought he knew, but the question now was: why?

But before the boy could decide on the next strategy to use to continue his search for those ghosts, he felt a hard, solid blow to his head and upper back from behind, which was so strong that it actually flipped him over and sent him spinning head-over-toe in mid-air. The force of the blow had been enough to send his head into a spin as well, and because of that, he could not stop his momentum before another equally powerful blow thrust him _upward _in the next instant.

Even if his head wasn't in a fog now, Danny of course had not seen that he had been first swatted with a large club by a very short ghost, who actually had been catapulted toward him by the strength of the large, burly ghost who had first grabbed Danny and pinned his arms. That same small-statured ghost still had had enough momentum and range right after he had first batted the half-ghost to deliver another powerful swipe at him and thus send Danny to a planned destination.

In the meantime, Danny had no clue whether the darkness into which he had been unwittingly thrust was from his still-muddled head or his surroundings. Nor did he know that he was headed to another metal swing-like object suspended in the air, and that a ghost girl was waiting there for him.

Tom the Dwarf Ghost anxiously watched the ghost girl named Elastica stretch her body around one of the two trapeze bars swinging from the tent's ceiling, ready to capture and re-direct the Ghost Boy's momentum and send him back downward to another pre-determined place.

Danny's head was still spinning too much at the moment to do much but to give into his direction of movement. But when he felt his body cushioned and then stretching against something elastic before being jettison more forcefully downward this time, he knew he had to shake off his dizziness. He now knew he had four foes. The boy tried to concentrate, will forth his blue healing power to clear his head and replicate at the same time. But unexpectedly, both of those powers fizzled out even as he taxed them to charge forward. The strain was enough to produce another wave of that all-too-familiar—and now cursed— cold lightning surging from out of his central core, which jolted his entire body immediately afterwards. He screamed at the internal onslaught, only becoming weaker and dizzier from it and because of it, was no longer able to fight his downward plunge.

Before the young hybrid knew it, he was crashing with a loud thud into a mesh of cold, hard, glowing steel and a metal door was creaking on its hinges before it slammed shut and locked with an angry click.

"That was easy!" Elastica said triumphantly as she oozed down to the ground from the trapeze. She had easily spotted the area because all of the spotlights had indeed been following the Ghost Boy's movements and were now re-focused to where the half-ghost now was, which was within the center ring of this circus tent.

Goliath, the strongman ghost, only grunted triumphantly in reply just as Lydia, the tattooed ghost girl, landed next to him. She giggled at the four ghosts' easy victory.

"Yes, _too_ easy!" Tom the Dwarf agreed, still holding one of his stilts he had used to attack Danny when he was swinging on the trapeze bars. He placed the stilts down and hurried over to the glowing cage holding the Ghost Boy. He looked in and taunted, "What's wrong, kid? Losing it?"

Danny's head cocked in alarm at that remark, which fully cleared his mind. He pulled himself up with a groan, but could only get to a partially kneeling position within what was obviously a cage too small to allow him any further movement. How did they know that he was afraid that he was losing his powers? He angrily shook his fear away. They _couldn't_ know and even if they did, he wasn't about to let these bozos know that they were onto anything about him.

He grabbed the bars of his small prison and defiantly growled back, "I can understand Lydia's attacking me. After all, I'm sure she has a lot of sour grapes over what happened the last time I saw her. But you other three? I don't get why you joined forces with her after what she allowed to happen to you…But, you know, ask me if I care 'cause it doesn't matter when this cage isn't going to hold me!"

Danny grabbed the bars and was about to pour his ectoplasmic energy into it when Tom the Dwarf insisted, "Oh, don't bother to try to break free, Phantom! Goliath here made sure that the cage would be strong enough to hold even you." He then leaned closer to the boy who had been forced to be at his eye level and accusingly sneered, "And we're not buying your clever attempt to throw suspicion off of yourself!"

Danny's head snapped in shock at the ghost's remark and he stopped what he was doing.

"What are you talking about?" he blurted out. After all, he really _did_ want to know why those other three former victims of Freakshow and Lydia had gone along with attacking—and capturing—him just now.

Elastica then piped in, "Lydia told us that it was all _your doing_ that we were held captive by Freakshow!"

"WHAT? That's not true!" Danny insisted, his heart leaping at the accusation even as his eyes narrowed in indignation.

But then, he frowned even more in both anger and defiance when all they did was glare back. That was it, then! That was enough talk if they were just going to accuse him of trumped-up lies. He suddenly wrapped his hands and energy rays around the bars of the cage. But to both his surprise and chagrin, Danny felt that cold debilitating energy from within his core attack him again. His energy instantly fizzled even as he tried to pour more of it into the glowing bars.

Ignoring the young hybrid's failed efforts to escape, Tom added with that same accusatory tone, "And that only made sense to us in the end because we knew that Freakshow really only wanted _you_ most of the all. And so, he had to get other ghosts to help him— and the unhappy victims were _us_. It was _your fault_, then, that we were made to serve Freakshow until he got to you!"

"That's the lamest reason I've ever heard. I was just as much a victim as you all during the entire time that the crystal ball was controlling us. Or did you forget that 'little' detail?" Danny growled back, this time grabbing the bars and trying to pull them apart with his bare strength.

Only, they didn't bulge!

This time, Tom commented on the boy's struggle to escape. "We told you that you wouldn't escape, Ghost Boy. Goliath got that from your own Real World home. It was specially designed to keep ghosts securely in, compliments of your parents!"

"Maybe ghosts," Danny said with a defiant grin and slight chuckle, "but not _humans_!"

Danny immediately willed his transformation rings.

The other four ghosts had to momentarily shield their eyes from the bright bluish-white light that surrounded the Ghost Boy and emanated from within the steel cage.

But in the next moment, Danny was screaming in pain from another bout of that cold, raw lightning scraping up his spine at his transformation. He instantly knew that his powers were not cooperating again when he quickly returned to his ghostly state. He tried to slow the painful pants right afterward, but couldn't.

But the young hybrid was in such pain, it muddled his mind even more from this spell. He inadvertently blurted out between his pants, "Man, this is the worse one yet! If I'm not losing my powers, then I don't know what's going on with me!"

He then pulled himself nearly into a full ball, trying to squelch the pain still pulsing through him.

And as Danny lay crouched over within the cage, Tom the Dwarf just laughed and taunted, "Give it up! Looks like all that talk that you're one of the most powerful ghosts is just a lame rumor. You _are_ losing it, then!"

Danny's eyes widened in alarm when he finally comprehended what the ghost had said. Oh, no! He didn't mean to tell them that he thought he was losing his powers! He tried to steel himself, not wanting to say anything more that might give them the impression that not only was he afraid that he was losing his powers, but that he was afraid that it might be permanent!

Then, that cold knife-like pain left as quickly as it came and his clearing thoughts drifted to a more horrible thought. Maybe that was the _point_ of all these lame tests after all. Maybe the Observants _wanted to push_ him over the limit and finally get his powers to completely short-circuit—forever! And at that moment, the shock of it just knocked the fight out of him. He gave into his now emotional pain as he plopped fully down onto the floor of the cage, wrapped his arms around his knees and let his head fall fully in defeat.

And the boy didn't even try to tune out the triumphant laughter of all four of the other ghosts.

He closed his eyes and softly cried before he suddenly remembered no more….

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><p><strong>AN: : Well, dearies, you can plainly see that truephan is still a bit on the befuddled side, which suits me just fine, because that only means that I can finally gloat about a chapter!**

**Looks like truephan's and your hero is getting into more and more trouble as time goes on! Such a clever man that Vlad Masters' is! This time, I think he got his plans right! And that might mean that Danny Phantom will be his son—and a former hero—before too long! *cackles***

**Truephan: *snapping slightly out of her funk* What did you say?**

**Ms. Hyde: *innocently rocking on feet* Oh, nothing dearie. Just go back to your corner and be a good little confused girl! But before I forget, the countdown of the Fantomos Ecto-Scale continues:**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story,**_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch (uh, ewww!)**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3—**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**-the ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**Ms. Hyde: *whispers an aside to the readers* In the meantime, I would love to hear your complaints about my being so sadistic to your little hero, even if you're wrong about it! After all, this is Vlad's evil plan, not mine—though I also don't mind taking credit for it! Until next time, dearies! *cackles wildly***


	17. Chapter 17 Level 3: Sealed with a Kiss

**A/N: Let me tell you, gang. I really thought I wasn't going to be able to post tonight. This chapter was a real challenge for me and for my wonderful beta who pulled out all of her hair over it (BTW, you do look very lovely bald, sweetie!); I was, of course speaking metaphysically! (Honestly, pearlie, you're scalp has a great shine to it!) Still, we were able to come to an agreement; I donated some of my locks until hers grows back; and now I can post! See, we're all happy now-which is not what I can say to our fav hero! I'm afraid that the soup is thickening to porridge (thanks for that allusion, Phyllis Joy Wolfe-though now I'm very hungry!) Ahem...Anyhooo, thank you for all your reviews, too. They are pure icing for me (I don't need the cake!). Don't forget the IDNOAC thing and here is Chapter 17. Enjoy!**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 17—Level <strong>Three <strong>Ghosts —Sealed with a Kiss

"What did Daniel just say? He's losing his powers?" Vlad blurted out with a slightly triumphant chuckle. "Is that true?" He rechecked the monitors more closely this time and smiled more widely as he continued, "Hmmm. Maybe. But that would explain a lot of things….Maddie, now that we're onto something, we will give Daniel no food until after the next program and no rest until the next two programs are finished—if that is necessary. I want to keep the pressure on Daniel now that I can see by his reaction in the last program that he may be on a downhill course, especially when the monitors seem to indicate that he may just as well be losing his powers!"

Vlad chuckled more wickedly right afterwards.

Not responding to the man's emotional outburst at all, his female computer dryly noted, "The preliminary data does seem to support that, sir, though the data cannot form a valid hypothesis as to the reason why that is happening. However, it still appears that your test subject is losing power in spurts before regaining it."

Vlad thought about her answer for a moment before he suddenly uttered, "I see…But perhaps that has to do with the 'Peter Principle', my dear."

"I do not understand that analogy, sir," the hologram replied with a frown.

"Well, what I mean is that perhaps Daniel has actually peeked in his power level and is now showing signs of ineffectiveness with what he has or, in this case, showing some kind of failure with his powers," Vlad began before strolling over to the control window and gazing into the simulation room.

He paused and looked pensively at the sleeping boy before slowly adding, "Maybe we underestimated the whole premise of this plan, my dear. Maybe Daniel's apparent rising power was only a fluke; and in actuality, he may come to a point where he has lost enough of his powers that he will have no one to turn to for help but me. And once I helped him, and even taught him how to compensate for that, he would easily become the son I want and could even manipulate with just as much ease!"

"That is one hypothesis, sir, but the data is still conflicting and needs more analysis," Maddie the computer countered.

"You are right, my dear. We may be premature with my hypothesis. But make a note to analyze Daniel's fluctuating power level more carefully with the hypothetical model I just explained to you…"

He paused again, musing about all that had happened to the boy so far. He nodded to himself as he said, "Still, this explains a lot. At first I thought it was surprising that he has failed all too quickly in most of his encounters. True, we manipulated the ghosts and everything else to increase the odds against him. But now that we _and_ Daniel feel that he's losing his powers, it is possible now that we may soon be successful in breaking Daniel."

"Another possible theory, sir. But still not conclusive," the female facsimile insisted.

He smirked just before he replied, "I am glad I programmed you to be so cautious, my dear. So then, let's get on with the next program, and of course, retrieve the ghost we will need in it. Let's hope that the outcome of this session will be the key on to how we are to proceed in the future; though of course I hope that it will be enough to finally break Daniel's will for us."

"As you command, sir," she replied without emotion as she set the next two programs in the queue and then activated the first of them….

* * *

><p>She opened her eyes and scanned the darkness completely enveloping where she was. This looked very different from the place in which she just had been; but it wasn't less frightening. That other place had been very cold, very cramped and very dark. And even when she knew she was contained in that place, she also felt as if she were really drifting helplessly within it, as if she was both in <em>and<em> really _not_ in any kind of form and was not even floating, sitting, lying down—or anything. Just existing in dread.

And then she had heard voices all around her yet they had not been right next to her, either. That had alarmed her even more. One of those voices had sounded cold and calculating when it spoke to her, especially when it had given her several commands while she had been so hopelessly compelled to listen to it where she had been. The other voice had been calmer but had also been definitely serious and she didn't even want to think of countering its commands then—or now.

Once she had agreed to what the voices had said, a very bright bluish-white light had engulfed her, blinding her until she was _standing_ _here _in more darkness this time, though this darkness was different.

She looked around even more. That's how the darkness was different. There was a diffuse light shining immediately on her and she could see that she was whole again and she could feel the ground under her. But it didn't matter. That blackness enveloping her barely lit enclave was even more ominous. After all, she didn't want to be here; but here she was— all against her will. She wrapped her arms around herself, hoping that it would calm her.

But it was in vain. She was still shivering in fright.

She didn't want to show how frightened she was, but she really couldn't help herself. She was really scared. Scared that she was here; scared on what she was told what she had to do; and scared on what could happen.

The blunt truth, though, was that she didn't want to do this at all. She wasn't a powerful ghost, and, really, aside from her ghostly strength and other powers that all ghosts had, she had only one special power. Only one. True, it was very powerful; and once you were in the line of fire—and along as there was no _real_ interference—no one could fight it. But it had to be timed just right or she would be open to defeat since using her power always drained her considerably.

Still, that was not really what was bothering her the most. After all, she was told that everything would be simple; those voices had insisted that 'all would be set up for her to use her special power without error'… No, what was really upsetting her was that she didn't want to fight any ghosts…especially _him_. And not just because he was way more powerful than she…But because her opinion about him had changed for many reasons….

One of her reasons was from her own first-hand experience with him. And the second….The second was because of what two _other_ ghosts had told her…two other ghosts that were important to her and had become even more important to her since what had happened to them not too long ago.

She glanced around once again, her arms still wrapped around herself. Should she walk around or just stay here and wait? She sighed. No sense being unpresentable either way….She shifted her weight onto her right knee-high length black boot with stiletto heels and reached down. She straightened her red, hip-hugging mini-skirt a bit before pulling a slight wrinkle out of one of her black-and-green fishnet stockings. She then opened her small red purse and took out a compact mirror. She fluffed her green shoulder-length hair and then applied more purple lip gloss to her blue-skinned lips.

She sighed again, this time in irritation with herself. This was silly! What was she doing? She wanted to look good for…a fight? But she didn't want to fight!

How did she get into this mess in the first place? Oh, yeah. It was just after her last date…with Johnny 13, of course.

Kitty reflexively smiled at the thought of the biker ghost even though she was still anxious at being here. Her boyfriend had certainly changed lately—for the better. He was much more thoughtful of her and her feelings now. And he was…more confident or something. Or should she say 'braver'? Maybe. But he definitely was more of a leader now and all because…

The biker girl sighed more sadly this time. One of the main reasons again why she didn't want to fight…_him._ But there was that other reason, too...

When she had overshadowed that 'Paulina' chick way back when, she almost thought that good luck had finally hit her. Danny was a true gentleman whether he was human or ghost. He had treated her like gold when he thought she was 'Paulina'….Yet, she had used him. After all, she had felt very much taken for granted by Johnny just before all of that. It was perfect, then, when she could tell that the boy had a crush on the school's most popular girl. He would be the best pawn to try to make her boyfriend jealous.

And she had almost succeeded.

She paused at the memory and sighed. Even after Danny found out that she had been overshadowing that 'Paulina' chick and even when he was mad at her for refusing to release the stuck-up girl, he still treated her like a lady.

Once again she paused…True, for a while she was angry at Johnny and Danny for ending up tricking _her_ at that time. But she quickly let it go and actually appreciated the teen for doing that, especially when he made her realized in the end that Johnny was her true love…Still…for a while even after that, she did have a secret twinge of envy for any girl who would finally steal Danny's heart…until…until Johnny…changed.

And that, too, was because of Danny and what he had done for the biker ghost and his shadow ghost friend. Ha! 'Shadow ghost friend'. Heck, she had even grown fond of _him_ since then because he, too, had become a more decent ghost now instead a stupid 'bad luck' one. Not only that, she had learned all about his amazing heritage and that he was actually a _spirit_ and not a ghost at all. Who would have figured? She smiled with affection. He was now a…friend of _both_ her and Johnny. And she learned that he had a name, too: Sombre. She even liked _that_.

So, how could she fight Danny after all of that?...Because she was later told by Skulker after he had easily captured her that **his** employer—whoever _that_ was— had said to do it. But Skulker had assured her that his employer was an even more powerful ghost than he. In fact, if that cold and calculating voice that had commanded her to fight Danny was indeed the voice of Skulker's employer, she believed every one of Skulker's words.

She shivered again at the thought and unconsciously pulled her midriff-length red jacket more firmly around her. She knew that her chance of defeating either of them was remotely slim if she had to fight them, especially when Skulker said _they both_ would go after her if she didn't cooperate.

But there was more to it.

Skulker was sure to tell her that if she refused to fight the Ghost Boy, he and his employer would _also_ go after _Johnny and his Shadow friend…._And she couldn't let that happen.

Still, Kitty didn't even know what kind of fight she had to do anyways. On what ruse? Oh, yeah. Skulker told her that, too. Something about just going along with the obvious cues…and to watch out for a red blinking light if she was displeasing them, since they somehow would be watching her. And she wasn't supposed to let the boy know anything about the plan. Yeah. Simple. Sure.

Still, she just didn't hate the Ghost Boy anymore. And Johnny would be very upset if he ever found out that she had fought—and defeated—Danny after everything. Maybe somehow she could think of a way to get out of this…

But her thoughts were interrupted by a nearby noise penetrating the dark. She gasped. Someone was groaning! And it sounded like a _male_ groaning! And he was somewhere in front of her.

She frowned in worry and reflexively ducked into the darker shadows. What if it was Danny? But worse, what if the boy detected her with his ghost sense? She wasn't supposed to let him know what was going to happen; and if he sensed her, how could she explain why she was in the same room as he right now? She froze in place and waited. She was so hoping it wouldn't be Danny. Nevertheless, she listened carefully….

Danny groaned himself awake, but immediately shot up to a sit when all he saw was blackness again greeting his ghostly eyes. He impulsively reached out and quickly found that he was no longer in that cage that he had been put into by those circus ghost freaks.

But then, that could mean only one thing….

He was back in the Time and Existence Chamber.

He sighed. But it was not in relief. Though he was still groggy, a growing emotion began to take a hold of his mind: discouragement.

He had accidentally blurted out that he thought he was losing his powers; and that only meant that the Observants had to now know that 'little detail'. Or did they? He paused in uncertainty. They _had_ to know that it was the truth since he had lost just about all of these 'tests' so far. At least, that was the only way to explain it to _himself_ why he had failed miserably so far….So, what did _that _mean?

He sighed again. And what was he going to do now? Justeco and Konsilisto couldn't possibly expect him to go on if he wasn't at his full strength, could they? After all, the spirits weren't here and he would have guessed they would have made an appearance if they had believed that...

He stopped at the thought. That was it. They _didn't_ believe it! Maybe they thought he was just bluffing when he said that to those last four ghosts.

This time he shook his head with both discouragement _and _understanding. Of course they wouldn't believe him when they knew all along he wasn't 'all in' with this whole thing. In fact, he wasn't going to go for any ride if it weren't for….

"Mom!" he gasped as he sprung to his feet.

How long had it been since the Observants had let him see his mom?

Now he was more upset about that and suddenly, he found himself yelling into the air, "Hey, jerks! You haven't let me see my mom in what seems like forever!"

Kitty gagged a gasp. It _was _Danny! And he was _challenging_ the two ghosts who brought her here? She knew he was brave, but…And what was that? They had his mother? She felt her ghostly tears brim at the thought. But she had to steel herself for what she was ordered to do. She quickly wiped her eyes and continued to listen…

After several minutes of silence, Danny impatiently said, "Well?"

The young hybrid paused, thinking whether he should just spill it about his powers and confirm what he thought they must already know. But then he decided against it. No matter what they knew or thought, they weren't fulfilling their end of this lame bargain and he wasn't going to let them get away with it.

Danny was about to say something else when he stepped back in a slight startle at the sudden appearance of the beginnings of a portal that had practically shoved itself into his nose!

In a moment, he was glancing at his mom as if he were looking through a simple window. He relaxed a bit when he could see that she was safe and seemed to be in peaceful sleep.

In the meantime, Kitty was also taken aback by the sudden appearance of that portal. Now more curious to see what was in the portal, she unconsciously floated closer.

She gagged another gasp. She could see a woman sleeping in bed. Was that the boy's mother? It had to be because she could tell that Danny had relaxed shortly after the portal had opened.

Then in the next instant, the portal disappeared within a green swirl and Danny jolted a little when his ghost sense fired off!

"Who's there?" Danny demanded, spinning around to face the ghost he had just detected and charging up a ball of ectoplasmic energy in each of his hands at the same time.

Terrified that he might catch a glimpse of her, Kitty instantly disappeared and froze in place once more.

Danny peered through the darkness, while floating forward and increasing the intensity of his ectoplasmic spheres at the same time. He frowned and growled under his breath. He couldn't see any ghosts! But then, he smirked triumphantly at his next wild thought. Maybe they were invisible! And if that were true, then he would see them once he was invisible!

Okay, then.

He closed his eyes in concentration, trying to reach out further with his ghost sense. And once he had been successful in honing in on that ghost's signature, he would catch them once he turned invisible….

Kitty's eyes widened as the teen drew nearer. Oh, no! If Danny's ghost sense alerted him again that she was very close and if he turned invisible looking for her, he would certainly see her! And if the boy did see her, that meant that Skulker and his employer were going to be very angry and hurt her and her friends!

The biker girl was so upset that she could barely contain her small panicking gasps with one of her hands as Danny continued approaching her. And she hadn't even thought about moving away yet.

Just then, several things happened all at once:

Danny's ghost sense triggered; he turned invisible; and then he was smacked right in the face by some kind of opaque, semi-solid force, which quickly lifted him up and shoved him in the very opposite direction that he had been headed. The force was so strong that it snuffed out his orbs of energy.

Thinking that he was now up against a very powerful ghost, Danny immediately tried to counter the movement …

At the exact same time that Danny was being propelled backwards, Kitty was also scooped up by some kind of shadowy semi-solid force and pushed completely away from Danny. The direction they had been thrust toward was almost as if she and the boy had been like the same poles of a very powerful magnet trying to meet each other.

The biker girl couldn't even begin to resist the movement and for a fleeting second she thought it was her friend Sombre who had managed to find and rescue her. But now that she had felt it, she knew that this force was much too big to be the shadow ghost.

Kitty gasped out loud this time when all of the sudden Danny's light went out and the scenery around her began to churn—violently! It was no longer black, but now brightened with many colors that had suddenly appeared, wrestling among themselves, as if they were now locked in their own kind of fight with each other….

However, an instant later, Kitty blinked in disbelief. She was now at the door of Johnny and hers favorite hangout, the place where all their ghost biker friends met: _Lady Luck Hideaway_.

Had Skulker and his mysterious, yet creepy, employer changed their minds and let her go?

She really hoped so because she was so scared at this point that she wasn't at all certain she could pull off what they had wanted her to do. She walked slowly into the joint, hoping against hope that Johnny and Sombre would be in there and help her…

In the meantime, Danny strained against the force still keeping him in the opposite side of the Time and Existence Chamber where he had detected that ghost. He growled in determination as he pushed harder against the force, but then startled a bit when he could see that the area at which he had once been was becoming alive with color even as it was twisting in on itself. He had never seen _that _before. Usually the chamber changed all at once and not as a kind of wave of liquid slowly building strength and coming toward him as it was doing now!

He didn't know what that meant and he really didn't care to think about it. All he knew was that he was about to be sucked into that tsunami-like movement!

And a moment later, he knew his hunch was right. The blackness under him suddenly shook and lightened a bit just before the dark atmosphere churned in on itself, brightening even more and then suddenly bleeding into multiple swirling colors of the rainbow…

And then just as suddenly, he was floating just outside some kind of establishment, which was surrounded by all sorts of unattended motorcycles that were silently floating on their own in front of the place.

Then he caught a glimpse of a shapely—and quite familiar— fishnet-and-boot-clad leg disappearing into the entrance.

He groaned in chagrin. He hoped it wouldn't be _her_….but more importantly, he hoped that Johnny 13 and Sombre wouldn't be accompanying her. It didn't matter that he hadn't seen Kitty since the 'Paulina thing'; he knew he couldn't fight his friend's girlfriend…nor, of course, his friends.

Still, this was part of his bargain with the Observants to keep his mom safe and so he'd have to go through with this and pretend as if he weren't friends with his friends. He sighed in defeat. He didn't want to do this, of course; and this time, he hoped he could find a way to fool the Observants and find a way out of this.

He flew up to the entrance; and with a lump in his throat, he pushed the door open and went in…

But as soon as Danny came in, he quickly searched through the large smoke-filled room for the girl ghost. He saw that the room was filled with all sorts of biker ghosts; and so far, they all were male.

Some of them were wearing outfits made out of thick denim and others were wearing leather. Most of them had tattoos all over them or had multiple piercings adorning their ears or various parts of their faces. And all of them were wearing thick, heavy boots. They were also sitting at various tables strewed about the room and were too engaged in their different conversations to notice him at first.

He then gasped in surprise before frowning in irritation and indignation at what he next saw.

A very large and gruff-looking male biker ghost was at the bar and had his back to the boy. Danny could easily see that, like the other biker ghosts here, the ghost was very muscular. His beefy, tattooed arms easily bulged out from the sleeveless and open black vest that was the only piece of clothing covering his upper torso. And the tough-looking ghost also had multiple earrings running up and down one of his ears which had been exposed only because the biker ghost's long thin, straight black hair was pulled back into a braided ponytail.

But Danny didn't care how that ghost looked or what he was wearing, including those grungy dark brown pants and scuffled up heavy black boots. He was upset because that ghost was getting awfully friendly with Kitty—and she was obviously not pleased with his advances. In fact, she was struggling to get out of his way-too-familiar strong hold.

Danny glanced all around and saw that the other tough-looking ghost dudes had now stopped conversing and seemed entertained by the sight of the struggling couple. But he didn't see Johnny 13 or Sombre among them. And come to think of it, he _hadn't_ seen Johnny's bike outside, either.

In some ways, the teen was relieved that his friends weren't in here because he didn't want to fight with them.

But then, why was Kitty here all by herself? He didn't think she was that type.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a hard slap. Kitty's hand had just made contact with the fresh biker dude's face.

Danny smirked. He _knew_ she wasn't that type. Still, it bothered him that she was the only girl in here; and then he frowned in irritation when he could suddenly guess why.

However, once more, he didn't think about it much more with what he heard next.

"Listen, Baby Girl, what you just did only tells me that you like me even more than I first thought," the brawny male ghost teased, tightening his hold.

"Well…if you don't….let me go…I'll…show you…how…I really...feel about you!" Kitty panted between her continued efforts to break free, even as the muscular ghost wrapped his arms completely around her bare waist and pulled her even closer.

But then she gasped when she finally spied Danny not too far away! Oh, no! Skulker and his employer hadn't let her go after all! And that meant that she _still_ had to go through with their plan! True, in a way, she was already starting that right now, but she didn't think until now that Danny would end up getting involved. And what if the boy interfered too soon?

Too late!

Danny was already placing his hand on the back of the shoulder of the offending ghost.

Having every intention of getting the brute's full attention, Danny yanked that shoulder back so firmly that the ghost reflexively loosened his hold on Kitty.

The girl ghost quickly squirmed, loosening the roughneck's grasp even more.

And a moment later, Danny was roughly turning the brute toward him before looking right into the blood-shot red glowing eyes of the muscular ghost.

The glare of the teen's flaring green eyes was unmistakably threatening in and of itself as he growled in challenge, "I think the lady said she wasn't interested, jerk!"

But Danny's very large opponent wasn't easily intimidated by anyone, especially when it was obvious to him that he was a much more impressive and imposing a ghost than this lithe, slightly shorter _and_ blatantly foolish younger male ghost who had the audacity to confront him.

The ghost promptly and fully let Kitty go before he harshly grabbed Danny by the upper part of his costume and raised his other tightly fisted hand, ready to answer the boy's threat.

Even when she couldn't hide the fact that she was very upset and nervous, Kitty still knew what she had to say. At first she blurted out, "Ohmigosh! Danny! Uhm, what are _you_ doing here?" But then, catching herself, she tried to sound more irritated as she added, "Uh, I-I mean, a-after what you did to me the last time I saw you, I never wanted to see you again! And..."

Danny's eyebrows rose in slight shock. For real? She was still upset with him? But he thought...

However, both he and the biker girl could not continue their thoughts.

Quickly turning to and interrupting Kitty, the obnoxious ghost growled, "What's this? You know this scrawny punk, baby? Is he your boyfriend or something stupid like that? If so, looks like you need a _real_ man like me!"

The green energy in Danny's eyes intensified even more in anger and he growled, "She's not…"

But before the boy could finish or his eyes could meld into blue with his ice energy, Kitty thrust herself between the two males and hurriedly told the teen, "Can't you take a hint, _boyfriend_? I can handle this! Just go away before you get hurt!" But then she managed to whisper only to the teen, "Please, Danny….Just go away! I don't want to hurt you!"

The aggressive biker dude chortled, "Yeah, punk! You can't be much of a boyfriend, either, if you can't even stand up to your chick. Is she goin' to do the fightin' for you, too?!"

Danny ignored what the jerk had said and instead frowned in a mixture of more annoyance and confusion at what Kitty just said. Just what did she mean by _that_?

Suddenly, Kitty hitched in a gasp and she bit her lower lip. A flashing red light was in her direct line of sight! She knew that this was the signal about which Skulker had warned her, even if it appeared to everyone else that it was part of the nearby video game console from which it was blinking. She had to finish this or else…

Pushing slightly against the bigger male to make sure she could look Danny in the eyes, she faked an angry scowl and continued with as much grit as she could muster, "I-I'm warning you, Danny, stay away from me! I don't want to see you again. And…and quit sticking your head where it doesn't belong! It just might get lopped off!"

"Now, you're talkin', baby! Like right now!" the larger male roared before he suddenly shoved her roughly away and slammed his fist right into Danny's jaw.

The boy ricocheted off of the blow and crashed into a nearby table, which buckled under his assault and scattered the ghosts who had been sitting there.

But the young hybrid quickly shook it off and rebounded, and aggressively counter-attacked with a powerful shot of his emerald ectoplasmic energy, which instantly plowed into his foe's craggily face.

With a grunt, the powerful biker ghost was forcefully repelled across the room and in turn crashed into the far side wall. He slid down with a loud thud and lay momentarily stunned.

Danny growled in annoyance rather than triumph as he turned to face Johnny's girlfriend. He frowned. She still looked upset! But, now that he had time to get a good look at her, she really didn't look _angry_. Now what? Suddenly, he didn't care. He couldn't understand why she would still be upset with him. He had long let what had happened when she had tricked him go. And then there was all that business with Johnny. He thought she would have known—...

But once more, he was jolted out of his thoughts a bit too late...

The loud, angry growl of the obviously recovered tough biker ghost was echoing throughout the room just as the ghost charged at Danny with brutish ire. He made contact with the teen and after digging his nails into both of Danny's shoulders and yanking him toward him, the male ghost head-butted the Ghost Boy, sending Danny across the room once more.

"OW!" Danny groaned, raising his hand to his forehead as he lay on top of a pile of another newly destroyed table. But then, he grunted in fury and shot upward.

Kitty's eyes widened in fear. Danny was wide open and she now had the chance to do what she knew she had to do.

In the next moment, she placed one of her hands against her lips and promptly pulled it away before quickly turning her palm upward. Large magical ruby lips instantly took form right above her outstretched palm; and with only a small moment of hesitation, she blew it toward the Ghost Boy.

But then she gasped. She hadn't anticipated just how fast the teen could fly and her kiss completely missed him and slammed into the ceiling! Red fiery sparks bounced off of the impact, which quickly snuffed out its power.

In the meantime, Danny had reached his foe and had slammed right into him. The two males grappled on the ground, all the while ramming into and destroying what was left of the bar's furniture. Still, the two fought, each one taking his turn pinning or swiping at the other in an odd yet violent wrestling match.

Kitty looked on, uncertain on what to do. She was told to only attack Danny; but how could she when he was still fighting that other jerk of a ghost?

She screamed in alarm when Danny got the worst end of a lucky blow and was sent flying into a nearby wall. Now he was fair game again for her attack!

The boy slid down to the floor in a slight daze. But he shook it off and bolted up into the air, determined to finish this fight.

Just as the teen took off, however, Kitty had quickly formed another magical pair of lips and a sure plan on how to use it on Danny. But she hesitated again. She knew this was wrong. But she also felt she had no choice. Her central core constricted with her distress but then she made up her mind. If she had to do it, she didn't care _how_ she had to do it...

Yet, even when her eyes were watering and her own lips had begun to tremble, she blew upon that pair of lips with more force and sent it soaring over right where she anticipated Danny would be.

She then forced herself to yell out her final insult that had been 'scripted' by Skulker and his employer.

"W-When I said I didn't want to see you again, Danny, I meant it. And that goes for the other creep! And now you'll both see that _that_ means forever!"

In an instant, Danny was already there upon the seething tattooed male and laying his hands on that brute.

And when the glowing moving lips finally impacted the ghost who started this whole thing, Danny startled when he saw it too late and was also hit. Both males instantly froze, their eyes lighting up to solid red orbs just before they disappeared in a flash of light!

Kitty instantly crumbled into a heap onto the floor, covered her face and began to bawl. Oh, why didn't the boy listen to her and just left? Why did he interfere and just let her try to fight that ghost by herself? She suddenly knew the answer to that. Still, she cradled her head in woe. Then, why did he still have to be such a gentleman? She paused only a short moment at her next thought. Of course. She knew all along he always would be. Still, she cried a bit harder...

She had both unwillingly and willingly sent Danny to his doom!

* * *

><p>Danny let go of the biker ghost and they both blinked in disbelief.<p>

Where were they?

And for some odd reason, neither felt very angry at this moment, much less be in any hint of an aggressive mood.

They looked around again. They were floating among pink and white puffy clouds which twisted and turned, molding themselves as if they were marshmallow-like clay. In the next instant, the two males were surrounded by soft forms that looked like white bunnies, pink hearts, white lambs or pink ponies.

And then at least Danny startled a bit when he unconsciously uttered, "Uh, do you hear music?"

"Yeah. Girly, sappy music!" the large biker ghost muttered in disgust.

But then, Danny spied something below them. He reflexively turned and headed downward.

The other male frowned in confusion just before he soared right after the teen.

As Danny flew nearer to his target, he could see several large floating purple or pink shelves littered with intricately-adorned buildings of various sizes and colors. Some of them were two or three stories tall and painted in lavender. Others were one story tall with high pointed roofs and were dressed in pink, baby blue, primrose or other pastel colors.

Each building looked as if it could have been a blown-up version of some little girl's dream dollhouse, including having fancy-laced curtains in each window as well as flower boxes flowing with bouquets of colorful flowers just outside of them.

Once Danny and the other ghost alit one of the floating shelves, they began to walk around the rows of quaint, frilly buildings. And now that they were closer, the Ghost Boy noticed what looked like some kind of fancily dressed-up dolls or maybe female mannequins inside those buildings.

Danny briefly glanced at one of the dolls staring lifelessly out of the window at which it stood and suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his head bristle. It seemed to have those kinds of vacant eyes painted in such a way on a portrait that you could swear followed your every movement.

The boy's eyes widened a bit. He saw even more of those kinds of dolls tucked here-and-there into the shadows or on some of the sidewalks he hadn't seen at first. Whoa. This place really was a life-size dollhouse—or several dollhouses clustered together.…

"What did you do to me, dude?" the biker ghost suddenly wailed in chagrin as they continued to walk down the neatly paved and manicured narrow lane between the buildings. Still, it was kind of creepy that the bright flowers seemed to smile and wave at them as they passed them by.

"Me? I didn't do anything!" Danny protested before adding, "The last thing I remember was being hit by a pair of red lips, and…."

He suddenly cut himself off with his next wild thought.

_Tucker_!

Tucker and Sam had told him something about Tucker and all of the men in Amity being transported to another dimension when he and his father had gone fishing. But Tucker had never elaborated on it.

"_And no wonder!" _Danny thought, _"This place is definitely against the 'dude' code!"_

But Tucker **did** say that they all had been sent there by… a blow of Kitty's kiss!

Danny jolted a bit. Wait a minute! That is what Kitty had meant by saying she didn't want to see him, as in _forever_!

The teen's shoulders dropped under the sudden wave of defeat and disappointment at the thought that she still could be upset with him enough to do this to him! And he had only interfered at the bar because he was helping her! And now, from what Tucker and Sam had told him, that would mean that he would be here _forever_ if the spell was not undone in twelve hours!

He sighed, crushed by the thought. Kitty really _wasn't_ his friend and had really _meant _to do this to him! So, she wouldn't be in the mood to undo her spell. Maybe… that is why Johnny hadn't mentioned Kitty's feelings about him one way or the other since the 'Spectre' affair. Now he was sure that Kitty had never changed her opinion about him; and maybe even blown that grudge out of proportion so much that she could send him here in retaliation. It was certainly disheartening to learn she was his enemy—and not the friend he had hoped her to be…

He sighed as he quickly dismissed the thought. Did it really even matter anymore? He was still stuck here—wherever 'here' was— and with this jerk of all ghosts!

But then, his eyes caught a glimpse of something that could soften his woes while also giving him some much needed strength. He spied a restaurant sign just ahead! And he was still starved! Might as well go there while stuck in here until he could figure a way out of this mess. He reflexively hurried to it, not hesitating to leave his unwanted companion behind. Once he reached the door, he went right through it, ignoring the light tinkling of the dainty little bell which hung on the door that announced his presence.

But much to his chagrin, no one was inside or came to wait on him. He looked around and thought it was odd that there was also a full-length mirror by the door. However, he didn't ponder any more about that because in the next moment, the little bell chimed again.

Danny turned around and saw that the burly biker ghost had followed him.

But…didn't that ghost look…different? His hair was no longer in a ponytail; instead, it was hugging his shoulders. But…somehow….was his hair even thicker, longer—and _curlier_—than it was when they first got here? And what happened to all those rugged tattoos? Instead, the ghost in front of him had pale, delicate and _unblemished_ blue skin.

Danny shook his head in disbelief, and then startled when his white bangs fell right into his eyes…He pulled and then looked at them. They were longer, too! Growing more nervous at the sudden bad feeling he was having about all of this, he unconsciously rubbed the back of his neck—only to find that he was grabbing…thicker locks of hair?

"W-W-What is happening?" the biker ghost stammered, now sounding very meek and terrified at the same time.

But when Danny turned to him, he gasped in shock. From what he was seeing, he would no longer be able to call that ghost a 'biker ghost'!

That ghost's clothing had changed and he was now downright looking very 'Little Bo-Peep'-ish—all dolled up in a light grey frilly hat and tan and light grey lacy dress with matching tan ruffled bloomers that had once respectively been the ghost's rugged black vest and brown pants. And his black boots were now black patent-leather 'MaryJanes'!

Danny swallowed hard and started to look down at himself, now wondering if….But he steeled himself to look no further, especially when he didn't want to finish his thought.

But he didn't have to, for he suddenly heard a very girlish scream of terror. He turned toward it and gasped once more.

Danny was actually looking at a reflection of the ghost since the ghost had its back to him and was looking right in the mirror. Danny blinked in disbelief. If the ghost wasn't wearing that same outfit that it was wearing just moments ago, Danny would have sworn that a new ghost had come into the room. Even still, the boy couldn't deny it: the biker ghost was no more. Instead, what was in front of him was a tall and slender _girl ghost_ that made Paulina look like a tomboy.

Suddenly, Danny felt his throat tighten at his next chilling thought: _he had to be next_!

And that terrifying thought became even more real when the biker's ghostly aura began to meld and thicken, before it began to ooze inward toward the ghost's body as if it were made of wax. Danny watched as the ex-male ghost tried to reach towards him for help, but his limbs slowly began to harden like baked clay.

The biker gasped, and with a high-pitched voice, he said, "Dude! What's happening to me? Help me! D-Do something! Oh, man, this _really_ hurts...my core!...Ugh..! Help—"

But his voice abruptly cut off as the ex-biker's face froze in place and his eyes glazed over.

Danny took a fearful step back when he realized the brut male ghost had been transformed into a porcelain doll!

He suddenly knew that all those dolls he had seen everything were probably other victims that had been banished into the place and forever turned into girly statues!

But what Danny would never know was that _his_ transformation in Kitty's very anti-male world would have taken a very, very long time there because, she had desperately and unconsciously willed her spell to take its time with him even when she had been ordered to send him there.

Even still, Danny felt paralyzed as he continued to look at the horrified face frozen on the doll in front of him. And now he was beginning to feel an icy pain creep up from within his core! He jolted in panic, especially when he felt like he couldn't even move right now. Maybe the same thing was now happening to him, too! But before Danny could think any more about his fate, he was scrunching his eyes closed, hoping that would force out any dread.

And then suddenly, he was not at all aware of it or anything else any more…..

* * *

><p>"You can go now, girl. You served your purpose, and I don't plan to do anything else to you or your friends, at least not for now!" Vlad told Kitty through an overhead and unseen intercom system just before a portal appeared out of nowhere.<p>

Her red eyes even redder and puffier from still being very upset by everything that had happened, Kitty shuddered at the man's last remark, since it still sounded like a looming threat—and it made what she had done sting more…She had betrayed her friend—and worse, he had to have concluded that! Yet, she still managed to utter a faint, 'Thank you' to the air just before she began to enter the portal. At least it was over…

She took only a moment longer to look back at the boy sleeping on the ground nearby.

She sighed in both regret and relief. Though it really was not a complete consolation to her for all the wrong she had done, at least Skulker's employer had let her bring Danny back …before it had been too late….

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Things are going more and more downhill for our hero. But you know how stubborn he can be, too. It'll take a lot more ghosts to get to him….And speaking of ghosts, it's time for the Fantomos Ecto-Scale countdown. Now, really, did y'all think I'd let you leave home without it? Here it is:**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas.**_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch (uh, ewww!)**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3—**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**-the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3—**_**Beta**_**-Kitty**

**Thanks again for your support and I would LOVE to hear your thoughts about this chapter!**


	18. Chapter 18 Level 3: Sizzled

**A/N: How's everyone? Hope your week was so busy (and good, of course) that it flew right by ya so fast that before you knew it, it was time to tune into this story! And, yipee! Look! You're here! Life is good, isn't it? Heh-heh! Yep, you can sure tell that I am DEFINITELY loving Friday this week because my week was so hectic and stressful…..Uh, wow! That just means that I totally relate to Danny in this story! And, speaking of stress and being hectic for our hero, it's time for Chapter 18! But before we listen in, don't forget that disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. But I do own this story! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 18—Level <strong>Three <strong>Ghosts—Sizzled

Danny opened his eyes and blinked in disbelief. One moment he was in Kitty's brightly colored bizarre world, and in the very next instant, he was surrounded by complete darkness again. Well, almost complete darkness since there was a diffuse, thin beam of light shining directly upon him.

How did that happen? He hadn't seen anything change. .. He hadn't _felt_ it change, either—not even a small tremor like those other times he was transported or whatever to wherever. And he was _still standing_ and awake.

Danny paused; and now aware of that same dull headache, rubbed his forehead…The last thing he remembered was closing his eyes in dread and now…this. He paused again. At least he didn't _think_ he had lost consciousness this time like he usually did after he had lost a fight. After all, he had already figured out that this was how the Observants ended a particular 'test'. Except now.

The boy suddenly panicked at his next wild thought. Maybe his transformation into a porcelain doll was complete and this is what it felt to be inside of one?! He immediately shook his head, slightly irritated at himself. He knew he was tired, but that thought was just plain lame. He wouldn't be able to _move_ if that was the case.

He breathed in a sigh of slight relief, but still felt the compulsion to grab the back of his head… Phew! His hair was short again! And he now knew where he had to be…or really hoped he would be. He frowned at the irony. He didn't think he would _ever_ feel even a bit _happy_ about seeing this putrid large black room after being in that awful dimension.

Still, even though the teen was relieved that he was out of that nightmare of a world into which Kitty had sent him, he knew he was still not out of the nightmare world in which those putrid Observants were forcing upon him.

He suddenly frowned when his thoughts unexpectedly came full circle. He _couldn't_ be here unless Kitty had brought him back! So why did she send him _there_ in the first place if she was just going to reverse her spell before he completely transformed into some kind of weird prop? He didn't get it. She seemed so angry at him over something that should have been forgotten, and maybe even…forgiven after everything. And she had also made him think that she was still his enemy. So, after all of that, she brought him back?

Wait.

Now he remembered. She _didn't look_ angry just before he was transported to that wacko world. He frowned, trying to come up with some reason why the biker girl would bring him back if she hated him enough to send him there. But then, he shrugged with his next thought, which was just as confusing. She may not have _looked_ angry, but what she had said before she had hit him with her spell definitely _sounded_ as if she wanted to get rid of him for good.

Danny lowered his head and sighed in disappointment. Did it really matter in the end? He had lost to the ghost girl and to every ghost he had encountered so far. And not one of them had given him any kind of benefit of a doubt when all of them and he had been forced into these fights. Still, he was hoping to convince himself that Kitty wasn't his enemy, that somehow she was forced to do that to him; and now it seemed that he was wrong….But even as he felt even more discouraged, he wasn't quite satisfied with his conclusion…The same thought kept nagging him: why did she bring him back when she had been upset enough to send him to his doom?

But then, the half-ghost's shoulders drooped in even more discouragement when the 'answer' popped in his head. Of course. Kitty didn't bring him back. _The Observants did._ And they had to have used Timeless Magic to counter Kitty's spell to bring him back to this place in that instant before he opened his eyes; and so that meant that…

The boy paused when his stomach suddenly rumbled. He lightly touched his abdomen. Of course he was starving —and now that he thought about it, he could also use some _real_ sleep, too. After all, he didn't feel as if he had gotten any real rest since he had been brought here in spite of the fact that the Observants had forced him to sleep after every fight. In fact, his head was still in such a fog right now that he would settle for sleeping in a Fenton thermos even as cramped at it was!

Danny smirked at the thought before he finally looked up and tried once again to peer through the thick blackness just beyond this spotlight. He couldn't see a thing. He didn't understand it. He never had trouble with seeing in the dark in his ghost form before. In fact, his ghostly vision was _better_ at night.

He rubbed his slightly stinging eyes, wondering what the Observants next had up their sleeves for him…

And a moment later, the boy got his answer.

"Here I go again," Danny muttered in frustration under his breath, knowing from how the atmosphere around him began to grind, tremble and then meld into different colors that he was about to begin another one of his undetermined number of Observant 'tests'.

But then, he reflexively yet quickly rubbed his face with both of his gloved hands before trying to rub out the tension from his temples. When he opened his eyes, he immediately blinked in disbelief yet again. _Nothing _changed after all of that churning. A light was still streaming down upon only him from above and everything around him was still dark. What did that mean? Was he _that_ tired? Still, his muddled mind drifted to another thought. No, this must be another test… And just how many ghosts had he fought already? He groaned. He didn't really care how many he had fought or would fight in the future. He was tired and hungry! In fact, he was getting tired of being tired and hungry!

Danny stifled a yawn and again thought about the fights he already had had. Suddenly, it occurred to him…It was possible that those fights could be a bit helpful in their own twisted way. Since he wasn't sure of the time anymore, he could gauge the time and how long he hadn't eaten or seen his mom by how many fights had passed.

Okay. He saw his mom just before his fight with Kitty. But he was certain that he hadn't eaten a thing since he had that run-in with that irritating runt, Youngblood. Or was it before his fight with Poindexter? Wait. Did that count? He was sure that all that stuff with the fifties' ghost was a dream…Or was it?

Again, he didn't care. He was getting hungrier by the second and that was just making him more irritated.

He looked upward and yelled, "Hey, are you jerks even keeping track of things? Just because you let me finally see my mom doesn't mean that you've covered all the bases! I know it's been a while since I've eaten anything. And even when you're somehow able to make me sleep, I know haven't really gotten any _good _sleep. So, how about paying attention to those 'amenities' right now? I…"

But the teen's voice drifted off when he saw that same table and chair suddenly appear right in front of him laden with food and water.

He smirked with a twinge of triumph as he began to move forward, only to have the table —food and drink and all —disappear before he had even taken a step!

"Hey!" he protested, gritting his teeth at what seemed to be a cruel joke right now. "You said you needed me at full strength! You can't expect to get any of your lame data about me and my powers if you starve me! And I've done my best so far, in case you're thinking I should be punished anyways for nothing!"

But the only answer Danny heard was the echo of his own words.

The boy sighed. Just how could they expect him to fight with how hungry he was? He needed his strength! And that thought just led to another and before he knew it, the young hybrid suddenly felt depressed as he mused about his powers again. Was he really losing them? It wasn't outside the pale of the possibility. After all, if he had no real clue as to why he had gotten his powers in the first place—aside from the obvious that it was from the accident in his parents' portal—who was to say that he couldn't _lose _his powers as easily? Or that they would have ever been permanent?

And then there were two times when he _had_ lost his powers; and in each time, that, too, could have been permanent.

Of course, the first time that he had lost his powers, it wasn't his fault or even Sam's fault—well, sort of. After all, he had started that stupid fight and Desiree's mischief had been involved. But fortunately, thanks to Sam's perseverance and tenacity, everything turned out fine. He smiled in thanks at that thought.

But that second time…He shuddered suddenly at the thought, especially at just how close he had come to losing all of his powers permanently—and that time was all because of his stupidity again. In fact, he had thought the white streak of hair left on his head after he had given into that dumb, selfish impulse had been just a side-effect, a sort of haunting reminder of his foolishness—which he now knew he would have deserved. In fact, because of it all, he would never forget what that had taught him.

Still, thank goodness that all that stupid act had really done was stun his ghost half and put it into some kind of suspended animation of sorts, or thrown it off-line for the lack of better words. That is, until—thanks to Skulker and some Malfortas—his ghost half's ecto-energy and substance were jolted back into him!

He sighed in relief at the memory. But that just brought back the issue of _now_. And another wild thought. All that trauma he had caused his ghost half back then might be finally affecting it _now!_ Or maybe there was some lingering effect from his having been poisoned that wasn't detectable until now? Could it be that his ghostly side was actually in a way mortally wounded from all that violence it had endured in such a short time and it just now was showing it? Could it be in the throes of its own kind of….death? What would happen to his human side, then? His throat hitched with the thought. But then he softly sighed in relief at his next idea. No, that didn't make sense. Or did it? He had been feeling just fine until just the last few weeks, when…

However, the boy's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a door's opening, which just as promptly slammed loudly shut! With a slight burst of adrenaline clearing his mind, Danny turned toward it in anticipation. He guessed it had to be the same one he had come through to get to this putrid Time and Existence Chamber.

Danny fisted his hands and bent them slightly forward in high alert. He no longer had time to feel depressed when there was a threat nearby. He concentrated, trying to get his vision to pierce through the pea-soup-like blackness. He tried to ignore the sudden panic at still seeing nothing. Did he imagine that sound? He didn't think so. Still, he wasn't thrilled at all about whom _or what_ might creep out of the thick shadows just in front of him since he was at a definite disadvantage from his lacking food.

All of the sudden, his ghost sense screamed out its warning and he instantly charged up two energy orbs. He perked up his ears, straining to hear anything else to clue him into spotting the unknown ghost.

Though the young hybrid was still facing the direction where he had heard the slamming door, he was ready and rapidly shifted his eyes in search of that ghost. He tried to reach further with his ghost sense as well. Not a moment after he concentrated on that, his ghost sense fired off again. But it was too late! He suddenly felt something quickly followed by something else wrap around his waist from _behind _before both of those things jerked him back! And since he had neither seen nor heard anything to warn him just before it happened, he hadn't expected that of course!

In the meantime, the two thick cords that had now secured themselves around the boy hummed oddly and sizzled a bit. And though he had already grabbed them in a countermove, Danny could see the pinkish light radiating out from them. In the next instant, however, and before he could rip them off of him, Danny felt a double dose of biting electricity pumping into his body and they _definitely_ were coming from these ropes!

Even as he screamed in pain at the duo's constant assault, Danny charged up a green ectoplasmic energy ray, twisted tightly right around and shot at them. He instantly and effectively severed both of the ropes in one slicing blow and cut off their vibrant pink current delivering their pain to his body.

But that was not all.

As soon as the teen had rent through the pink ropes, he grabbed their ends. His hands immediately lit up in more intense green energy, which turned the tips of the pink bands green. A moment later, Danny's green energy melded into a large ball of bright white energy, which quickly engulfed his hands and the rope ends.

Danny violently slammed the quickly changing pink cords closely together and in the next swoop yanked on them as if they were now reins of a horse, sending the large white ball of light forward along the side-by-side pink cords.

More intense green beams of energy followed closely behind the huge white orb as it plowed the way along the pink ropes. The green beams of energy in turn seemed to push the white energy forward, and they were now chasing each other.

The momentum of the attack had now reversed. No longer were the pink beams thrusting their energy into Danny. Now, just like a lit fuse burning toward its stick of dynamite, Danny's green energy sizzled away from him and toward the source, stripping the beam from pink to an attacking green energy in its wake.

A heart beat later, Danny knew by the loud, painful screams that his Ghost Stinger power had delivered a powerful punch to the still unseen ghost at the other end of the ropes.

"Serves you right, jerk!" Danny growled under his breath while searching through the bleakness for his foe. He knew by the scream that the ghost was definitely male.

"_And you better move, Fenton_," he silently urged himself, before adding, "_Standing literally in the center spotlight isn't a very bright idea_."

But just before he shot upward, two other pink energy beams shot at him, only this time, they came from his right.

The first solid beam successfully wrapped around his right wrist and jolted him before it yanked him hard in that direction! But Danny was still able to grab the chord meant for his left wrist in spite of his skewed movement to the right and threw it to his side. He then latched onto the chord on his right wrist and forcibly jerked on it until snapped it right off, which freed his right wrist. And once more, the boy grabbed both ends of the pink ropes, slammed them hard together and thrust a single powerful pulse of Ghost Stinger energy through them and back to his attacker.

The young hybrid chuckled a bit in triumph when he heard another painful scream on the receiving end of his second attack. That ghost had to be a real moron to try that again.

Still, Danny grew sober right away and shot up into the air, searching once more for his adversary.

But the Ghost Boy hadn't gotten more than ten feet off the ground when he yelped in slight pain at an unseen force. Somehow, he had rammed into some kind of invisible barrier!

"W-What was that?" Danny stammered as he tried to rub the pain off of his smarting nose.

He felt all around the invisible dome-shape bubble and quickly zapped it. But it held firm. He then pounded it with his fists, but it still defied him.

He suddenly stopped at his next wild idea. That would explain the spotlight! That and this shield were meant precisely to keep him close and center stage so that he would make an easy target for his foe after all!

"Great! Now I now know how that pea feels under its dome in that dumb 'shell game'!" Danny grumbled. He never thought he would actually be shoved around just like the object in that old carnival sleight-of-hand con game.

Still, he smiled with a sudden idea. He landed right away and willed his transformation rings. Once he had become human, he headed to what he hope was a free ticket out of this mess, only to smack right into another invisible barrier.

"_What gives?"_ Danny quickly thought, now exasperated. "_If there are ghost and human shields around me, then how can those ghost ropes even grab me?"_

He then rolled his eyes when he seemed to answer his own question. _"Duh! Those dumb Observants can manipulate time and space and use their Timeless Magic at will, so they must have made a sort of one-way valve with these shields so there is only one way in, but no way out." _He then jolted at his next thought. _"But then, how can that ghost actually pull me __**toward **__it with the rope or let my Ghost Stinger power through, then?"_

But the boy had no more time to muse; for just then, another rope of electrified pink energy shot out at him, grabbing him by one of his ankles this time, and promptly stinging and jerking it all at once!

Danny's captured foot instantly and unwittingly swept under his free one. He landed in a loud thud at the bottom of his dome-shaped, clear, virtual cage.

"OW!" the young hybrid cried while struggling to get to the glowing rope.

In the next instant, however, Danny was being pulled in the direction of the source of the ghost lasso again! And then his foot bumped into something hard and then he could hear scraping, as if his dome enclosure was also being dragged! How could this be?

Danny was then seized with a sudden hopeful idea. That scraping! It sounded like the dome was…_very_ solid! Danny finally pulled and bent his captured leg far enough to allow him to zap the chord off of his ankle.

He quickly willed his changing back into his alter ego just before he took flight.

But this time, as soon as the teen reached the top edge of his invisible cage, he placed his hands against it. Instead of attacking it, he pushed it upward. He smirked a bit when he felt it give and a moment later, he knew he had lifted it off of the ground.

With a grunt of determination, Danny shoved it completely into the air and away from him. He made sure that he had thrust it in the direction toward where he guessed his foe was last.

This time, Danny heard not only a 'clanging' sound as the glass-like dome met the ground, but a second after that he also heard another painful scream.

"Heh-heh. 'Bingo' beats 'the shell game' any day!" Danny chuckled under his breath.

And now it was time to see exactly which ghost was so rudely attacking him this time!

But as he neared the area where he had tossed his invisible former cage, he called out, "Okay, turkey! Come out and show yourself! Or don't you have the guts to meet me face-to-face and on equal terms?"

Just then, the entire atmosphere brightened slightly and Danny caught sight of the ghost! And he instantly recognized the tall, male ghost. There was only one grey-skinned, blue-haired arrogant ghost like that. Who else would be wearing a red cape around his tattooed bare chest, blue-and-grey camouflaged pants accented with a black belt and thick boots to match? Not to mention the black kerchief on top of his head and black spiked bands around his wrists?

Danny frowned in disgust. Now even that black patch over the ghost's left eye seemed so appropriate under the situation.

"Bullet!" the boy sneered in irritation as he drew even nearer. "Looks like all one-eyed ghost jerks are after me! Since when did Walker let one of his guard dogs loose? I thought it was against the rules to let them off the leash!"

Bullet huffed and countered, "Looks like you should know about breaking the rules, punk! I had a fallen out with Walker a couple of years ago, even though we really never saw eye-to-eye!"

"You can say that again!" Danny instantly quipped while quickly motioning to the ghost's eye patch and then his own eye for emphasis. He then added with a chuckle, "You really fell right into that one, you know!"

The ghost narrowed his eyes, er, eye and growled in anger, "But I'm my own boss now and have my own agenda!"

"Oh, yeah?" Danny dryly responded, "Looks like to me that you haven't changed your putrid sneaky tactics; so as far as I am concerned, you're still Walker's attack dog. So how about putting a muzzle on it and scram?!"

"Like I said, punk, I have my own agenda!" the ghost growled back just as he produced and pulled back a wicked-looking and eerily glowing black ghost bullwhip.

Danny had never seen Bullet use anything like that before. But it didn't matter. He wasn't about to be on the receiving end of it.

The Ghost Boy instantly thrust his green ectoplasmic energy at the aggressive ghost. But to his surprise, Bullet cracked his whip toward the beams and when it snapped upon them, the energy streams disappeared!

Now Danny charged forward while shooting his ice energy out of his eyes.

Once again, Bullet's whip hit the ice beams head on and the rays were no more!

This time, Bullet moved in offense. He flung the bullwhip behind him and charged at the teen.

Danny countered with ice energy from both of his eyes and green ectoplasmic energy from both of his hands.

Bullet yanked the whip to his right and like a side-winder rattlesnake, they struck all the beams and wiped them out of existence!

But Danny would not be daunted. He increased the speed of his flight while willing out his wulf claws. He was ready to slice the whip into pieces if it should get near him. And then at the last moment, he shot out even more of his cold rays from his eyes.

The one-eye ghost raised his whip and this time pulled it sharply forward and downward, and its thin line of movement was undulating as if it were moving along a roller coaster track. That movement and placement of the whip acted like a shield at the precise moment that Danny's ice beams hit. And once again, the boy's attack was not only thwarted, but it was completely decimated.

Danny was both shocked and angered over this development. Still, he charged even closer before readying his wulf claws, which gleamed with his ire.

Bullet merely smirked with smugness as he, too, charged at the Ghost Boy with his whip ready to counter-attack. And just when the ex-prison guard thought his young foe was close enough, he quickly flicked the wrist holding his whip.

The whip loudly and threateningly cracked with the yank.

But that wasn't all.

As if that crack had struck an invisible rough stone or emery board, the tip of the whip suddenly ignited in red electricity. Then the red current seemed to be afire with rage as it chased up the rest of the cord until the whip was engulfed in searing, crimson electrical energy.

Once more, Bullet pulled the whip sharply upward; and sizzling electrical sparks spewed out of the flaming red cord. In the next instant he jerked it downward and this time it hissed through the air.

Danny's eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed in determination and anger. And then suddenly, a wild idea hit him…True, he had never tried that before, but…how else would he find out just what he could or could not do unless he tried? At worst, nothing would happen and he would undoubtedly be at the receiving end of _a lot_ of pain…But at best, he might nip this irritating battle in the bud.

The boy stopped in a hover a moment several feet outside the range of Bullet's whip. Careful to keep a peripheral eye on his adversary, Danny quickly retracted his wulf claws on his left hand while quickly curling all of his fingers except his left index finger. He instantly formed a ball of his neon green energy mixed with the bright white ectoplasmic energy of his Ghost Stinger power in his right hand, which just as rapidly engulfed that left index finger. Then he carefully aimed his glowing energy at his wulf claws still exposed on his right hand. He fired at his wulf claws and his green energy suddenly thickened before clinging on the surface of his wulf claws on his right hand as if they had become melted green and white wax.

He returned to flight. Without hesitating, Danny threw his charged and armed right hand back and then jerked it forward.

The young hybrid's heart leapt a bit in excitement when it looked as if his idea would work! Just as he had arched his hand forward, his wulf claws had acted as launching points of his ectoplasmic energy like he had hoped. The gooey Ghost Stinger power sticking to each of his five wulf claws quickly stretched forward as they unwound themselves from their claw-shape staffs. But the sticky energy still remained anchored at the tips of each wulf claw, yet shot out five thin whip-like cords which lashed their powerful energy out at Bullet.

This time, Bullet gasped in shock and tried to bolt away. He was successful in avoiding two of the five green energy whips. But three made solid contact and the one-eyed ghost yelled as the painful stings wrapped around his grey and black spectral tail.

But the older ghost immediately and violently jerked his whip downward, which precisely zapped the green bond around his spectral tail out of existence. Still panting in immense pain, Bullet nevertheless gave his whip an odd twist and sent it out his toward his young foe once more.

But Danny had anticipated such a ploy and zigzagged to avoid the attack.

To the boy's immediate chagrin, however, the red flaring whip actually _altered_ its course in mid-flight, as if it could track him!

The teen gasped in dread when suddenly, the electrified whip was now returning the 'favor' of what his modified Ghost Stingers had done. It wrapped itself around the Ghost Boy's spectral tail, penetrated his spectral skin, and inserted its red force into Danny just like a scorpion drove its deadly stinger into its prey.

Danny stopped in mid-flight as his body lit up with the painful blow.

But there was more.

Even as the boy screamed with the pain, it seemed as if his strength was flowing out with his cry as easily as water left an open spout.

Danny stifled himself in spite of his desire to keep screaming. He reflexively curled himself into a ball even as he still continued to pant with the pain.

But when Danny heard Bullet's triumphant laughter, his eyes flared in defiance once more. He took flight again, but he then realized that he wasn't moving as quickly as he wanted. But before he could do anything else, he heard an angry snap and the electrified whip was coming at him again!

The teen tried to avoid the weapon once more, but yet again, it seemed to sense his movements and corrected its course to match his own!

And since Danny really hadn't recovered from the first blow of the whip, he couldn't move quickly enough away.

The energized cord entangled his spectral tail once more and zapped the boy.

Danny reacted the same way as the first attack and he was certain that even more of his spectral energy bled out of him with his painful yell. And this time, he couldn't move at all.

Bullet laughed maliciously as he neared the incapacitated Ghost Boy.

"You like my new toy, punk?" he jeered as he recoiled his whip off of the still hurting and panting teen. "Its specialty is to not only disable my opponents but also to suck their energy away from them. I figure that you would have to be at two _Fantomos_ right now. Very easy pickings!"

Danny tried to move, but couldn't. And even though he had no idea what the jerk meant by 'two _Fantomos'_, he really didn't care at what energy level he was right now. Still, ignoring the older ghost, he closed his eyes and desperately dug for his inner strength. He had to, since he was famished and drained and needed that reserve.

But just as the boy felt the cold surge climbing outward from within him and his body began to glow with its rush, his breath hitched up into a scream once more.

Bullet had charged up his whip one more time and had slung it forward when he saw that the Ghost Boy hadn't surrendered yet and looked as if he were trying to do something. The ex-head prison guard's weapon had wrapped itself fully around Danny's torso this time before mercilessly electrifying him for what seemed like eternity to the boy.

As more and more pain drove itself into him without his being able to move or fight back, Danny continued to scream as he felt his entire body yield to the blows. And shortly after that, his vision blurred and his mind quickly slipped away as he felt his energy now totally spent….

* * *

><p>Vlad silently watched on when he saw the two bluish-white rings quickly encircle his young adversary before the boy reverted back to his human form and slipped to the floor.<p>

Obviously Daniel's immediate need for nourishment had finally taken its toll on him; otherwise, the boy would have been able to hold out longer and —under _normal_ circumstances —wiped the floor with Bullet.

Still, he had to push the boy so he could find out more about his young foe while driving him to that mental breakdown. After all, time was ticking; and it was beginning to counter his advantage. He was going to have to attend the opening ceremony of Central Park's 'fountain' in less than two hours and he needed to take a shower and 'look the mayoral part'. But not only that, it would be the start of his second phase of his master plan. And as far as he knew right now, Daniel wasn't ready yet!

Blast!

But the man quickly calmed himself. In spite of it all, he had built in some kind of leeway in his master plan in case he hadn't gotten Daniel under his thumb…..He paused. Yes, this might work out to his advantage after all, then. He _could_ have his cake and eat it, too! If he furthered that second phase of his master plan a little ahead of schedule of getting the boy to break, he could very well 'persuade' Daniel to yield to him once its outcome was well-established. Hmmmm. He was beginning to like that plan even better…It would be just as fool-proof!

Vlad smirked a bit more as he refocused on Daniel's silent form. Nevertheless, he still had to know more before he would have to get ready.

"_Very well, then, Daniel," _the man thought, "_I may not be able to find out about your mental state at this moment since I won't be able to successfully revive you for a while since you had foolishly expended all of your ghost energy. However, I can find out what had happened before you blacked out."_

"Deactivate the program," he ordered his computer without a hint of emotion and without turning away from the window.

Without a word, Maddie the computer pushed a button. The holographic image of Bullet jaggedly dissipated into the blackened atmosphere and a few more overhead, yet unseen, lights illuminated the area.

All was silent as Vlad continued to peer into simulation room at the unmoving teen.

Still not looking away from the boy, he simply asked Maddie, "Anything to report?"

"Only one detail, sir," she began.

The man then turned to face the hologram. This might be the news he was waiting for after all! He blurted out, "Has Daniel reached his breaking point after all?"

"No," she answered, "But, all the monitors do indicate that all the stress factors continue to climb and have not dropped significantly during the last two programs. Therefore, it is a valid assumption to make that as long as you keep the pressure on your test subject, he may well be on a one-way track to mental breakdown. That is, of course, as confirmed by the data."

Vlad's face lit up in encouragement as he further asked, "So, what was that detail you're talking about if it's not about Daniel's mental state?"

The facsimile of the love of Vlad's life momentarily stopped pushing buttons and looked at the data once more before she turned to her master and replied, "It was toward the end of this test, when the boy closed his eyes in what looked as if he were concentrating."

"Yes, I saw that just before Daniel began to glow —which was cut short by Bullet's weapon, of course," the man interjected.

"That is correct, sir," she acknowledged before she continued, "Just before the boy's ectoplasmic-enhanced aura intensified, the sensors monitoring his central core shot precipitously upward."

Vlad smirked and interjected, "Ah, yes. I've been waiting for that to happen ever since we stopped feeding Daniel. So, what have you found out about it?"

"I am trying to report that, sir," she said with a twinge of irritation in her voice because he kept interrupting her.

"Oh, yes, you're right, my dear," he replied with a slight grin, "Continue."

She mimicked his grin and continued, "I compared the rate and amount of that jump in energy to the control subject as instructed."

Vlad's eyes widened in excitement, since he knew exactly who that 'control subject' was and was sure he might finally be able to answer several of his questions about the phenomenon.

"And?" he couldn't help but ask.

She frowned slightly at his interruption but still replied, "Though the occurrence was short-lived, there was enough data to report, though a complete analysis is not possible since the data is still very conflicting."

Maddie paused and Vlad then took that as his cue to question her further.

"So, are you saying that you can't actually give me a hypothesis of what happened after all, Maddie?"

"No, I cannot at this time, sir. However, I can confirm that both you and your test subject are similar in that you both can form your own energy. And there is slight evidence to support that the boy was actually beginning to generate that energy."

Vlad paused. He, of course, knew that. But before he could question her further, she continued.

"The rate and amount of that jump in energy in your test subject, however is both similar and yet _dissimilar_ to what happens when you need an extra burst of energy. But that is all I can conclude at this moment until more data is collected."

This time, Vlad frowned in displeasure. Still, he wasn't worried about it yet. After all, when he was redesigning his simulation room and devising his master plan, he had carefully programmed his computer to be extra cautious in drawing any conclusions. He didn't want anything to go wrong as it had done many times in the past when it came to Daniel.

The man turned back to the window and looked at the still boy. _"__'Complication' is certainly one of your many middle names, my boy,"_ he silently mused before he smiled at his next thought, "_But then again, it will be an even sweeter victory when your __**new**__ middle name will be 'son'!__"_

He pulled himself away from the window and walked over to the female hologram and said, "Give Daniel about five hours to recuperate and then feed him, my dear. In the meantime, that will give me plenty of time to get ready and then conduct that silly opening ceremony for the new 'fountain' at Central Park."

"Shall I keep him in _beta_ sleep?" she asked before she glanced back at one of the monitors.

"_He's in __**beta **__sleep now?"_ he asked himself before also answering himself right away. "_Of course Daniel would be if he was this exhausted." _He thought a moment longer whether he should allow Daniel to have a normal sleep pattern. Hmmm. He really wanted Maddie to analyze that data and try to tie it into all the other data collected so far. That would be easier for her circuits if she didn't have to monitor the boy until she was through with that. Not only that, he wasn't going to let the boy sleep that long, and would be checking his mental state right after that. So, it was decided.

"No, my dear, let Daniel rest for those five hours without any interference this time," he began. "And while he's doing that, recheck and reanalyze any data you've collected so far and try to find any similarities among them. Only after you've done that can you then monitor the boy and make sure he stays in _beta_ sleep."

"As you wish, sir," she replied before pushing some buttons.

Vlad glanced at the sleeping teen once again.

"_Still going according to plan_," he told himself before he turned to the door and headed upstairs to get ready.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: **Oh, poor Danny! I know he's trying to do his best—as always—but well, you know how **_**Vlad **_**is! But, heh, I'm with him on one point: I really always thought that Danny's Ghost Stinger power was very cool...but as far as I see, he used it only once in the show! And so I wanted to see more of it and look at that! Vlad did, too! Heh-heh!**

**And guess what, gang? This chapter is the end of the list of Level THREE ghosts (Notice that Bullet is the 'alpha' ghost of the Level Three ghosts?)! I'm so excited because I think the more powerful ghosts are more interesting and I can't wait to see what Vlad has cooked up with their dealing with our hero. I hope you will stay tuned. In the meantime, the roster of accounted for ghosts continues as follows:**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3—**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**-the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3—**_**Beta**_**-Kitty**

**289-level3—**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**Thanks again for your support and I am eager to hear from you all, especially all of you mystery readers! Until next time, feed me your thoughts!**


	19. Chap 19 Level FOUR Ghosts: Changes

**A/N: Hiya, gang! I hope you've had a great week. I have; that is, now that the **_**weekend **_**has started! So, I'm really hyped to update, even if it means that Danny has more tests to do. But, hey, y'all should know that it'll take a whole lot to affect our hero! Oh, before I forget, some of you may be slightly confused if you haven't read my story 'His Own Worst Enemy' or pearl84's and my story, 'Seeing is disBelieving'. So if the explanation below raises some questions, you have homework to do this weekend (i.e., read those stories!)! But only if you want to (Now, isn't THAT refreshing: optional homework!)! Heh-heh. Ahem. Yes, well, without further ado—except that annoying disclaimer that I don't own Danny Phantom—here's Chapter 19. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 19—Level <strong>Four <strong>Ghosts—Changes

Vlad glanced at the clock before he looked himself over in the full-length mirror once more.

"You are a handsome devil, Plasmius!" He said with a pleased smirk. "But now it's time to dazzle the idiotic masses with my charm…." He smirked wickedly as he mentally added,_"…__and other things!"_

The man sobered at his next thought.

"_Always better to plan ahead, so let's make sure, then_," Vlad silently commanded himself as he walked over to one of the large pictures in his room.

He pushed a cleverly camouflaged button next to the picture and it hinged upward. A moment later, a keyboard popped out of the wall just behind the altered picture and a monitor that was built in the wall turned on. He quickly typed in a few commands into the built-in computer before he switched it off.

"_That should do it_," he told himself as he stepped over to the intercom system and pushed a button.

"_Yes, sir?"_ A transmitted voice asked.

"Bring the Bentley around. I'll be out in a minute, Carl," Vlad casually replied.

"_You're going out now?" _Carl inquired.

Vlad frowned a bit in confusion. He always briefed his chauffeur about his plans.

"Of course I am, Carl. You know the schedule," The billionaire said.

"_Yes, but I thought…," _The ghost chauffeur slowly began, only to be interrupted by his employer.

"You thought _what_, Carl?" Vlad asked, slightly confused about his chauffeur's hesitation. That ghost _never_ passed up an opportunity to drive one of his cars—especially the expensive ones.

"_Never mind; it's not important, sir. The car will be ready by the time you get down," _Carl replied with more conviction.

"All right," Vlad said, still slightly confused as he turned off the intercom.

The man shrugged it off and took one last glance at himself in the mirror.

"_On with the show!"_ He thought; and his smile returned to his face as he turned and made his way downstairs…

As soon as the man stepped out his front door, however, he frowned. The humidity in the air almost felt as if he had put on a coat made of it. And the sun was barely making its presence known. Still, it was possible that nothing would come of the signs.

He glanced at the black limousine that was pulling up to the door. Carl quickly got out and opened the back seat door for his employer. Vlad climbed in and settled down just as Carl carefully shut that door, opened the driver's seat door, and hopped in.

As the Bentley made its way to Central Park, Vlad's mind drifted back to the young hybrid. He was glad he had given his computer specific instructions about the boy that he could use in the future; that is, _if_ he needed it for the future. After all, he would prefer that this last encounter with 'Bullet' would be the decisive one in getting Daniel to finally break. He would check on that in short order. But now, he was heading to his secondary plan.

But as soon as his limousine was pulling up to the 'VIP' back driveway to Central Park, he noticed something was….missing.

There were _no_ people or media or anything anywhere in sight!

And a few moments later, he understood why…

A large bolt of lightning shot out into the air followed by a loud boom of thunder. The heavens seemed to rip wide open as the torrent of water poured out to the earth below.

The mayor grumbled indignantly as he pulled out his cell phone and punched on some buttons.

"_City Hall. How may I direct your call?_" The business-like female voice on the other end replied.

"This is Mayor Masters!" The man practically growled into his phone. "Get me my aide!"

"_R-Right away, M-Mr. Mayor!" T_he girl nervously replied as she put him on hold.

A few seconds later, Vlad heard a distinctive click before a voice asked, "_Mr. Mayor? This is Jones."_

"Just why wasn't I informed about the weather and that the opening of Central Park's new fountain was cancelled?**" **Vlad asked in demand.

At first, the man on the other end of the phone didn't answer.

Still peeved that his plans were thrown off the tracks, Vlad practically chewed on his phone. "Well?"

"_Mr. Mayor_," The aide calmly began. "_With all due respect, it was your idea to go on vacation before the opening ceremony of the new fountain. And I did email you several times and also left just as many messages on your voice mail to let you know that the cold front was approaching faster than what the weather authorities had first predicted…And you had given me instructions…."_

As his aide continued to talk, Vlad punched other buttons on his cell phone. There _were_ several voice mails and emails—and all of them _were_ from his aide.

The billionaire calmed a bit now that he had to admit that he had been too busy with Daniel to check on any of his messages in the past few days. Still, he wasn't about to admit that to his aide.

"Alright, Mr. Jones," Vlad replied, not even aware or concerned that he had interrupted his aide. "You did what you were instructed. Now, please re-schedule the event as soon as possible."

The man at the other end of the phone paused again. He had just told his boss all of that. He pursed his lips. After all, he was used to the mayor's being so unpredictable.

He finally replied with well-rehearsed control in his voice, "_Perhaps, this is serendipity, sir. The next holiday is the day after tomorrow and by that time, this cold front will have pushed through and there will be cooler weather for the ceremony. And that might just encourage even more people to come out, especially when I'll make sure the media beefs up the promos."_

"_Serendipity_," Vlad mentally repeated. "_Indeed. And my aide's right. Even more people will be there. Good. Now, I will have a bit more time to push Daniel a bit harder—that is, if he hasn't yet been broken!"_

The billionaire put his hand over the speaker of his phone and hurriedly said, "Take me home, Carl. As you can see, we've had a change of plans."

"Yes, sir," the ghost chauffeur replied as he threw the limousine into reverse. He had known all along about the bad weather, but also knew better than to counter any of his employer's requests.

Vlad quickly removed his hand off of the speaker and interrupted his aide once more. "That will be all, Mr. Jones. I will see you in a couple of days, then."

Without given Mr. Jones time even to reply, Vlad abruptly pushed the 'end' button.

* * *

><p>Finally, Vlad had returned to his mansion and was heading back to the control room of his simulation room.<p>

The facsimile of the love of his life was busy looking at the controls when he came in. Never turning her eyes from her task, she casually remarked, "You are three hours, ten minutes and forty-five seconds too early, sir."

"That I am, my dear," he said with a small smirk as he went right up to the window. "Anything to report?"

"Your test subject is in _beta _sleep and has been dreaming for the past several minutes," she began. "And as with all dreams, it is quite perplexing."

She pushed a few buttons and the wireless monitor mounted on a very versatile arm neared the man.

Vlad turned just as the monitor was in an ideal location and frowned. The images that roughly replicated Daniel's dream were clear enough for the man to see that Daniel was crying and sitting on the ground in the Fenton's lab and in front of the Fenton portal. But the Fenton portal was destroyed and smoking was still eking out of it. Still, there was more. Since the boy had his face in his hands, Vlad couldn't help but notice the top of Daniel's head; and the boy's hair looked very odd…It was mostly black, but it also had a white stripe down the middle.

Vlad had no idea that Danny was dreaming about the Disateroid incident when he had momentarily lost his powers. After all, that timeline had been erased—another thing the man didn't know about…

"Audio," the man quietly commanded and he immediately 'heard' the boy's thoughts as he continued to cry.

"_It is all my fault! And now because I was so stupid, my powers are gone! And there is nothing I can do about it! If only I could turn back time…"_

Vlad could see that the boy had suddenly stopped crying and lifted his head before he grabbed part of his long bangs. He seemed to inspect almost every inch of the strands before he said_, "But wait a minute!...I will get my powers back! This is only temporary! No matter what stupid thing I did, my ghost half will be all right!"_

Vlad turned from the monitor and looking to his hologram, asked, "Analysis?

"It would be safe to assume that your test subject thought that he did something wrong to his ghost half and it has something to do with his, uh, hair?" She ended her analysis with a slightly confused look on her face.

Vlad mused about what was happening on the screen and what his computer had said. No matter how Daniel came up with that notion, it didn't matter because it was just a dream. Besides, none of his spy bugs had recorded any incident whereby the boy ended up looking like _that._ Nevertheless, this could be useful; and useful sooner than he thought. And though he had no idea why Daniel was having such a bizarre dream, the man had seen enough to make it work in his favor…

He smiled wickedly just as he commanded, "Add what we just saw into the next program, Maddie. And speaking of which, it's time to check on how Daniel is doing mentally, especially when that dream was very odd."

He paused in thought again. Maybe this dream was important when it came to understanding Daniel's powers? After all, he felt he had only scratched the surface when it came to that. He was especially interested in what Daniel called his 'inner strength'—which Vlad thought was key in controlling the boy's powers when the time was right and for finding out more about the man's own powers.

He then continued, "After that, we will still be studying everything else about Daniel and his powers no matter what his mental state is at the moment. But right now, we need our two moronic pawns to check on how the boy truly is."

"But what about the boy's nutrition, sir?" She asked. "My internal clock still records that it is long overdue."

"Right you are again, my dear. You can add that into the next program, too. But, of course, use real food when you do."

"Very well, sir," she simply replied as she pushed several more buttons in very rapid succession…

* * *

><p>"OW!" Danny cried out at the hard nudge when it jolted him awake.<p>

The young hybrid had been given a firm strike of the rubber baton on a lever that had jutted up from the floor, the same one Vlad had activated when he had tried to awaken Daniel quite a while ago. And now he had used it again on the boy because it had been hard for his female computer to transition Daniel to _alpha_ wave wakefulness since the boy had fallen into an even deeper cycle of _delta_ sleep shortly after his dream... And that could only mean that his young son-to-be had to be nearing exhaustion—and possibly mental collapse as well.

And that, of course, was good. After all, the man would rather not have to activate the 'Level Four' ghosts or ghost programs if he could avoid them. Not that he really thought their power was too much for the boy. In fact, if they were going to be slightly more difficult for Daniel to defeat, it was only because of their own special weapons or abilities. Without those, they would be ridiculously easy for Daniel to defeat. Not only that, but he also had to include ghosts who had fairly impressive powers but weren't too bright in this level precisely because their low intellect kept them at a disadvantage. The man smirked at his next thought. Even Daniel would be able to defeat those dumb ghosts easily.

But…if Daniel was ready to break, then he could move more quickly and much more easily onto the next part of his plans…

But if Daniel's stubborn will still prevailed, then he would have to step this whole process up…

"You are up, I see, youngling," Justeco said without any emotion.

Danny startled to full alertness when he heard and then spied the Observant for the first time in what seemed like…forever.

Still, that didn't make the boy any less irritated—or grumpy. In fact, it only riled him up more and helped clear his head. He sarcastically replied, "No, kidding, since you gave me that good wallop." He then glanced briefly at Konsilisto who he knew would be ever at the High Tribune's side and dryly added, "And you're both here, I see. Had fun with all that 'observing'?"

"The data is inconclusive…," Justeco began, only to be rudely cut off by Danny's terse response.

"Of **course** it is! So, let me guess. More tests, right?"

The two ghosts blinked in surprise before Justeco calmly answered, "That is correct, young half-ghost. Only this time, because it has been difficult to determine…."

But once again, Danny interrupted him. He was too tired and hungry at this point to care about whatever consequences that resulted from his audacity.

"What's so hard about it? I don't need you to come here and tell me that I've failed most of your tests so far. Er, except one…though from what has happened so far, I don't see how I managed 'passing' even that! So there! Now _we all_ know that I'm not much of a menace to even the weakest of ghosts in these lame tests, much less be any kind of a threat to 'Time' and 'Existence'. That should be enough to steal your thunder! So, can me and my mom go home now?"

Justeco's eye finally narrowed in irritation before he firmly said, "_We_ are the ones to determine the final outcome of all of this and not _you_, young half-ghost. And we are not satisfied yet. After all, it is not _we_ who are being inspected."

"Funny choice of words, there, Justeco," Danny dryly replied, quickly rubbing his forehead to try to ease the dull pain that had never really left. "I wouldn't have used the word 'inspected'. 'Persecuted' is the word more up your alley."

The Observant's pupil narrowed to barely a slit with his annoyance as he tersely replied, "Your mother, youngling…"

A small portal appeared right in front of the teen and Danny's anger immediately melded into worry as he peered into it. Not that he was complaining that they had let him see his mom way sooner than they had before and without his needling them to do so. He just didn't trust them, especially after what he was seeing.

He could plainly see that his mom was dressed in a stunning green evening gown, but she was pacing back and forth. She didn't look happy in the least. She stopped every once in a while and slightly lifted up the blinds over the window in her room. After glancing briefly through it, she would return to her pacing.

"She looks like how I feel…like a caged animal, that is," Danny finally said just as the portal was swallowed up into nothingness.

"Point taken, Danny Phantom," Konsilisto piped in before adding, "But she is well. And your nourishment will be here shortly…"

"Great. How about a twenty-four-hour nap right after that?" Danny flippantly said, not realizing that he had interrupted them again as he squelched a yawn. His mind was certainly muddled and that constant nagging headache didn't help matters.

"Not in the plans," said Justeco this time. "But what is in the plans is that from now on, you're not to be allowed to cheat…"

Danny's eyes widened in surprise, but he butted in more forcefully this time, "_Cheat_? What do you mean by that? I've tried my best to defeat every one of those ghosts, but…"

He immediately stifled himself. He almost admitted to the Observants about his fear that he was losing his powers—though, of course, he couldn't be sure of that. But at least he knew for sure that his powers were acting awfully strange and weren't reliable lately— and that he had uttered some of that to those stupid ex-Freakshow circus ghosts. So really, he couldn't be sure that the Observants didn't _already _know. Or maybe they were trying to make him lose his powers…for some reason…He wasn't sure about that, either. But so what? It didn't really matter because he still didn't want to confirm anything about that….let their dumb 'data' tell them that!

"But what, youngling?" Justeco immediately probed.

Danny sighed and let his head drop a bit in resignation before saying, "Nothing." But then he grumbled more soberly, "What do you want me to do next?"

* * *

><p>"BLAST IT! We'll have to go to the next level after all!" Vlad yelled, banging his fist on the console and barely missing one of the important switches. Underneath, he was still in a very bad mood about what happened at the failed fountain ceremony.<p>

He gasped when he realized what he almost did and quickly got a hold of himself.

He drew out a long sigh before saying, "Keep on track, Maddie. We have more work to do."

"Everything is on track, sir," she simply replied before returning to the monitors.

"Of course," he tersely agreed before peering through the control room's window once more.

* * *

><p>Danny slowly looked back up when neither of the Observants had readily replied.<p>

But just as he did, Justeco looked right at him and finally remarked, "In these next series of tests, you will need to not only do your best, but you must _not_ let any ghost know in the least about us or the circumstances of your…visit here or there. We have believed from your performance that you must have tried to get some of the ghosts to go in—how do you say it? Cahoots?— Yes…that's it, it's 'cahoots'—Ahem. We have believed that when you tried to get some of the ghosts to go in _cahoots_ with you, you tainted the data. Therefore, until further instructed, you cannot let on to any ghost that these situations are tests at all."

Danny's eyes widened in disbelief. Were they serious? He had only tried to talk Klemper out of fighting and questioned why the Dairy King had attacked him. But the others? He hadn't even thought about reasoning with them not to fight after they had attacked him _first._ He paused when he thought about Kitty. She didn't actually fit in either category; but he didn't think he talked to her about really anything about not fighting….He paused again, still not satisfied about what had happened between Kitty and him. But then his mind shifted dramatically as he thought about his other _real_ ghost friends. The Observants weren't expecting him to fight any of them in the near future, were they? Suddenly, he feared for their safety—and for the sake of their friendship—which only helped him to focus.

Now he was angry at the Observants again.

The boy's eyes then narrowed and he said a bit forcefully, "That just reeks! I can see why you would set those lame rules on me…But it's not fair to the other ghosts! Each of them is as much a victim as me and my mother are in this whole stupid thing after you kidnapped them, too, and…"

"Most came willingly, Danny Phantom," Konsilisto quickly interrupted the boy. "Most do not find your company tasteful or pleasurable."

"Well, okay," Danny admitted, calming a bit, "I can see that and I share the same sentiments with those ghosts….But it doesn't matter, because it's still not right. And what about…."

But the boy paused again, now wondering if he should tell them about his ghost friends.

And then he thought about Cujo and his heart sank. He _didn't want to fight_ his friends, so he _should_ tell them about his ghost friends in order to keep what happened to Cujo from happening to them. He could have told them about Cujo in the beginning had he known about this whole mess—well, okay. Of course, in the end, he _couldn't_ have known and couldn't have even been able to prevent everything that had occurred so far. But now that he had a strong hunch on what was probably going to happen…

He then suddenly thought about the Dairy King…But that was different. The Dairy King had to fight him because he was forced to by the Lunch Lady. Danny shivered again at the thought of their being a couple…along with the 'EWWWS' of his possibly having been the one who hooked up the Lunch Lady and the Box Ghost. EWWW, again.

Still, somehow Danny knew that the Observants _must know_ about his ghost friends from all those times they were so intent on 'observing' him.

But Justeco interrupted his thoughts.

"But what about 'what', young half-ghost?"

That question was enough to help the boy decide.

Danny replied, "I agreed to do your stupid tests, but I never agreed to fight my ghost friends. I don't want to do that."

"Noted," Konsilisto answered without any emotion. "But we make no distinction about these ghosts."

"But you should," Danny objected. "It's not fair…"

But Justeco firmly interrupted him, "'Fairness' is not the issue, young half-ghost! We must determine _your_ level of threat to Time and Existence once and for all, regardless of any other incidental ghost! If we find your threat great enough from the results of these tests, then you will be too dangerous to allow us to let you roam free without some kind of grave consequence, the least of which would be careful monitoring or restraints!"

Danny was about to object again when what the Observant last said hit him squarely. And then he suddenly thought about Iluzisto and his wrist bands, which had dampened that spirit's powers. Was _that_ what they were talking about?

Maybe the Observants were considering something like that for him. Maybe they weren't interested in making him lose his powers, or whether they were concerned if he lost his powers after all. So, if that is what they wanted and that was what it would take to protect his ghost friends and get him and his mom out of this mess, then he would do it.

Danny finally said, "Okay, I'll take the restraints."

"What?" Justeco asked in total bewilderment. "I do not under—"

Danny quickly interrupted him, "The wrist bands. Like the ones you used on Iluzisto. If you want to keep my powers under control, especially if it means that I won't have to fight or hurt my ghost friends and that you'll let me and my mom go, then put them on me."

The boy's remark stunned the Observants to silence, even though it really stunned even more the man behind this entire plan and behind the observation window.

A heavy curtain of silence descended upon the Observants and Danny—and Vlad.

But then, Danny forced out, "W-Well? Does that mean you agree?"

Once more, the Observants didn't answer him.

Danny sighed in exasperation and said, "I don't get you two. You bring me and my mom here against our wills...You threw all of these lame 'tests' at me and aren't satisfied with the results even when you planned them all in the first place...You aren't satisfied with my trying to come to some compromise or understanding…And _now_ it looks as if you can't decide if keeping me under control is an option after all—even when, again, you brought up the whole 'restraint' thing up first, and I have agreed to them."

But the boy wasn't finished yet. He was so tired of this whole thing and just wanted to get his mom and go home. He then added, "And now that I'm on a roll, I think you've treated everyone involved in this whole thing unfairly—even those ghosts who don't 'find my company tasteful or pleasurable'. And—again—**you** were the ones who brought up this whole 'threat' thing in the first place, even when I'm trying to prove that I **am no** threat, and even when, by the way, when you yourselves both _sound more threatening_ by the second. **So**. **Just what do you want**?"

Justeco and Konsilisto glanced at each other before blinking in slight bewilderment.

With a voice devoid of emotion, Justeco merely replied, "We cannot make any decision until the data is conclusive. You have your instructions for these next set of tests. We expect you to fully cooperate!"

"That's just it, Justeco! I **am** cooperating!" Danny insisted, now getting aggravated.

But before he could say anything more, the Observants disappeared.

Alone once again, the boy sighed in defeat. "I just don't get their game at all!" he muttered to himself. "Why can't they just tell me what they want?"

But he had no more time to think about it because all of the sudden the floor shifted and trembled under his feet.

He gasped when he unexpectedly lost his balance with the last jolt and he immediately lifted himself upward just as a multitude of colors reeked havoc upon his senses. He felt neither up nor down, left or right, disoriented for a moment as he was caught up in the swirls of movement as if he were in a centrifuge. He was a bit glad he hadn't eaten anything for a while even when wild rides had never bothered him ever before.

The violent activity finally slowed a bit and the first thing he noticed—or rather, _heard_—was the high tinny, slightly off-key music of some kind of…organ. But it wasn't a church-kind of organ….

It was a calliope, that is, a carnival-kind of organ…

A moment later, the kaleidoscope of colors finally stopped churning and the scenery cleared.

The first thing Danny saw was the top of that calliope in the distance. He frowned. That would explain the off-key music. Its pipes were rusty and still belching out small puffs of steam along with the sour notes. But it sort of made sense that it would be here since he was standing in a small dirt lane sandwiched between two long rows of carnival-like games.

The tall wooden frames of the booths which house the games were not only heavily adorned with their gaudy decorations and prizes but also with bright lights. Their cheery gleam starkly contrasted the darkness that was elsewhere around him, giving him the impression that the carnival was taking place at night. And like most of the tests he had encountered, there was no one else here, even though _someone_ had to be playing that music….Either that, or maybe it was one of those nebulous elevator music soundtracks that no one ever took credit for.

Danny shrugged and began to walk along the empty lane. He glanced at each inert game booth he passed, headed for….well, that _always_ was the question for him in _all _of these tests, now wasn't it?

Still, he couldn't resist the urge to stop and play a few of the games as he made his way along to who-knows-where.

At one of the booths, he grabbed a handful of darts and threw them all at once at the target veiled by several brightly-colored balloons. All but one of the balloons exploded and the confetti hidden in them immediately rained down upon the boy. Danny softly chuckled in delight as he moved on.

The next booth housed the 'milk bottle' game. Two sets of six wooden milk bottles stacked neatly on top of each other were placed far enough from each other enough so two people could play at once. And each set sat in front of a huge orange net that would capture any balls that missed or any bottles that had been knocked over. Danny grabbed one of the balls, concentrated on his aim and threw it at one of the sets. He smirked when he knocked them all down in one blow.

But then, just as he was about to throw another ball at the nearby second set of bottles, the bottles disappeared from sight. But the booth, its bright lights, and the sound of that irritating music remained.

Addressing the Observants, the young hybrid grumbled under his breath, "I took too long having fun, huh?" He unconsciously tightened his grip on the ball still in his hand as he continued, "Especially when I was winning for once. Oh, well, you probably wouldn't have let me keep any prize, anyways."

With some frustration, Danny threw the ball into the night, which dutifully swallowed it up. He then turned to his right and walked down the pathway again.

He had walked only a few yards when his face brightened at the sight. He clearly saw the very well-lit up word 'Free!' posted above a small colorful trailer which had the word 'Food' stretched boldly along its entire side.

Before he knew it, the boy had taken flight and soared over to the food wagon. All kinds of carnival food were displayed on the narrow ledge jutting out below several large open windows that lined the length of the trailer's side. Danny didn't hesitate to land right in front of the ledge, grab some of the free food, and dig in.

"Well, okay. I'll take this for a prize any day!" he quipped to the air just as he took another large bite.

He was full in no time and sighed a bit in relief before the food wagon unexpectedly disappeared!

"At least I wasn't sitting down when that happened," Danny chuckled a bit in triumph even as he had unconsciously taken a step back in reaction to the event.

Suddenly, he yawned. Now he was even more tired. He sighed. If only he could only take that long nap now, he could deal with the rest of this lame test.

He glanced around and saw a new section of the carnival just ahead. He started forward again, this time ignoring the row of lifeless rides that greeted him along the way.

He had only walked a few feet past the ninth inert ride when he gasped and took a small step back in a slight startle. A neon pink-colored sign with a bright green arrow under it saying: 'This Way' had popped out of nowhere and he had almost bowled right over it!

But then, the boy mumbled under his breath again, "As subtle as that flying mallet I know all too well."

He paused a moment when that comment triggered thoughts of Vlad; but he quickly shrugged and immediately dismissed them. With a resigned sigh, he moved toward the direction that the arrow had indicated.

However, just as soon as Danny realized that he was walking to nowhere in particular again, another brightly colored sign with its own green arrow announcing 'Turn Here' popped up from as nowhere as the first, slightly startling the boy once more.

He grunted in annoyance this time even as he obeyed the sign and headed to where it had pointed. Then, two more signs showing him the way appeared just as the others, leading him deeper and deeper into the fairly large carnival. He grumbled each time one of the signs popped rudely up before following it.

They finally led him to a brightly lit building entirely outlined with crystal clear light bulbs that jollily winked at him while seeming to play tag with each other at the same time. It also had four steps outlined in other bright lights, which led up to the only thing that was dark on the building: its small entrance.

Danny's glance bounced off interchangeably from the 'Go in Here' arrow-shaped sign flashing at him to the lively lit building in front of it before commenting with resignation, "Well, at least it looks inviting and more 'alive' than anything else I've seen here so far."

He cautiously went up the stairs and suddenly the dark narrow entrance looked anything _but_ inviting. Still, he entered it. And in turn, it led him into a just as narrow unlit—and uninviting— hallway. The boy pushed onward, trying to ignore the slight chill that suddenly ran up his spine. He hoped he would get this 'test' over with as soon as possible.

After a few yards, he finally spied some dim light eking out ahead and quickened his pace toward it. A few moments later he entered what turned out to be a small, darkened room. But then, he had to momentarily shield his eyes when more light suddenly flooded the room.

When the boy's eyes finally adjusted, he gasped when he quickly glanced around and saw that he was surrounded with….himself! That is, he was surrounded by _reflections_ of himself. Some of the reflections were straight, others showed only his left half or his right profile, and still others, only his back all at once. But it was obvious by then that he was in a room full of mirrors.

"Well, okay. I've always liked these kinds of carnival attractions," Danny said with a small knowing smile just as he easily spied the exit to this room even among the distracting mirrors. He knew that way would undoubtedly lead him further into the building.

And sure enough, as he entered the new mirror-lined hallway, he was still accompanied by his reflections. Yep. He definitely was in a _house _of mirrors. But he wasn't at all bothered by them as he easily made his way along the pathway.

"This is too easy," he chuckled under his breath as he moved rapidly through several tiny rooms, each of them with different types of mirrors meant to delight and confuse their visitors. Some of the mirrors distorted his image to make him look taller or fatter, or skinnier or shorter. And some even altered his features with a combination of all these different perceptions all at once. He chuckled even more with those 'pictures' of himself.

He finally turned the corner which would no doubt lead him to another small room of mirrors. But as soon as he stepped over the threshold of that room of mirrors, he stopped and gasped in surprise.

This time, all the images in front of him looked exactly like he looked when he went to the "Material Grille" with his parents on their "Eighties Nite Out" dance—only that those images were all of a taller and slightly older version of himself—as if they had aged as much as he had!

"This can't be right!" he exclaimed as he reflexively looked down at his black and white costume and then back up at all the preppy boys looking back at him exactly the same way he was looking at them. It was odd to see that they all were wearing a combo layer of white-over-black shirts with rolled up sleeves, loose purple ties, jeans and red sneakers even when he was still in his black-and-white costume. Definitely had _creepy_ written all over it.

When that creepy feeling then attacked the nape of his head with this turn of events, Danny slowly moved out of the room, though his eyes never left the reflections of the eighties style version of him. And, conversely, their eyes never left him as well.

But when he turned back to see where he was going, he rammed right into a mirror that had finally fooled him into thinking that it was the way out of the room.

"OW! Nice one, Fenton," he chided himself as he quickly rubbed his bumped forehead and searched for the right exit while trying to ignore all those stares still aimed at him.

He brightened when he finally saw the way out and continued on the path, all the while thinking in slight disappointment with himself, "_You should have expected that the Observants would twist this thing all up! This is just some sort of trick!"_

He saw his regular reflection return once he was in the hall and continued onward. Even still, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristle even more when he was nearing what could be the next room.

And as soon as he entered what indeed was the next room, his eyes widened in surprise once more.

But this was….something very different from the first messed-up reflections in the last room.

All of his reflections weren't dressed in that 'eighties' outfit or his black-and-white costume. Instead, each of the shaggy-and-long-haired versions of his human-self wore a red plaid baseball cap skewed to its side, a white t-shirt with red edges sloppily covered by a front-opening, rolled-up long-sleeved green plaid shirt, and blue jeans and red sneakers. He was now looking at reflections of himself as the 'fun' Danny when he had split himself in half with the net-like Fenton Ghost Catcher; and once again, all of the reflections were slightly older and taller versions of that 'fun' self!

But that was not what made this room or mirrors a lot different than the previous one.

Before, all of those 'eighties' reflections mimicked his moves exactly. And really, most of the reflections right now still aped his moves. But not the one in the middle. Not only that, but it was also wearing _a smirk_ on its face. And Danny Phantom was _not smiling in the least_!

Now a bit peeved even as he was still a bit alarmed by this, Danny Phantom growled, "Okay, dude, what gives?"

And to the boy's surprise, the 'reflection' answered him!

"Don't know what you mean, dude," the still-smiling boy in the mirror said in that laid-back, California valley/beach boy drawl of his before adding, "Lighten up! I'm **not** the one who actually _cares _about this whole thing, you know. And since I'm really a part of you deep down, you shouldn't, either! In fact, that's all you ever wanted out of life, isn't it? To go through the motions without accepting any kind of responsibility for anything? Now, that's the life!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Danny instantly objected, reflexively rubbing his forehead when he all of the sudden noticed it was still throbbing. Maybe that blow from the mirror in the last room was harder than he thought; plus, he was still very tired. Maybe _that _would explain this bizarre situation.

"Oh, c'mon, dude, don't think you can pull that stunt on me!" the tussled-haired boy casually replied, though his 'in-the-know' smile had not dimmed. "You know that you would chuck this 'hero' crap in a heartbeat if you could. You much rather take the easy way, and you know it! Hey, just remember all those times you wished you didn't have your stupid powers, dude! Didn't it feel so, like, exhilarating when you split yourself in half that one time and you didn't have a care in the world? I remember it so well that I think my brain might hurt—and you know I don't want that!"

Danny's hands instantly fisted as he growled, "I'll tell you what's 'crap', '_dude_'. You and everything you're saying!"

"Whoah, dude!" the 'fun' Danny said with a slight chuckle even as he had his hands up in an 'I surrender' posture. "That's your 'hero' side having his pants all up in a knot. Tell him to take a 'chill pill', will ya? He really can't just let it go, can he? And he also can't accept the fact that he blows at the whole hero gig! Man, it's just sad, if you think about it! He's got such a hero-complex, and he's anything but a hero—more like a menace! Remember? '_Inviso-Bill'._ But whatever! Your best bet is to just let that hero stuff go, you know. Just the fact that I _still exist_ within you is all the proof you need to know that you need to slow down and not take things so seriously! You'll be glad you did!"

Danny Phantom took as step forward in threat at his 'reflection'.

Once again, the 'fun' Danny-in-the-mirror raised his hands up trying to calm the teen. "Hey, dude, no offense. I just tell it like it is… I simply don't want to use one brain cell to worry about it. It's what keeps me without a care in the world. So, just have fun with the rest of the place, dude, okay? There's lots more to come!"

Just then, the reflection's lackadaisical smirk twisted into a dark one before the mirrored image suddenly scrambled out of focus. A moment later, it—and the others—had melded back to reflect Danny's true appearance.

Danny scanned each of the multi-views of his real reflections and frowned.

"Just what is the point of this, Justeco?" he suddenly yelled up into the air in irritation. "Okay. Maybe you could twist time and existence to the point of bringing back some superficial part of me. But maybe not! But never mind! It's _my turn_ to call your bluff! You're testing me so underhandedly, that for the _rest _of this so-called 'test', I'm just going to ignore anything else you have planned for me!"

Right after that jeer, Danny stomped out of the room and into the connecting short dark corridor. However, he could immediately see that he was moments away from the next room.

With a determined huff, he stepped boldly into the next one, only to hear two gasps of surprise—his own and that from a lone reflection of his 'regular' current _human _self when it spied him.

"A-A g-g-ghost!" the human boy in the mirror uttered in complete fear, his arms up in surrender. "Don't hurt me!"

"Okay, this is more than weird," Danny said in irritation to his human 'self', especially when he noticed that all the other mirrors in this room didn't reflect anything. "I'm you, you know!"

He then cringed. _That _sounded even weirder!

But that only terrified the human reflection even more as he stammered, "I-I d-don't know what you're talking about! I'm not a ghost and I never want to be one! That would make me some kind of freak, and _I'm _not! I-I'm just a kid and you're a ghost just like all other ghosts around here who want to hurt me!"

Then, oddly, the human boy began to slowly creep back in fear away from the ghost in front of him, even though Danny Phantom was not moving. Danny could see tears welling up in the human boy's blue eyes as he shakily said, "I-I can't fight ghosts! They're all way too strong for me! No matter what I do, they come back time and time again, looking for more trouble. Heck, that's just like high school! Everyone there is also way too strong for me! Why can't they all just leave me alone? Dash was right all those times he called me a wimp and a loser! I'm outta here!"

Before Phantom could object, his 'human reflection' darted toward the room's exit, his movement tracked by _all_ of the mirrors—that had not reflected a thing until now—until he was out of sight.

A moment later, Danny was looking once more at his true ghostly self in _all _of the mirrors in this room. He blinked, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

But then, his tired mind ran away with his next unexpected thought. _"That __**was**__ me! __**Before**__ I had my powers—and when I lost them when Sam had accidentally wished she had never met me! I __**was**__ a miserable little coward of a nerd!"_

He then jolted a bit at his next thought, "_Will I turn into __**that **__again—well, only taller—if I totally lose my powers, like I fear __**is**__ happening?"_

Suddenly, as Danny looked at his Phantom reflection, he felt a wave of trepidation wash over him at the thought. No! It wasn't possible, was it? He wasn't the same person any more. He had learned so much from everything that had happened to him since he had gotten his powers back the last time. He could never turn into that kind of a wimp again, could he?

His head dropped in worry and he trudged out to the room in near defeat. He didn't want to get this 'test' over with any more. He just wanted to get his mom and go home!

He was so upset at the moment that he hadn't even paid attention to the fact that he had left the room or where he was going. And just before he even thought about checking to where he was headed, the boy felt a blow of cold lightening shoot up his spine like it had all those other—and definitely _unwanted_ and _unexplained_— times.

Danny actually staggered into the wall nearest him at the onslaught, inadvertently smashing its glass make up. He hadn't realized yet that in fact, that broken 'wall' actually turned out to be the foremost mirror in the next room full of them.

But the sharp shattering sound startled the young hybrid enough that he finally looked up, only to see more reflections of himself—as Danny _Fenton_ again—only that each of these humans had a streak of white hair racing across the middle of the rest of his bushy black hair. And….these reflections definitely **weren't** scared of him. They were _glaring_ at him.

Suddenly, oddly, Danny felt that he knew the reason for those angry stares: his reflections were poignantly reminding him how he almost lost all of his powers because of his stupidity. He felt his heart sink when he really couldn't blame them. He **had been** stupid—and _selfish_—and **had caused** more insult—and maybe—_injury_ to his ghost-half from what he had subjected it to. Plus, he hadn't realized until it seemed to be _too_ late at the time that his ghost-half was more than just a 'thing' he wish he hadn't gotten, as if it were some sort of 'disease'. No. It was no 'thing' or 'disease'. It was _more _than that. It was no longer even separate from him anymore, but was truly a part of who he was now. And, thank the heavens, he had come to his senses and had been able to rescue it from a fate worse than…death.

"You really screwed up, didn't you?" one of the surreal reflections said through gritted teeth, his words jerking Danny out of his thoughts.

Danny looked up at the middle boy who had just spoken, ignoring the other mute and still glaring ones. He squared his jaw and answered himself, "Yes, I did. But, thankfully, I was given another chance."

"Too many, really," the middle reflection answered with a sneer. "What makes you think that you won't do it again, or do something worse? After all, you've already proved that you're quite capable of both rejecting your ghost side and using it for more evil."

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked, growing more defensive.

But then, he suddenly stopped himself from saying anything more. Once more, strangely, he knew what his reflection was referring to. But how? How could this be happening? Sure, he was tired, but he **was awake**—he thought. Was this _really_ real? Could he be hallucinating this, then? Isn't that what happened to people who didn't get much sleep for days on end?

"You'll see what I mean," the human boy said, his tone of voice still tainted with disdain.

"I don't believe this!" Danny said, stepping toward his alternate reflection.

"Of course you wouldn't. You refuse to admit to all of the lies you've been living," the reflected boy continued, not shirking in the least. "You're destined to do great and horrible things no matter how much you might resist or deny them. You know why? Because deep down you hate yourself! You hate that you're a freak, and you always end up taking it out on your ghost-half! That's why it's turned into pure evil! That's why you will always be a curse to everyone who knows you!"

"No! That's not true!" Danny yelled in defiance after suddenly thinking about his evil self, though he had long thought he had resolved the issue. "And you can't make me do something I don't want to do!"

"Now _I_ don't believe _you_ after what you did to _me_!" the boy sneered, pointing in accusation and emphasis at the band of white lightning streaking across the black hair on his head.

This time, Danny Phantom shot forward in anger, slamming into the human boy within the mirror, only to shatter the looking glass with his green ectoplasmic-laden fist. He saw nothing but emptiness behind its remnants; and when he glanced around, the other remaining mirrors within the room only mutely reflected the distraught look on _his own_ face.

The young hybrid grabbed his face with both of his hands and slid to the ground, distressed over what had just happened. He pulled his knees up to his chest and rubbed his face, trying to wipe out his anxiety and fatigue. But his mind was so weary from lack of sleep that he was finally feeling the effects of the stress of these tests.

This was the worst House of Mirrors he had ever been in! And he suddenly buried his face in his hands still upon his bent knees. He wanted so much right now to stop and give up.

But then, the young hybrid heard a sound to his right and he pulled his face out of his hands and cocked his head toward it. He suddenly shivered in dread when he finally recognized what that sound was.

It was _laughter,_ a _wicked_ laughter. A wicked laughter of delight and triumph! And the sound of it was very _familiar_!

Then all of the sudden, a sign popped out of nowhere once more, instructing the teen just as the others outside this accursed building had. Its glaring red letters flashed as if in anger in their demand that he go 'This Way!'

Danny slowly pulled himself up to a stand and felt a surge of determination. He reflexively gritted his teeth in defiance at the angry flashing words. All right! He would face whatever those morons threw at him!

He started out of the room as the sign directed him. In short order, he saw the light from the next room emanating from it just ahead.

Once the teen was at the entrance, he boldly stepped into the room, though his heart sank again once he did. He was looking at yet another 'reflection' of himself. Only this time, this boy's white hair seemed more dazzling and it seemed to have a life of its own. Other than that, the mirrored image looked exactly like he did now, except….except that his irises were the color and wildness of fire instead of green light. And he had never seen such an evil, dark smile on anyone's face—much less his own—before. It sent a shot of dread into his spine, which was quickly and unexpectedly followed by that all too familiar electrical pain.

But even though he felt as if he wouldn't be able to completely catch his hitched breath in trying to resist the shooting pain, Danny gritted his teeth. His eyes flared a more intense green as he glared back at the 'alien' boy in front of him.

"This is all some sorta trick!" Danny said, trying to control his pants of pain.

"This is no trick, boy!" the boy in the mirror said, his evil grin never leaving his face. "I thought you were clever enough by now to realize that this is no ordinary 'House of Mirrors'. This is a 'House of Truth'! But then again, I always thought you were very naïve, just not this much. I thought you would have caught onto things much quicker than this by now."

"Who are you?" Danny demanded, angered by the boy's remarks. But he was not aware that he had wrapped his arms around his ribs to try to ease the pain still throbbing up and down his spine and its weakening effects.

But the boy in the mirror only laughed that evil laugh again. "Obviously, you aren't as clever as I thought, either. But it doesn't matter, because I'm going to tell you. I'm **you**, Danny. The _real _you! The one you know you'll be some day!"

"NO!" Danny yelled in denial as he stepped back from the red-eyed boy, his stomach tightening at the realization of who this might be. "This isn't real!"

At any other time, what the boy in front of him had said would not have affected Danny as much as it was right now. But Danny was growing more fatigued and his mind was muddled from that pain still shooting up and down his spine and from all those other confrontations with his 'other selves'. Now his old fears which once had no power over him now had the opportunity to dig at him once more. But he knew he had to get all of that under control. He fervently countered, "And you can't make me do something I don't want to do!"

The evil reflection smugly replied, "I won't have to force you to do anything, especially something that is the truth deep down inside of you. Something that took root in you once the seed was planted during that time you cheated. And it won't go away just by your childish wishful thinking! It is your destiny! "

That was enough! Danny growled in defiance and lunged at the figure in the mirror, smashing the mirror containing it with angry fists.

But then, Danny gasped in shock.

Instead of nothing being behind the mirror like the last time he broke one of these mirrors, he saw…himself as the _Phantom _that he was now, only that he had red glowing eyes, and blue skin. And his hair was afire in white flames and pulled upward so that he could easily see his pointed ears!

"Don't you know that breaking mirrors gives you seven years bad luck?" the other teen Phantom sneered just as he lunged at Danny.

And because Danny was so shocked about this turn of events, he didn't react like he normally would.

Therefore, the other 'Phantom' had no difficulty wrapping his hands around Danny's throat. He then snickered darkly as he immediately clamped down on it, "Embrace your destiny just as strongly as I have you right now!"

Danny's eyes widened, snapping back to reality when he felt the angry pressure on his windpipe and heard his attacker's evil laugh. He instantly grabbed the oppressive appendages around his throat, but then was shocked again when they didn't feel like the hands of another human ghost. Instead, they felt as if two solid fingerless vices had replaced the hands. But more than that, those vices were exerting even more force on his windpipe!

Once again, Danny's slight hesitation was enough to give the other 'Phantom' the advantage. He tried to struggle, but by now it was too late. His body was too weak from lack of air. He would have whimpered in fear if he could, but all he could do was dig his fingernails into the hands slowly killing him. This was it. He was going to die! The Observants didn't want to test him, they just wanted to destroy him—and they finally were going to do it!

He squeezed his eyes close as tears escaped the side of his face, now thinking of his mother. He had failed her. He had failed everyone…

With another mighty squeeze, the other 'Phantom' started to laugh in triumph when he felt his victim's hands slowly fall away from his solid hands and felt his body go limp under his strength.

But before Danny fully passed out, his blurry vision saw the 'Phantom' asphyxiating him meld into a faceless entity. And his diminishing hearing caught an echoing voice slowly ebbing into silence say, "It wasn't as fun as I thought it would be, but it sure was worth it!"

The faceless ghost finally let go and Danny slipped to the ground, unconscious…

* * *

><p>A spotlight flashed onto the victorious ghost before a voice called out, "That will be all, Amorpho."<p>

The ghost looked upward toward the voice as Vlad continued, "You did as you were instructed."

Amorpho answered in that tinny, whining voice, "Still, I thought it would be more entertaining than this. Fooling Danny Phantom entirely—especially when you could somehow make my voice mimic his—was good fun! But I would rather have toyed with him rather than try to trick him with all of that psycho mumble-jumble you had me say."

"Adding your critique in the matter was not part of the bargain, Amorpho. You may go!" Vlad tersely said as he pushed a button which activated a small portal.

"Very well. But you'll never know whom I may trick the next time!" the faceless ghost mischievously said as he suddenly melded into Vlad Plasmius and jumped into the portal.

"Freak!" Vlad grumbled in disgust just as he closed the portal.

He then turned to the computer generated image and said, "Let's get on with the next program, Maddie!"

"But sir, it's not…" she began, only to be cut off by the man.

"I don't care! We finally have Daniel teetering on the edge! Just do it!" he hissed.

"As you command, sir," the hologram said with a slight frown, as she pushed the command button.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Aww, poor Danny! He never gets a break-but you can blame Ms. Hyde for that! It was all her idea.**

**Ms. Hyde: *rolls eyes* Go ahead. I certainly invite all the blame. But I'm not in the mood to fight.**

**truephan: *eyes widen* Are you ill or something?**

**Ms. Hyde: No. It's just way past my bedtime and all I want to say is the the Ecto-Fantomos Scale continues:**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story,**_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3—**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**-the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3—**_**Beta**_**-Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**-Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-Level 4-**_**Zeta**_**-Amorpho**

**Until next time, dear readers! And please fill my dreams with your thoughts!**


	20. Ch 20 Level 4: Rebels Without a Cause

**A/N: Hiya, gang! Did you miss me? I sure missed y'all! Thank you again to everyone for your wonderful reviews, even the ones from those mystery readers. They are priceless to me—honest! But, hey, I'm just about in time for Halloween, sorta! So, what better way to do that than to update a story about ghosts? I hope it will be scary enough for ya, especially with the wicked disclaimer that I don't own Danny Phantom but own this story! Here is Chapter 20. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 20—Level Four Ghosts—Rebels Without a Cause<p>

Danny opened his eyes and saw the black and green swirls of the Ghost Zone directly overhead. He lifted his head off the purple floating shelf on which he was and looked quickly around, confused about where he was and how he got here.

The last thing he remembered….but that was it. He couldn't remember….anything! Except….who he was—at least, he thought he knew who he was….

The boy pulled himself up to a sitting position and gasped when he looked down at himself. He couldn't remember if he ever owned an outfit like this, much less wearing one.

As he inspected himself, he reflexively smoothed out his baggy smoky-grey pants, only to startle a bit when he saw that each of his hands was dressed in a black fingerless glove. His eyes drifted slightly beyond his hands and he saw that he had boots on that matched the color of his fingerless gloves, and that the boots also had slightly glowing green studs on their sides. He then slid his hands upward from his pants, reflexively touching and grabbing the green belt at his waist.

He looked down at the belt and was surprised to see it was also glowing, shedding its green light on the white shirt tucked under the belt and grey pants. He abruptly let the belt go and examined the rest of the clothing covering his upper torso. He couldn't remember anything about this. Wherever did he get this forearm-length white shirt covered by a wide-lapel elbow-length loose black jacket long enough to partially drape his knees?

But he really didn't think about that too much because he was more interested in the thin necklace around his neck, and more specifically of what was hanging from it: a glowing green human skull. He lifted the medallion and flipped it over and saw that a matching glowing green human skull adorned the other side.

"Good! You've finally come to, lil' bro'," a strangely familiar voice said, coming from his right.

Danny immediately jerked his head toward the voice, though he wasn't at all surprised who it was behind that voice.

"Johnny 13?" the teen asked, suddenly puzzled by a strange pressure behind his ear. He now he felt that he had known the biker ghost all of his life.

"Yes, Danny _**13**_, of course it's me!" the tow-head ghost teased. "And I can see that you haven't quite gotten over that blow to your head, since you all of the sudden got so formal with me just now, lil' bro'!" he added with a chuckle as he walked up to the teen.

Before Danny knew it, Johnny was firmly grabbing his chin and brushing his white, bushy hair off of his forehead, intent on inspecting a particular area there.

"That cut is still nasty, but I think you'll after-live!" Johnny said with a smirk, releasing the boy's chin and then affectionately scuffing up the back of Danny's head.

"Hey, knock it off!" Danny protested as he abruptly pulled away from Johnny's hand and jolted to a stand.

"Heh-heh, lil' man," the older ghost began with another chuckle, not at all alarmed by Danny's remark. "Calm down! I was just kiddin' with ya, like always! It's _me_ who's talking to ya! And I have to say that even though we barely got you outta there after you got hurt, I'm proud of you! Not too many _Skulls_ would be brave enough to penetrate our toughest enemy's territory, much less have been able to fight their way back out—especially having to go toe-to-toe with their leader— and _still_ not get wasted. But even though you scared the wits out of me for doing that, I'm proud that you did! And to think! Not only are you the first _Skull_ ever to get out of there after-alive, but, thanks to you, we'll have new plans on how to beat them at their own game and get back at them for what they did to you and for all the other _Skulls _in the past! Way to go, lil' bro'!"

Johnny 13 smiled before he spread out one of his hands, which was also covered in a black finger-less glove like Danny's, and lifted it up to his ear level with the intention of giving the boy a 'high five'. But the blonde-haired ghost frowned a bit, perplexed when the teen didn't reciprocate.

Instead, Danny had blinked in confusion again when he inadvertently focused not on Johnny, but on the black finger-less gloved hand of the older ghost. Something wasn't right about all of this. Danny raised his hand to his forehead and winced at what must be some kind of cut. But, somehow, he didn't remember being cut…he vaguely remembered being _choked_.

The white-haired boy then blurted out, "What are you talking about, Johnny? Why are you calling me 'lil bro'? And why am I dressed like you?"

This time, Johnny 13 scrunched his forehead in worry. "Whoah. Maybe we need to delay our plans for another day. That blow from Razilo's blade was harder than I thought, bro!"

Danny jolted a bit at Johnny's remark. Did the biker ghost say what he thought he said?

Johnny looked down at the younger ghost with more worry as he continued, "But don't worry, lil' man. Like I already said, I'm going to make them pay for what they did to you..."

He then turned slightly away from Danny and looking to his right, added, "…Right, gang?"

Several loud growls, yells and mechanical rumbling sounds answered the biker ghost.

Danny jerked his head in that same direction. He gasped a bit at the dozens of shapeless _Malfortas_ he saw mounted on purring grey and green motorcycles. And each of the motorcycles looked exactly like the motorcycle that Danny somehow knew that Johnny 13 —and _he_ —rode. And all of the _Malfortas_ were also wearing skull necklaces just like the one Johnny 13 —and _he_ —were wearing!

But before the teen could utter a thing, he heard Johnny 13 clear his voice. And when Danny looked at the older biker ghost, Johnny smirked before announcing, "Listen up, Skulls!"

Once the crowd settled, the biker ghost pointed both of his thumbs to himself and proudly continued, "I, Johnny 13, want to recognize Danny 13 for not only successfully surviving the hazing requirement of the _Skulls_, but for also choosing such a dangerous assignment when he did. And let's not forget that he was the first _Skull_ to successfully survive entering _and returning from_ our enemy's territory with important information! So, in light of all his bravery, I, Johnny 13, being big brother to Danny 13 and the Leader of the _Skulls,_ do hereby declare extending the title of _Co-Leader_ of the _Skulls _to him and so be honored with the task of heading the strategy of a counterattack. What do you all say, Skulls?"

Loud cheers of agreement immediately rose from the gang.

"And what do _you_ say, Danny 13? Give me the word, lil' man…"

The older ghost paused, smiling in anticipation at the teen.

Danny, however, was still searching his hazed mind. This seemed so…off, but he wasn't sure how. He frowned. He knew that…he was at least on good terms with Johnny 13. He squinted when a sharp pain stabbed him at the back of his left ear.

And then, Danny smiled as his mind finally cleared. He had been wrong. Johnny 13 wasn't just his friend like his muddled mind had first thought; he was his _older_ brother! And their gang, the _Skulls,_ was at war with the _Wraith Brotherhood_ for as long as he could remember! And now, the _Skulls_ were finally in the position to defeat the _Wraiths_ once and for all now that he had been able to pinpoint the exact location of their lair —something that no Skull had been able to do before. True, he had to fight his way out—even going so far as to match his strength with Razilo—but he had been able to come back, even if he had not come back totally unscathed. In fact, until Danny had done just that, any Skull who had entered the Wraith's stronghold before the boy's attempt had never returned…

But then, the teen's smile dropped when he noticed that Johnny 13's face didn't look pleased. And then, Danny realized why: he hadn't answered him yet!

Danny cleared his throat, straightened the medallion on his necklace and jacket and seriously answered, "I accept!"

Johnny 13 smiled before an even louder roar of approval shot upward from him and the other Skulls.

Still, even before the joyous ruckus had subsided, Johnny 13 had wrapped his arm around Danny's shoulders and was leading him away from the rest of the Skulls.

"I knew you wouldn't have disappointed me, lil' bro," Johnny 13 said, keeping his voice low so that only Danny could hear him. "And it was about time that you took on more responsibility."

"_More responsibility?"_

Suddenly, those words resonated within the teen; he frowned, confused all over again as to why those words would strike such a chord within him as they had just now. And then for some reason, that same other thought pressed upon him: something was all wrong about all of this. He knitted his brow yet again; he still couldn't put a finger on it….But then, he shrugged it off and smiled again as he followed his older brother.

Danny unknowingly slowed down when he finally saw that they were nearing two ghostly motorcycles, both surprised and awed to see them. Yet, somehow, he knew the one on the left belonged to him.

And once the teen had climbed onto his bike, he smiled in admiration at its beauty. He immediately and lightly ran his hand over the gleaming surfaces, pleased how quickly the reflections of his fingertips ran after him. He glanced at the glowing green raised '13' emblem on the sides of the front gas tank. He didn't remember picking out this particular motorcycle, but he approved of the grey bike—especially since it also glowed with a green ghostly hue.

Danny continued to inspect the motorcycle for a few more seconds, pushing on some of its gadgets, when he suddenly heard the motorcycle right next to him revving up loudly.

He jolted his head toward the sound, only to see that Johnny was looking at him in confusion…and worry.

"Sorry, bro!" Danny said in embarrassment, immediately reaching for the back of his head and rubbing it nervously. Just how long was he ogling over the thing? He then said with a nervous chuckle, "I just think that this is a totally awesome bike!"

"Yeah, I do, too, lil' man, but I've never seen you obsess over it as much as you're doing right now," Johnny began, before hitching and then narrowing his eyes a bit. "Are you sure you're all right, dude?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, Johnny. Really," Danny said, his awkward smile trying to reassure the older ghost.

He then quickly 'proved' his point by quickly hopping on and revving up his own bike with a relished smile.

Johnny 13 smiled in relief and nodded his head. But then he paused before opening up the throttle of his bike again and throwing his brother a knowing smirk and toss of his head.

Danny frowned at that look. Obviously, his brother was expecting him to do something….like maybe heading to a place they both knew about? Funny thing about that…Danny didn't know where that place was! Maybe his brother was right and that blow to his head was worse than he thought. Still, he didn't want to worry or disappoint his brother anymore.

"Hey, Johnny," Danny suddenly said with a mischievous smile just before rapidly revving up his bike once more, "Race ya home!"

Danny's bike immediately shot forward in challenge, leaving his older brother behind in a cloud of ecto-dust.

But the older ghost wasn't about to be outdone by his little brother. An instant later, Johnny's motorcycle charged forward like a puma pouncing on its prey. And in no time, Johnny's bike had caught up with Danny.

In the meantime, Danny had been periodically glancing over his shoulder to see what Johnny was doing. He was somewhat relieved now that the older ghost was catching up. His plan seemed to be working. He feigned trying to pour on speed as he opened the throttle. His ghostly motorcycle's front wheel immediately reared up before the boy slammed down on the accelerator. But then, he just as quickly, yet carefully, let up on the ecto-gas so as not to get his brother suspicious of his plan.

And then, Danny heard the roar of Johnny's laughter and his bike growing louder. He was close. Finally, Danny threw a fake frown at his brother's broad smile even as Johnny finally flew past his little brother. A fraction of a second later, the older ghost's laughter was blending with the dwindling sound of his motorcycle's engine.

Danny squelched a sigh of relief even as he frowned in fake determination and crouched his head down in feigned concentration. He then rapidly sped after the older biker ghost, keeping himself close enough so that Johnny would think that he was trying to overtake the lead. But, of course, Danny had no intention of taking over the lead because he didn't know where the finish line was!

Finally, after this odd fight for the lead, a black floating shelf with what looked like as large black boulder on it came into view.

Johnny immediately taxed his motorcycle forward, as if he anticipated a last-minute bike sprint from Danny.

Danny immediately noticed what Johnny did; and guessing that he was finally seeing the finish line, he poured on more speed. But he made sure that he stayed behind his older brother—just in case the structure up ahead _wasn't_ their home.

A few seconds later, and it was all over….

Johnny had landed his motorcycle on the black shelf with enough time to skid and slide to a halt, turning the bike just enough in its sideways slide that once he had stopped, he would be facing the incoming ghost who would obviously be in _last _place.

"Heh-heh! That was better than the last time, little man! Had me worried for a second—but only for a second! Maybe one day you will beat me. But that day is _not_ today!" Johnny smugly chuckled with a triumphant smile.

"Oh, yeah?" Danny challenged in jest, even as he was rapidly approaching the floating shelf. Yet, all the while, he was secretly relieved that they must be at their lair, even if he didn't recognize the place at all. He pulled his own motorcycle into a skid, also making it slide sideways until it stopped in a mirror-like image of his brother's bike. He then quipped, "Well, I think that may happen tomorrow!"

"You say that all the time, lil' bro, but you're always chasing and not catching 'tomorrow', either!" Johnny teased back, chuckling at their banter, especially about the fact that it was the same kind they always exchanged after he had won one of their impromptu races.

After a small pause of recognition of their 'usual' fun, both of the ghosts laughed with amusement.

Johnny was the first to calm and said, "Hey, little man, speaking of 'tomorrow', we had better get onto those plans against the _Wraiths._"

The older biker ghost motioned with his head for Danny to dismount and follow him to the nearby large boulder.

Danny quickly followed him, but as he drew nearer, he stifled a gasp. The 'boulder' suddenly 'became' a little black house. It had blended so perfectly into the black boulder and shelf—as if they were one when they were each separate—that if you weren't looking for it or paying attention, you wouldn't have noticed it at all.

Once again, the teen was glad he had lagged behind Johnny 13 because he couldn't see any resemblance of any type of door or way to get into the place.

But no sooner had Johnny 13 reached the place when he turned a small black stone atop a larger black stone that abutted the boulder. Instantly, a door pulled itself quickly upward, opening like a rolling garage door, only, it moved completely in silence.

"After you, bro!" Johnny smirked as he feigned a bow and pointed the way.

Danny smirked back and sauntered in. But as soon as he entered the doorway, he hitched in an awed gasp.

This place was _way_ larger than what the boulder they entered had implied. And it was very homey, too, with very comfortable-looking furniture. It even had a fireplace, which already had a cheery fire waving at him with its red, yellow and blue fingers.

Danny spied a nearby couch with a coffee table in front of it, and sat down.

Meanwhile, Johnny 13 went up to a small desk and pulled out a few pencils and a large sheet of clean paper, all the while saying, "Now it's time we get to work with our plans, little man. We need to rid the Ghost Zone of the _Wraiths_!"

He quickly came over to Danny and sat down next to him, spreading the paper out on the coffee table in front of them.

However, suddenly, Danny's throat constricted at seeing that large white paper. It was as if it had transferred all of its blankness to his mind, wiping it clean of any semblance of a plan on how they were going to defeat the _Wraiths_. He swallowed hard, trying not to panic, especially since Johnny was depending on him.

But the older ghost had already seen the change in his younger brother's face and knew that the boy was clueless on how to start.

With a smirk, Johnny almost flippantly said, "Hey, little man, before you reveal your masterful plans to me, how about telling your old man bro everything that happened after you got into the _Wraith's_ territory? I mean, before now, we have never been able to have any Skull return so as to know."

He ended his remark with an assuring wink, encouraging his brother to take it slow and easy, so that any plan that Danny came up with would be a well-thought out one rather than one that he would rush out in desperation.

"Yeah. Sure. Sure, Johnny," Danny squeaked out with a weak smile, not meaning to sound so nervous—even if he was.

But then, the teen momentarily closed his eyes and cleared his throat, hoping that would clear his mind and help him remember all about the Wraith's territory—and, more importantly—their lair.

Finally, Danny was able to center his thoughts on this one task. But then, he felt a slight pressure behind his ear again; and, odd as it really seemed to him, he was finally able to remember….

"First of all," Danny began, "I didn't try to penetrate the _Wraith's_ territory using that main path of theirs. It was way too obvious and was meant to invite unsuspecting victims in—but not out, of course. And even though the way I decided to go was by itself kinda dangerous, that is exactly why I took it."

Johnny's face grew serious as he listened intently as his brother continued.

"I figured that the _Wraiths _wouldn't expect anyone to take the swamp."

"The swamp?!" Johnny echoed with a gasp. "But…but…," he continued, only to stop. His little brother's 'cred' just went up a few notches. After all, the swamp was more than 'kinda dangerous'. It was _deadly_, which was why the _Wraiths_ didn't patrol it at all.

Danny looked at his brother, waiting until he was sure that the older ghost wanted him to continue. And after getting a silent nod of approval, Danny said, "I didn't take going into the swamp lightly, you know. In fact, in some ways I regretted going through it and in some ways I think it was perfect."

"How?" the tow-head ghost then interrupted, suddenly anxious to know all about it.

"Well, at first, there was nothing to it, and I thought that maybe all of those rumors that the swamp was…well, deadly…were untrue. Like maybe the _Wraiths_ made it up on purpose to keep others out, you know?"

Johnny 13 silently nodded his head in acknowledgement; and then nodded for the boy to continue.

"And, in fact," Danny said in return, "I found a very tiny path of dry ground and figured that maybe the _Wraiths_ used it to sneak _out_ of their territory. So, of course, I followed it. And like I said, there was nothing to it at first—well, of course, except for maybe that the path was surrounded by some smelly, green, glowing swamp-like goo."

Danny paused a bit, trying to search his foggy memory. He then chuckled nervously and rubbed the side of his head before saying, "Sorry, bro, but maybe that blow to my head was worse than both of us thought—Oh! Now I remember!"

He cleared his throat a bit again before he continued. "I had gone into the swamp about maybe a couple of hundred yards or so when the path split into two. I decide to go to the right because, gee, I had to take one way or the other! But then, I hadn't gone several more yards again when I saw a strange green stick-like thing pushed itself out right in the walkway right in front of me. Of course, I jolted to a stop and watched it in worry. And for good reason. The top of it became some kind of green bubble and then that bubble grew bigger and bigger. But there was more…"

He looked at the older ghost and Johnny's eyes had widened. Still, the boy went on with his story.

"I could _hear _it as it grew. And that sound was awful! Like…well, maybe like rubber stretching around water boiling all at once. And then, I could see _something inside_ the bubble as it grew and thinned out! And it was _glowing and moving_! And then, even as I was watching that with awe and dread, another, and then another stick-and-bubble-like thing came out nearby. And then, there were even more ahead and all around me!"

Johnny 13 gasped a bit, but then he smiled in embarrassment and weakly said, "Go on!"

Danny smirked before saying, "And just when I had decided to stop and go back, that first bubble _popped _and threw all what was inside of it at me! But I was able to jump away just in time! And good thing that I did, too, because some kind of green, icky goo that had come from the bubble burned a hole right at the place I had just been at! And the smell of the stuff was awful and its fumes nearly choked me. And it actually sizzled as it burned the hole!"

"Ecto-acid plants!" Johnny said with a slight shudder. "They are activated by vibration. So, anyone walking down that path would just get them all to quickly bloom and burst! But go on, bro!"

"Really?" Danny asked in surprise. He had no idea about that. Still, he continued, "Then that would make sense... And then I thought I was done for because of all the other bubbles that were around me. But then, I noticed that each of them grew bigger and bigger _one-at-a-time_ and not all at once! So, that meant, I had _time_ to avoid them! Still, I wasn't able to go ahead on the trail because I could see that the bigger plants were that way. So, I went back and as long as I kept my eyes opened and made sure I stayed near the smaller plants, I was able to avoid any more 'ripe' ecto-acid plants until I was out of there."

Danny stopped a moment and then huffed in jest, "Just like the luck of the 'Thirteens' to take the wrong way the first time!"

"Well, you know us!" Johnny said with a smirk and a short shrug.

"Yeah," Danny replied, before frowning. Somehow, that weird feeling that none of this was right bubbled up from his brain again. Still, he shrugged it off and continued with his story. "Like I said, I went back to that split in the path and went to the left this time. And the good news was that the path became wider. But the bad news was that right after it got wider, there was a huge black cloud that came straight for me! But when it got nearer, I could see that it wasn't a cloud, but a swarm of flying bugs and each and every one of them was the size of my hands!"

Johnny 13's eyes widened again and he squelched his gasp this time.

Danny smiled weakly at his brother's response but still said, "I knew I couldn't use any of my ectoplasmic or even my ice energy because they would make a lot of noise, and the _Wraiths_ could hear me. Besides, if I missed and the rays charged out of the swamp, that would have alerted the _Wraith_s right away, too. So, since those bugs were definitely way big enough, I just either hit them or kicked them or used my trusty 'knives' to fight them!"

The boy emphasized his point right at that moment by willing out his _wulf claws _and waving them a bit before smirking, "My 'knives' were definitely the better choice; and after slicing and dicing a few of the bugs, that was enough to scare the others away!"

"Cool power there, lil' bro! Wish I had 'em!" Johnny remarked with a knowing smile.

But Danny frowned when he suddenly wondered why Johnny didn't have _wulf claw_ powers. Then he remembered. Oh, yeah. Johnny hadn't been turned into a werewulf like he had once. That would explain it.

The young hybrid paused with uncertainty again. How did he know he had once been a werewulf?

Still, Danny's mind then drifted back to his original story. And he hadn't finished it, yet. So, he said, "Anyway, like I said before, Johnny, I think that the trail in the swamp is sturdy and wide enough that I think it will easily support our bikes and us. But, we'll have to keep them turned off and push them so that we can move through the swamp as silently as possible, since it would be impossible to get the bikes to go that slow on that jagged path if they were on. Also, there were areas that had been flooded at times because the pathway was slippery there and sloped downward and led to some sort of hole. I could just see a few of the _Skulls_ ending up in that hole, too, if they were riding on instead of pushing their bikes. But I still think we'll get our bikes through without any problem…Now, I need to tell you about some more stuff that we need to be careful about."

Johnny 13 smiled in satisfaction and replied. "Yeah, but could ya hold that thought a minute, bro? I would like to start a sketch of it all so that we get some sort of map."

"Okay," Danny replied as he picked up the nearby pencil and began to sketch a rough map.

After a quick explanation, the teen first drew three circles, which represented the actual stones that he had laid out to form a triangle to mark the place where he had first entered the swamp. Then he added the trail and its approximate length, including adding representations of the ecto-acid producing plants and other things.

Johnny quickly joined in and added notes to various areas as the boy continued to sketch and talk.

"Like I told you, there were some large pits along the pathway about here," Danny calmly began as he drew the pits onto the paper. "Some were very deep and others weren't that deep at all. But in those shallower holes, I could see that they had some snakes in them. But the good news is that when I passed them, they didn't seem to be bothered by me. At least, that's what I thought at first—until I got too close to the edge of the path while scanning the area instead of watching the path. My foot slipped off the path and into the muck and _all_ _of_ those snakes bolted out of their lairs like lightening. I pulled my foot out right away and scrambled back onto the path just in time! And it's a good thing I pulled my foot out when I did because they struck right where the indention where my foot used to be. But thank goodness they didn't try to come up onto the path….So, I think if we stay strictly on the path, they won't bother us at all."

Danny looked up briefly at the older ghost and after getting a nod of approval, he continued, "Oh. And there were other, larger pits in this general area."

He sketched to where he was referring.

"But these seemed to act like some sort of drain for the more soaked parts of the swamp because there were tiny streams feeding into them and each of them had a little whirlpool in them. I didn't see anything else about them. They didn't have any animals in them…and, oh. Speaking of animals, there were a lot of them in the swamp. But none of them were that big. And most of them were as curious about me as I was to them. But they left me alone for the most part. I guess that no ghost has gone into that swamp for so long that they didn't know what to make of me."

The teen looked back up at Johnny 13 and added with a smirk, "But I did have a couple of bigger animals that actually challenged me. And after I held my ground and met their threat with all ten of my own—heh-heh, if you know what I mean—they quickly got the point."

Johnny 13 rolled his eyes and groaned at his little brother's intentional pun.

Danny chuckled a little and added, "So, it sounds as if we can use the swamp without a problem as long as we stick to the path."

"And take _plenty_ of weapons with us," Johnny added with a slightly wicked smile. "That will do the job for sure!"

For some reason, Danny frowned in both confusion and worry at the last thing that Johnny had said. And suddenly, he blurted out his next impulsive thought, "Johnny, just why are we fighting with the Wraiths?"

The older ghost paused a moment before replying, "Ya know. I don't know, really. We just are. I guess it's simply because there's nothing else better for us to do."

"Oh," Danny said with another frown. That was stupid. But then, he quickly shrugged the thought off.

And before he could go on, the tow-haired ghost asked, "Hey, do you think the Wraiths saw or heard you while you were in the swamp?"

"I don't think so," was Danny's initial reply before he added, "I mean, I guess they didn't because don't ya think I would've been captured in the swamp, uh, which I wasn't."

Johnny 13 blushed a bit and remarked, "Duh. Right. Uh, go on."

Danny smirked and said, "Well, once I made my way out of the swamp, I headed into their territory. I stayed off the path as much as I could but not far enough that I couldn't use it as my guide. I stayed behind as many boulders or bushes that I could find along the way. And, heh-heh, lucky thing that I did, 'cause they helped when I had a couple of close calls. But I was luckier that I had my ghost sense or else I wouldn't have stood a chance of not getting discovered or caught, then."

"Yeah, that's another cool power of yours that I wished I had, lil' bro," Johnny piped in.

Danny weakly smiled at his comment; but then suddenly, he wondered again why his older brother didn't have a ghost sense…like his other power. Still, he shrugged it off again as he continued, "Anyhow, I could tell I was nearing the lair because it was getting harder and harder to hide. But then, I saw a large semi-circle of a lot of very large boulders floating upon shelves just big enough to hold them just ahead. Fortunately, there were a lot of little boulders before them and I was able to dart to them without being seen."

"Yeah, another thing you're good at…being quick!" Johnny interrupted with a teasing voice.

Danny smiled a bit again, but didn't want to even dwell on why he was better than Johnny in _a lot_ of things. Still, he replied, "And a good thing that I am, too, bro. I had to find the lair and get out of there as soon as I could. And I hoped this was the sign I was near it. Once I got behind one of those boulders, I peered ahead. And then, I saw it!"

The teen grinned slightly at the memory of that very important discovery for his brother and their gang. He then continued, "I knew this had to be the liar. There was a floating large black platform on the other side of that semi-circle of boulders. And upon that platform were only two things. One of them was a large black marker that looked like a tombstone. And then I saw a reflection upon it that slowly melded into that wet, oozing red handwriting that is everywhere in the Wraith territory, the one that reads _Wraith Brotherhood_. But I was absolutely sure this was the lair when I saw Razilo sitting against that tombstone, as if that were the back of his throne. And the base of the shelf was surrounded by a lot of Wraiths."

Johnny 13 unconsciously swallowed hard in both relief and anticipation upon hearing Danny's report. He was relieved that his brother had, of course, escaped to tell the tale, but that he had taken such a risk in the first place. Still, he kept quiet as Danny continued.

"I checked out what I could without being seen. They seemed to be very confident in their security because I didn't see any extra fortification or anything like that. So, looks like to me that they would be very easy to take by surprise. And getting in will be a cinch. However, as you know, getting _out_ wasn't so easy because someone finally spotted me. And as you also know, I had to fight my way out, and could, thanks to my wulf claws again!"

"Yeah," Johnny agreed, "You did good on all accounts, too, bro! Especially since we _won't_ be worried about sneaking out once we take out all the Wraiths good—once and for all!

Danny smiled weakly at his brother's enthusiasm even as, somehow, it didn't feel right again. Maybe he hadn't fully recovered from that head blow after all to even give an inkling of a thought to the idea that it was wrong to want to destroy the Wraiths. But then, he quickly shook the uncomfortable idea away.

A slight pause volleyed between the two brothers before Johnny 13 brightened and announced, "Well, then, that's it, lil' man! We'll just retrace your steps into the Wraiths' territory and then once we have met up at its edge of the swamp, we'll tear out of it and take them by surprise!"

"But the heart of the lair is far enough from the swamp that they'll hear us coming way before we get there, even with the speed of our bikes," Danny protested with a worried frown.

"But we can't hope to beat the Wraiths without our cavalry," the older ghost countered with his own frown before grabbing his chin in concentration.

Another, much longer pause filled the air as Danny studied the slight twist of concentration in his older brother's face.

But then, Danny brightened with a sudden idea. "You know, we can have our cake and eat it, too, Johnny. We can sneak through the swamp and then use a lot of those large boulders I told you about to shield us and our bikes. In fact, all of those boulders just around the lair will be perfect! Once we sneak behind them, we can charge at the Wraiths from there! And we can secretly station a Skull and his bike behind each boulder until we're all set!"

Johnny frowned even more after considering his brother's plan. But he didn't agree right away as he said, "But won't the Wraiths see us while we're setting up the charging line?"

"Not if we time it right," Danny replied with a confident smile. "I got the real impression that the Wraiths are more time-conscious than we thought. In fact, I heard Razilo praise them and how he could depend on them on being on-time. So, doncha think that we can guess that all of their meet-ups are a regular thing with them? And that they will be on-time? And once the Wraiths are all together, and we finish sneaking up on them behind those boulders surrounding the lair, we can pounce on all of them all at once?"

The tow-head ghost's brow furrowed a bit more, mulling over the plan. He still didn't like the idea of having to use their bikes so late in the game, but it did seem to be the best option, well, especially since he had never had _any _information about _inside_ the Wraith territory before now.

Danny, meanwhile, bit his lower lip. Why was Johnny taking so long to decide about this? But just before he was about to say something, his brother finally spoke up.

"Okay, bro. The plan's a bit shaky, but since you have the best—and only—inside info about the Wraiths, let's go for it. And we'll lay out the plan to the gang tonight. I want to get this done as soon as possible. I've been waiting way too long to get those Wraiths!"

Danny smiled in triumph this time and reached out to 'high five' his brother as he said, "You won't regret this, bro!"

After 'high-fiving' Danny back, Johnny said with a tease, "I can taste the victory already, lil' man! So, let's rest up so we'll be ready, okay? He ended his comment with a warm smile and quickly scuffled Danny's white hair.

Danny immediately pulled away and grunted in protest before he quickly wiped his hair down with one of his hands and then took a fighting stance.

Johnny 13 just as quickly raised up both of his fisted hands to his chest level in a similar threatening matter before both of the brothers busted out laughing and swatted affectionately at each other. They then retired to their respective rooms to rest until that night.

* * *

><p>Danny blinked himself awake. He threw his arms up into a stretch as he yawned himself fully awake.<p>

Then he did a double-take when he spied the clock. It was already the next day! Today was the big day….the day the _Skulls_ would finally defeat the _Wraiths_!

But…but…

The teen threw himself out of bed and hurried out to the common area of the lair.

His brother was nowhere in sight. But from the amount of used dishes and pans, it was obvious that Johnny 13 had been up much, much earlier than he.

Suddenly, a voice behind him said, "Had enough 'beauty sleep', lil' bro?"

Danny whirled around and frowned at his brother's smirking face.

"Yeah, though with how ugly you are, you could've used more!" Danny quipped back before adding with a little bit of annoyance, "And why didn't you wake me up last night to go over the plans for today with the gang?"

Johnny frowned a bit and shook his hands in front of him in surrender before saying, "Hey, there, lil' man, hold on! I tried, but, hey, you must have been still beat from the last encounter with the Wraiths more than we both thought, because you didn't so much as mumble any objections when I did try to wake you. So, I let you sleep and told the gang the plan myself. That way, you'll be ready for today. Uh, you are ready, aren't ya?"

"More than ready, bro!" Danny replied.

This time Johnny smiled, very pleased that his little brother seemed to have fully recovered. "Okay, then, let's get going!" he announced with glee.

The two quickly got their bikes.

Johnny 13's bike was already laden with all sorts of weapons: chains, maces and nunchuck-like devices.

Danny's bike, however, had none of that gear. After all, he already had plenty of 'weapons' ready: his own ice and ectoplasmic powers, his wulf claws and Ghostly Wail, and his ability to replicate and fly at super-speed to be precise. And he hoped he wouldn't be needing his healing powers during this attack.

Just the same, the two brothers wasted no time and headed to meet up with the rest of the _Skulls._

And, finally, they were there…

"Okay, dudes, listen up," Johnny loudly commanded once he and Danny had reached the front of the entire assembly of Skulls. "Remember, this is for real. All those times we trained will now pay off."

He smirked at Danny before continuing with a darker tone of voice, "You know the plan. And we won't be able to be together again until we're at the heart of the _Wraiths_' lair. Heh-heh. And when we are there, we will squeeze each of their own spectral hearts until they are a quivering mass in our hands!"

He paused at the huge uproar of approval that suddenly shot up into the air.

But for some reason, Johnny 13's words shot dread into Danny's own central core.

Nevertheless, after the din quelled a bit, Johnny stoked it some more, "Are all the Skulls ready?"

Another cry of battle echoed as all of the Skulls hopped onto their motorcycles, revving them up in anticipation.

Once Johnny and Danny had given the signal, they all roared off, many of them—including Johnny and Danny—at first jerking their handle bars back until their front wheels were in mid-air above their heads as the back wheel spun in smoke, not unlike a horse rearing up before it starts its gallop.

With Johnny and Danny leading the pack, they soared toward the secret area marked by Danny that would lead them to their penetration into the swamp.

As they charged forward, Danny could feel the wind wildly comb his hair even as its whistle in his ears harmonized perfectly with the restless flapping of his open black coat and the roar of the Skulls' motorcycles.

However, as they neared where he had been before, the boy suddenly felt as if the wind grew angrier and hotter. But he shook it away. It was just his being anxious to get to battle.

Finally, the thick row of glowing trees just ahead looked familiar. Danny opened the throttle on his bike, anticipating to surge ahead.

Johnny 13 heard the change in the rhythm of his little brother's bike and catching Danny's eye, nodded to him.

Danny immediately surged ahead, swiftly scanning for the marker he had left the last time he was here.

However, for a moment, he was unsure. Had he been here after all? And, for that matter, why was he even here? Panic suddenly seized him. But before he could fully give into the tightening in his stomach, he spied the triangular marker rapidly looming dead ahead.

Timing it just right, Danny quickly put on the brakes and cut the throttle of his motorcycle while at the same time yanking the handle bars to the right and leaning heavily to the left to counter the move. And just as he had planned, he successfully skidded sideways until the motorcycle came to a rest exactly at the marker.

The teen smiled when Johnny 13 and the other Skulls followed his lead. They all guided their own bikes into a similar silent slide until they all ended up near where the boy was.

Once they were all assembled, they all dismounted. And one-by-one, they pushed their bikes behind Danny and Johnny 13 as they entered the swamp.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the Skulls carefully and noiselessly made their way through the quagmire. Each Skull kept mute, careful to step practically within the same footsteps and tire tracks that the one ahead of them had made. That way, not only would it hide their numbers, but also they would stay on the path and avoid any unwanted creatures or features of the foreboding marsh.

Frightened animals scampered out the way this time rather than challenge such an impressive force of these large, silent animals.

Finally, the Skulls reached the edge of the fen. As silently as they had gone through the swamp, they stealthily lined up along the edge of it.

Johnny 13 mentally checked all the positions of each Skull, making sure they were lined up all according to plan. That is, the forward line would be made up of the strongest Skulls with any weaker ones in the rear. Once he was satisfied, he nodded in approval.

But then, suddenly, much to Danny's surprise….

Johnny 13 yelled out, "You all know what to do! Mount up and let's go!"

The roar of every Skull's motorcycle except Danny's drowned out the boy's own protesting yell of 'NO!' at his brother's change of plans.

But then, Johnny 13 was just as suddenly at his side. With a mischievous grin, the biker ghost leader whipped out a nunchuck-like weapon and charged it with his green ectoplasmic energy. He then hurriedly said, "Sorry for the change in plans, lil' bro'. But you should know me well enough to know that I prefer a grand entrance than a sneaky one! Our bikes will overwhelm the _Wraiths_!"

He revved ups his bike even louder before it and he as one unit jerked away from Danny, leaving the boy in a cloud of ecto-dust and shock.

But that was not all. The other _Skulls_ raced after their leader, the loud roar of their bikes sending echoes of terror ahead of them.

Danny could not believe what was happening! His throat and central core tightened in dread at what he felt was an ill-conceived turn of events!

Still, the teen managed to muster his grit and quickly started his own bike, its engine screaming in protest and fear even before he had totally mounted it. And at first, its body wobbled as madly as the teen's mind at what would be in store for his brother and their gang. Somehow, he couldn't shake the idea that something awful was about to happen. He had to stop them!

Finally, the bike and he were balanced as one and he poured on more speed. Even so, he was still too far behind the leader.

In desperation, Danny concentrated, and an aura of greenish-white energy surrounded him and his bike. Suddenly, the motorcycle was in overdrive, compliments of Danny's supersonic power. And in hardly a moment, it quickly began to overtake the Skulls as Danny urged it to reach the leader.

And he was not to be disappointed.

He could see Johnny just ahead with only a few Skulls between his brother and him. But then, just as he commanded to dispel his supersonic power, he saw blue and green blurs suddenly flank the few Skulls just in front of him. And in the next instant, there were puffs of blue and green smoke engulfing those Skulls before they disappeared within it!

Their motorcycles, suddenly without riders, veered wildly before plowing into other nearby mounted Skulls, which in turn were shoved away from the foray before going out of control themselves.

Danny gasped at the ruckus but still concentrated on reaching his brother. But then, he saw two sets of Wraiths flying in the distance. And they seemed to be headed straight for Johnny, as if they were meaning to squash him between them!

The teen urged more speed out of his bike, but could see that he wasn't going to reach them in time since his bike in the end was weighing him down…Weighing him down! That was it!

Danny gritted his teeth in determination and concentrated, this time pouring his supersonic energy entirely into his motorcycle.

And just when the greenish-white glow was at what he felt was its threshold since the bike was bucking under him, Danny yanked the handlebars down hard to the left while pulling his whole body down and to the left as well, as if he were wrestling a young bull by its horns to the ground.

Holding it with all his might, he thrust even more energy into it and gave it one last hard yank before it shot out from under him.

That last jerk and jolt of his supersonic power sent the motorcycle into a wild spin as it charged forward. A moment later and it was spinning like a very large boomerang toward its targets. And Danny's aim was true because his loose canon of a motorcycle struck one of the set of Wraiths to the right of Johnny 13, plowing them down as if they were bowling pins and putting them right out of commission.

But the whirling motorcycle didn't slow its momentum as it then curved to the left and momentarily in front of Johnny 13, who gasped and let up on his accelerator trying to avoid the large grey and green blur that then arced away toward his left in the next moment.

This time, the biker ghost's eyes reflexively skirted toward that blur and then widened when he finally saw several dozen Wraiths closing in from his left.

But that was not all that was closing in. He could see that grey and green whirl of motion smash right into that Wraith crowd, knocking them helter-skelter.

Now, Johnny 13 and the rest of the Skulls' path was clear once more!

"C'mon!" Johnny shouted, encouraging his gang to continue in their attack.

"We're almost there!" he cried out again when he spied the large semi-circle of boulders just ahead. He could just feel the heart of the lair beating!

Meanwhile, Danny breathed a slight sigh of relief as he watched his motorcycle-boomerang run down all the Wraiths near his brother. But then, he readied himself when he could see that his motorcycle was finally—and _very_ rapidly— headed right back to him!

He instantly charged up an ecto-energy ball and threw it at the bike, knocking its momentum right out of it. It finally glided to a stop right in front of him. But when he grabbed it and looked around, he noticed that he was the _only_ ghost in the area!

And that it was _dead_ silent!

In fact, the only 'company' he had was a bunch of waywardly floating motorcycles without their ghostly riders.

"_Oh, no_!" he immediately thought with dread as he left his bike behind and headed in the direction that should take him to the lair. But then, _why_ _was it_ that he was alone and not being swarmed by the Wraiths? Well, maybe he shouldn't try to think about it too much, since he wouldn't have wanted to be fighting a bunch of them right now anyways. Still, he was worried about Johnny and the other Skulls.

The boy scanned the area as he flew onward and finally spied the semi-circle of boulders a few hundred feet ahead. That meant that he was very close to the center of the lair! But then, why weren't there any Wraiths—or Skulls—around?

All of the sudden, his ghost sense was suddenly activated…

But it was too late!

Before Danny could prepare for any attack, two tough-looking Wraiths suddenly emerged from their small clouds of smoke and were right at his side. They immediately clamped down on his wrists and pulled his arms down and behind him before plowing their free fists into Danny's abdomen, knocking the wind out of him.

In the next instant, the boy felt pressure not only from the lack of oxygen, but also from the outside in as he was being teleported by the two Wraiths.

And in less than a heartbeat later, Danny, still held firm by those same Wraith goons, was panting and looking Razilo right in his eyes on top of the floating shelf. He was also surrounded by still other Wraiths.

"Well, well, well," the Wraith leader said with tight lips, brandishing his flaming blue hand-turned-rapier at the teen. "If it isn't the little creep that had managed to get out of our hold. Hmph. So who will ever know that? The other Skulls are history and he's only a blight in our Wraith record that is about to be erased—permanently!"

The teen instantly resisted but before he could concentrate on using his full strength, a weakened, panicked and _very familiar_ voice cried out, distracting his efforts for the moment.

Danny looked to where the pained 'No!' had come from and saw Johnny 13 crumbled and beaten at the feet of Razilo. And it looked as if the boy must have interrupted the Wraith leader, who had his blue hand-turned-blade out and was posed to striking Johnny with it had it not been for the young hybrid's arrival and Johnny 13's cry of alarm.

That was all Danny needed to see.

The teen concentrated and his entire body glowed a fierce blue, instantly freezing his captors before that aura rippled into green and he replicated into four of himself. Two of his duplicates grabbed and flung off the two frozen Wraiths to his left and right, making sure that he threw them into the other Wraiths waiting below. The weight of the frozen Wraiths was as boulders as they plowed down several of their cohorts.

And because the teen was so fast, he and his replicas made a beeline to Razilo, their eyes narrowed and fisted hands glowing in green ire.

But just before all the Dannys were upon the leader of the Wraiths, Razilo had pulled Johnny 13 up by the hair and was raising his long rapier to the older biker ghost's throat. Tightening his hold on Johnny, Razilo hissed, "Any closer, punk, and your bro is toast!"

But the Dannys didn't stop; and in one clean jerk of their sizzling hands, shot Razilo's glowing blue sword, shattering it to pieces without so much as causing Johnny to flinch.

Johnny 13 smiled weakly when he felt the Wraith leader unwittingly release him and heard his painful cry even as the biker ghost fell back to the ground.

But a moment later, Razilo yelled even more when he was being pummeled by Danny's four sets of fists.

However, since the Dannys were so focused upon thrusting their anger into Razilo, they didn't notice all the other Wraiths closing in.

"Danny, watch out!" Johnny managed to yell out in warning, since he was still unable to get up. However, as soon as he had yelled out, two of the Wraiths had hit Johnny again.

All four Dannys heard his brother's warning and momentarily jerked their heads toward the voice in time to see Johnny get attacked again.

"No! Leave him alone!" the original Danny cried in defiance, letting the incapacitated Wraith leader slump to the ground as he and his duplicates took rapid flight toward where his brother lay.

The teen foursome immediately opened fire, their strong green energy completely repelling any Wraith near the downed older biker ghost or in the immediate vicinity.

Unfortunately, however, in the split second before he was driven back, one of the last Wraiths near Johnny had pulled out a glowing red knife and plunged it into Johnny's central core!

Johnny's and Danny's screams melded together, both in their own kind of pain even as Danny's ray finally made contact and thrust the aggressor away.

With tears already in his eyes, Danny and his duplicates renewed their attack on the remaining Wraiths until all had fled the scene, leaving only Danny, his brother and the unconscious Wraith leader on the floating shelf.

Danny quickly willed the re-absorption of all of his duplicates and soared over to his brother's side. He scooped him gently into his arms, unashamed by the tears already streaming down his cheeks as he looked at the blade still cradled in Johnny's bosom.

"Sorry…lil' man…" Johnny began, choking out the words between his painful pants. "You know…the bad luck of the Thirteens…We should have used your…plan…"

"Don't talk, Johnny. Let me get you out of here," Danny pleaded, blinking away even more tears.

Nevertheless, the boy managed to turn the red knife intangible and removed it from the older ghost. But green ectoplasm was leaking heavily from the wound.

"No, Danny, let me tell you!" Johnny insisted, though he was struggling to sound serious. "The Wraiths were more than ready for us. Razilo told me that he just recently recruited ghosts who could teleport. A rarity among ghosts as we all know. But he managed to find and train them and they led the waves of attack. We didn't stand a chance as loud as we were in giving away our positions!"

"I don't care about all that," Danny said, his voice quivering. "I have to get you out of here!"

"No, lil' bro, I don't think there's anything you can do for me," Johnny 13 said, coughing more on his words.

Danny couldn't believe this was happening! Yet, even in his shock, he felt a sudden fever surge within. He would make Razilo and all the Wraiths pay for what they did!

No.

He couldn't feel that way. That was so….wait a minute! His fever was suddenly cooled with an inkling of hope…He had…healing powers!

He smiled with that hope as he closed his eyes and concentrated.

But before he could activate his power, he felt himself being roughly jerked upward and away from his brother.

It was Razilo!

The _Wraith_ leader instantly plowed his fist into the teen, bowling him over.

A moment later, large puffs of smoke appeared to the sides and front of Danny before solidifying into several _Wraiths_ who grabbed and shoved the boy to the ground. And as some of them held him, others kicked Danny where he lay.

Danny held in his urge to yell out with the pain during the brutal attack until he felt his ghostly ribs crack under the assault. And after that, he could barely utter a whimper with the wind having been knocked out of him as well. Still, he had to concentrate…

He struggled to pull himself up even as he resisted the blows, mustering his grit to take in breath for his Ghostly Wail. But he fell back in pain when his broken ribs screamed in protest at his attempt. Even then, he wasn't about to give up.

But cruel arms pulled him to a kneel and yanked his head back just as a harsh voice pulled him away from his thoughts, "Like I told you, punk, now that you dared to lay a hand on me again, your brother is toast!"

The blue-skinned Wraith leader pulled the barely conscious Skulls' leader upward before he turned and glared at Danny. With hatred lacing his voice, Razilo growled, "Your last thought will be that this was all your fault that the Skulls, Johnny 13 and you are now history!"

Danny's eyes widened when Razilo pulled up his newly regenerated and glowing blue hand-turned-blade again. Somehow, the boy could smell the blade's angry smoke from where he was. And for some inexplicable reason the boy was also feeling heat and vibration around his entire head and pain behind his left ear with his mounting emotions at the terrorizing scene.

And just when Razilo brandished his blade toward Johnny 13 again, Danny pulled against his bonds and screamed with all his being, "Don't you dare touch him or else…!"

But Razilo stabbed the biker just the same and…

With the cruel _thwacking_ sound still ringing in his ears, Danny woke up screaming, "I'm _gonna __**kill**_ you!"

* * *

><p>"Get everything under control, Maddie!" Vlad yelled over the screaming alarms that were set off by what had just happened.<p>

The hologram didn't answer him right away since she was busy pushing buttons with incredible speed.

Finally, the alarms were gagged and all was still.

"Good. Good on all counts, Maddie," Vlad said, his voice steady even if his brow was furrowed in a bit of chagrin.

That was another close call! But for now, he was relieved that Maddie had disengaged the Sleeping Helmet just in time to keep it from being shattered by Danny's unexpectedly waking up with such force.

Still, there was more to this outcome. The beginning of this program didn't go as he had expected. He had thought that Daniel and the biker ghosts were enemies and that the boy would have reacted differently if he had thought they were 'brothers'. Instead, Daniel didn't seem at all bothered by that. So, Vlad had Maddie change the second half so that it would appear that Johnny 13 had betrayed the boy's trust. But even that didn't make Daniel turn against the biker ghost.

Then he thought for sure that if he had made sure to destroy that ghost—even in a dream—that wouldn't affect the boy as it did…On top of that, he had thought that having Razilo blame Daniel for all of the disaster would chip a good chunk out of the boy's infernal 'hero complex.' But even that didn't faze the boy as much as what had happened to the biker ghost. Vlad didn't understand that, but really, there was nothing he could do about that now…

And then, there was this last part where Daniel had almost destroyed the Subliminal Helmet with his unexpected awakening. For some reason, Vlad was quite disconcerted over the words that the roused boy had screamed out. Somehow, the man could still feel the sting of their hate-filled echo penetrating his very bones. He shuddered a bit at the emotion.

Even still, the man turned away from his computer's hologram and glanced back through the viewing window at the now sweating, weeping boy lying on the cold, black ground. Obviously, the intensity of that computer-generated dream was too much for Daniel.

Perhaps the boy was finally reaching his limit in the battle of wills. Perhaps, he could now finally get Daniel under his control.

Still…he had to be sure…

After several minutes, the man was still not satisfied. The boy had yet to calm down.

And indeed, that was true.

Even though Danny now knew that he had had a very intense nightmare—or, at least, he hoped it had been a very intense nightmare—he was still shaking and crying as a result of it. It just was so…real…Maybe it wasn't a dream? But, it just _had_ to be…He didn't want to be put through the emotional pain of losing a friend again. And there was even more that was upsetting him. He didn't like those feelings of…hate…that had practically overwhelmed him. They were _so_ real. Even now, he could still feel his central core burning with the emotion.

Still, the teen was clinging to the thought that it was only a dream as he struggled to get a hold of himself. He glanced down and caught sight of his black-and-white costume and unconsciously sighed a bit in relief. It _had_ to be dream since he wasn't wearing what he had been wearing…then. Still, Danny was still panting with all the emotions bombarding his senses and had not moved from where he was lying.

All the while, Vlad bit his lower lip in concern at the sight. Could it be that Daniel had reached that emotional chaos he had been hoping to stir?

But in the next moment, he was pulled from his thoughts.

"Sir?" Maddie the computer said. "I detect a problem."

"Problem?" Vlad repeated in confusion as he turned toward the solid projection. He had been expecting her to confirm his triumph in breaking the boy.

"The microchip embedded behind your test subject's ear has suffered a slight short-circuit from the sparks that had formed around the Subliminal Helmet just before I managed to deactivate it," she reported without any inflections in her voice, even as she still continued to push a lot of command keys. "Not only that, but the Subliminal Helmet suffered slight damage as well."

"How serious?" the man queried.

"Enough that the test subject will have to be placed into _delta_ sleep until the diagnostics and repairs on the microchip and Subliminal Helmet can be initiated," she replied.

"Will you still be able to put Daniel into _delta_ sleep and maintain him there while you work on the microchip and helmet?" he asked with a bit concern.

"Yes, the damages are relatively minor. Only as small section of the microchip has been short circuited; and a couple of wires were destroyed in the helmet. Even though repairing them will be a delicate process, it will still be relatively easy in light of these kinds of things. But it must be done as soon as possible or else the overall purpose of these tools might not aid you in your Master Plan 285," the computer said.

Vlad paused. Maybe they wouldn't have to do that if Daniel had reached his breaking point. He quickly added, "But what about Daniel's status? Has he reached his mental limits? Have we broken him?"

"Negative," the hologram confirmed without any hesitation or emotion. "His stress factors are high, but they are not outside the norm for what he believed he experienced….Shall I precede with the complete diagnostics and repairs, sir?"

"How long will it take?" Vlad asked, now disappointed with the news.

"About twelve hours, sir," she replied. She paused slightly as her internal clock alerted her. "That should give you time to prepare for and then complete your rescheduled ceremony."

The billionaire paused again before he turned and looked out of the control room's window. The boy was still lying down. And the man could tell that he hadn't gotten his emotions under control yet.

Vlad frowned. He wouldn't have thought that the boy would be so upset about the destruction of one of his enemies…He didn't know what that meant, but he didn't care. Maybe this was serendipity once again. He had been worried that starting the second part of his plan might interfere with these more important plans to break Daniel. But now, he had the chance to put Daniel 'on hold' until the ceremony was complete. Good. He finally said, "Yes, my dear. Proceed."

Meanwhile, Danny was still distraught over what happened, especially since he still wasn't really sure if it was a nightmare or not.

However, all of the sudden, he felt woozy, as if he might pass out…

In some ways, he was glad to give into the blackness trying to envelope his mind, the _delta_ sleep into which Vlad had commanded Maddie to put the boy. He didn't want to think about that nightmare anymore.

Even still, just before he fell unconscious, the boy couldn't help but whimper a plea, "Please…let it be a dream and that Justeco didn't just let Johnny 13 die…."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, gang, what do you think? Intense and scary enough for ya? Do you feel as stressed as Danny now? Heh-heh, you've just made Ms. Hyde very happy.**

**Ms. Hyde: That's right, dearies! I'm particularly delighted that some very evil emotions were stirred in that boy especially after he's not sure whether another of his ghost friends has been 'destroyed' or not! How juicy a thought! It will now only be a matter of time before your 'hero' will be a former 'hero'. I can't wait!**

**Truephan: Well, you just wait, then! That time won't come, you fiend!**

**Ms. Hyde: Keep those compliments coming, dearie! And while you're at that, keep dreaming, too, but hopefully it'll be just like the one your silly hero just had!**

**Truephan: *gasps*. Why, I never! But enough of that. I have to makes sure that our readers didn't get too confused. Danny's relationship with Johnny 13 will make more sense if you've read my story, 'Shadow of a Doubt'. In the end, Danny becomes friends with Johnny 13 and his Shadow ghost. And Razilo was first introduced in "TrueHeart". So, you've got a lot of catching up to do! Haha!**

**Ms. Hyde: Mercenary!**

**Truephan: *clears throat* In any case, dear readers, I'm sure you can understand Danny's reaction at this point. It was very upsetting….**

**Ms. Hyde: And deliciously entertaining!**

**Truephan: Okay. I think it's time to end this. I'm just going to tell the readers that the Fantomos Ecto-Scale countdown is still rolling as follows:**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas.**_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3—**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**-the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3—**_**Beta**_**-Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**-Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**-Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo, truephan's OC from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**Have a great week, everyone and you'll make my weekend superb if you send me your thoughts!**


	21. Ch 21 Level 4 Ghosts: Clouds in His Eyes

**A/N: Hiya gang and if you get the chance, please thank a veteran sometime this weekend since Veterans' Day is this Monday. Not much else to say except that I hope you all are well, safe and warm, especially with all the weather turmoil that has been happening lately. But I hope this chapter gives you some time away from reality. In fact, the last part of this chapter is a semi-AU. And I have to ****warn**** you that the content is definitely more in the older 'T' rating range, but only a little bit. You'll see what I mean when you read on. Finally, there is a bit of a spoiler in here in case you haven't read my story, **_**Shadow of a Doubt**_** (tsk-tsk if you haven't! *winks*).**

**Oh. Before I forget, I have a PM for Invader Johnny. Yes, it is time! I hope you like this chapter, though it's probably **_**not**_** going to be what you expect! Here is Chapter 21. Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 21—Level <strong>Four<strong> Ghosts—Clouds in His Eyes

For a change, Vlad had his dinner brought to the main dining room soon after his female computer began the repairs of the Subliminal Helmet and microchip. The man didn't usually eat this early, but he really wanted to be at his full strength for the ceremony and not have to eat afterward. Besides, he had been so busy with Daniel that he had forgotten to eat lunch.

As he quietly ate his meal, his sharp hearing caught the slight sound of feet padding nearing him. A moment later, Maddie the cat pounced on top of his table and meowed.

The man tried to sound irritated, but his smile betrayed him as he gently chided, "Now, Maddie, you know you're not supposed to be on the table while I'm eating."

His feline companion, however, blithely ignored her master and walked closer to the plate before she plopped down in front of it. She flicked her tail and meowed again, as if she was anticipating something to happen.

Vlad could guess that she was expecting a small nibble. Still, he wasn't going to give in that easily as he teased, "So, you think just because your 'warden' finally let you out for a bit of a stretch that you can just take over the place, hmmm?" Nevertheless, he nonchalantly pulled a small piece of fish off of his plate even as he spoke and offered the morsel to her.

Maddie in turn meowed before promptly pulling the piece from Vlad's fingers with her maw and devouring it. Now satisfied that she had once again manipulated her master to her liking, the cat licked the outside of her mouth before licking her front paws, making sure to savor every piece of the treat.

Vlad chuckled slightly and returned to finishing his meal. Soon he was done and stood up from his chair before he gently scooped his cat up into his arms. He had plenty of time before the ceremony and he might as well relax and get mentally prepared.

He went over to the nearby intercom and pushed its button.

_"Yes, sir?"_ Derek asked in anticipation.

"I'll have that special tea I had you ask George to prepare, Derek. Please bring it to the parlor," Vlad calmly said while unconsciously stroking the cat's soft white fur.

The feline purred in response.

_"As you wish, sir," _Derek replied.

Vlad pushed the button and slowly walked to the parlor. In all that time, he hadn't stopped petting his cat.

Once he entered the room, his eyes immediately focused on a particular item. He went right over to it. He quickly placed the cat in the chair he affectionately called 'her chair' before he sat just opposite to her.

In between them was a small raised table just large enough to support a very expensive chess set. The pieces were already set up to do battle.

Vlad reflexively began to move the first white pawn into position. He smirked when his cat meowed in response.

Still, as he began to play the game with himself, the man mulled over what had happened so far with Daniel. True, he was disappointed that he hadn't gotten the boy to break by now. But then again, he should have known that it would take an awful lot of psychological warfare to even get Daniel to shift even a bit away from his principles and mores. Foolish boy. Didn't Daniel know that self-preservation and self-interest made you stronger and always gave you the advantage over fools who thought otherwise?

Still, the man felt that he was finally getting somewhere when it came to eroding Daniel's principles and all with this last program. At least unconsciously the boy had experienced some kind of desire to kill. That was always important for anyone serving him to do—even his future son. So, the man's strategy was working. He just needed to be a bit more patient.

Vlad smirked as his white queen had just checked his cat's black king… But it wouldn't hurt to push the boy _more_ when it came to challenging his principles. And the next planned program would do that nicely at many levels.

The man frowned when the black king was saved by its knight this round. Still, he was determined not to get frustrated with that move. After all, he was playing this game to relax. He had a lot more to do besides to get the boy to break.

Nevertheless, the man's brow furrowed when the black king evaded another threat….Perhaps he should change his strategy and start the program right away…

"That's right. Maddie has to fix the helmet and microchip," Vlad muttered to himself, immediately nixing the idea.

In the meantime, Maddie the cat meowed when she heard her name.

Vlad looked up. He had nearly forgotten about his cat!

He quickly slid his white queen to the next place and smirked.

"Checkmate, Maddie!" he said with slight triumph in his voice. "I win again!"

The cat meowed again when she heard her name and pounced into the man's arms.

Leaning back into his chair and stroking his pet's fur once again, he smugly said, "And soon I will have won it all!"

Just then, there was a soft knock on the parlor door before it quietly opened.

Derek walked in carrying the silver tea set. He carefully placed it on a small table covered in velvet maroon lace not too far from Vlad.

"Thank you, Derek," Vlad softly said just as the butler turned to retreat.

Turning slightly back, the younger ghost quickly replied, "You are welcome, sir."

Without another word, the butler slipped out of the room and closed the door.

Vlad gently placed his cat on the floor, walked over to the tea table, and helped himself to a cup of the red, glowing tea.

He strolled over to a larger and plusher maroon easy chair and promptly sat down. He took a few sips of tea before he placed the cup down on the very small table right next to the chair. He sank back into the chair and closed his eyes.

His mind drifted even though he wasn't sleepy in the least. That's right. He really should be checking about the preparations for the fountain ceremony that was going to take place in just a few short hours.

The man reached into his coat pocket, pulled out his cell phone and pushed the 'speed-dial' number.

_"This is Jones," _the voice on the other end replied without emotion.

Vlad frowned. It was as if his aide had been expecting his call. Still, he brushed off the thought and replied equally without any emotion, "Is everything ready for tonight, especially that 'special effects' machine that should have been installed the day before the storm?"

The man at the other end of Vlad's phone resisted the urge to groan. The mayor did have his moments for using unnecessary theatrics. But then again, in his experience, all politicians did.

Nevertheless, the aide tersely replied, "Y_es, sir. But I don't understand why you didn't want us to test it. I don't want you to suffer any kind of embarrassment if it doesn't do what you want it to do. After all, the press will be there."_

Vlad smirked. Of course he was betting the press to be there. All the better for his plans.

But he never let any emotion betray him as he said to Mr. Jones, "You worry too much, Mr. Jones. I'm sure that everything will go off without a hitch. I just want to have as many people in our fair city come out to enjoy the end of a beautiful day in the park, especially when it includes admiring their beautiful new fountain, of course."

This time the mayor's aide rolled his eyes. He thought the abstract fountain was hideous.

Still, he replied, "_I made sure to send out a lot of public announcements for the event. And I'm sure that it helped to advertise that there was going to be free food after the ceremony; not to mention that the weather is cooperating this time. I'm sure you will shine when the time comes, sir."_

_"Oh, you can bet on that_," Vlad thought with a wicked smile; but he replied, "Very good then, Jones. I'll see you precisely at six-fifteen, then."

Without waiting for his aide's 'good-bye', Vlad abruptly cut off the call.

Mr. Jones, meanwhile, sighed after being rudely disconnected with the mayor more often than he could count. These kinds of conversations always made him think about getting another job. And if he wasn't eligible for retiring within the next two years, he would. So, he would just have to put up with the mayor until both of their times were up….

Vlad slowly finished his tea. It would help him to focus and even give him some extra energy. He needed to be doubly sure that he would be at full strength when setting the next phase of his brilliant Master Plan 285 in motion….

In the meantime, the billionaire knew he had almost an hour to spare before he would have to get ready for the ceremony. That would be more than enough time for him to check on how his various businesses had been doing for several days. He poured out another cup of tea, quickly prepared it, and walked over to a nearby desk. He placed the tea and saucer down before he turned on the computer that was on top of the desk. As soon as it booted up, the man clicked on the main file. All the latest business information of all of his companies instantly popped up; and without wasting any more time, he sat down and went to work….

The man finally glanced at the time in the lower right-hand corner of his computer. He smiled. He finished reviewing his companies' reports just in time. He quickly turned off the computer and headed upstairs.

He wasted no time in getting prepared for his shower. He lazily tossed his morning clothing over his neatly made-up bed before slipping on a bathrobe.

Once he was through with his shower, Vlad headed to his closet and took out what he called his 'mayoral' suit. It was, of course, impeccable.

"You certainly have excellent taste, Plasmius!" the man slightly crowed as he took the black coat and pants off of the two-tier hanger.

The man brought them over to his neatly made up bed and carefully laid them out until he was ready.

But then he noticed that the clothes he had been wearing all day were already gone. He chuckled a bit under his breath. "My maids can't help themselves, can they? They really can't stand a bit of untidiness in any part of the mansion, even for just a few minutes."

That thought led to another and he went over to the intercom system. He pushed a button.

_"Yes, sir?"_ A definitely female voice asked.

"Martha, please make sure that the cat is kept out of the simulation room area and nearer to your quarters," he replied.

_"Of course, sir. But you know that she is able to escape sometimes, especially when Patricia…"_

"Martha," the man gently interrupted with slight irritation. "I didn't call you for any explanations. Just to remind you of my orders. And speaking of which, how is it going with your other duties?"

The maid paused. This was the first time since her employer had ever asked about how she felt about her duties, especially the special ones he recently assigned. Still, she thought she understood what he meant. She finally replied, "_All is well so far, sir. Do you have any new orders?"_

The man tensed a bit. He wasn't ready to change anything about that order of business because the time wasn't right. Though he wished it would be soon—very soon.

"No, carry on. You'll be the first to know if things change with that," he at last said. "But in the meantime, please let Carl know I'll be down in about twenty minutes."

_"As you wish, sir,"_ she acknowledged before silencing.

"Thank you, Martha…." Vlad began before adding, "And, by the way, tell your staff that you did a fine job straightening my room just now."

This time the maid excitedly said_, "Oh, thank you, Mr. Masters! I will!"_

Vlad smiled. "I'll let you know if I need anything else."

He turned the intercom off amidst hearing the maid's trying to stifle her giggles at the man's compliment.

Without further ado, the man got ready; and within those same twenty minutes, he was heading downstairs.

Carl already had the rear door of the Bentley open once the billionaire had reached the outside. Vlad stopped at the threshold of the entrance way and buttoned up his tailored jacket and scanned the sky.

_"Good"_, he thought. "_Aside from the nip in the air, the weather is picture perfect. And the time is perfect for the show I have in mind!"_

The billionaire hurried to the car, got in, and off he and his chauffeur sped to City Hall.

Vlad actually rushed his staff together since he wanted to make sure to get to the fountain no later than half-past six. He ignored their grumblings as they gathered in the main foyer of the government building. In record time, his staff was ready and they left before the mayor to prepare for his appearance at the event.

Finally, Vlad was on his way to the fountain with plenty of time to spare for the seven o'clock ceremony.

As the mayor's limousine slowly pulled up to the back driveway entrance to the park, Vlad smiled with satisfaction. The light of the slowly setting sun was still enough for him to see that there were loads of 'good citizens' already gathered in the distance. He also caught glimpses of several media vans with their gaudy large mobile antennas ready to transmit the event. Near them were small clusters of the 'roving reporters' cradling their microphones, or interviewing some of the people waiting for the mayor.

But as soon as one reporter caught sight of the mayor's Bentley, she shouted and everyone turned to the small driveway before a rather large horde of reporters and townsfolk began to descend upon the slow-moving vehicle.

"Carl, you better stop here," Vlad quietly ordered. "I can walk the rest of the way from here. I know how you get if anyone accidentally smudges your fine wax job!"

"Thank you, sir," the chauffeur replied as he looked at the man through his rear view mirror.

Vlad could see that the ghost wasn't smiling so much since he had already seen the mass of humans were hurrying toward them and the car.

Nevertheless, the ghost driver put on the brakes. But before he could shift the limo to park, Vlad added, "You can skip opening the door for me, too. I suggest that as soon as I let myself out you put it in reverse and exit the premises. All should be done in about two hours."

This time Vlad could tell that Carl had smiled before the ghost said, "Thank you, sir, and I'll be around if you need me."

"Of course," Vlad agreed with a smirk just as he opened the back door and stepped out.

Carl immediately shifted the Bentley into reverse and backed up much faster than he had entered the small driveway. He really didn't want anybody messing with the car's gleam!

In the meantime, Vlad had straightened his jacket and tie and calmly strolled toward what could be likened to a herd of stampeding animals. But once the mass had finally rendezvoused with their mayor, they had slowed enough to merely surround the man.

"Mr. Masters, we heard through our sources that you're planning an unusual opening event," one woman reporter asked him, though she had first spoken into the mike when she had posed her question before she jutted it toward him for his answer.

Another young man from one of the local television stations interjected, "The fountain also contains lights. Are they made with DALV's latest laser technology?"

Several more questions bombarded the mayor.

"How much did the fountain cost?"

"Is it really true that you had a run-in with the artist who designed the fountain?"

"You must be dedicating the fountain to someone. Can you give us a hint who that would be?"

"Who will be paying for the maintenance of the fountain?"

All the while he was being rained upon with questions, Vlad had never stopped walking toward the fountain. And he didn't even attempt to answer their questions. Finally, he spied the temporary stage directly to the right of the fountain; it was positioned at just the right angle to keep the audience focused on him and still allow them to have a clear view of the fountain, especially since the immediate area was illuminated with a series of temporary lights. He could plainly see that not only was the fountain completely covered, but it had a ribbon draped across the front of it. He also could see that his aide, his secretary, the Vice-Mayor and a few city Councilmen were already seated on the stage looking very official. Two very beefy bodyguards wearing grey-suits and dark sunglasses were at either side and at the bottom of the small flight of stairs leading up to the stage.

As the stage and security men loomed near enough for a quick escape, the Mayor stopped and turned to his audience and said with a sly smile and slight chuckle, "Now, now, citizens. There is plenty of time to answer all of your questions once the ceremony begins. After all, if I answer your questions now, that would take the excitement out of everything, now wouldn't it, hmmm?"

He ended that quip with a quick nod to the grey-suited bodyguards before he darted up the wooden stairs.

Once the mayor had passed them, the two intimidating bodyguards immediately slammed the sides of their shoulders and hips together to create a very effective block to anyone wishing to follow the mayor up to the stage.

Once he had reached the top, Vlad immediately looked for the formally decorated buttons which would activate the fountain and its special effects. He smiled when he saw it was ready and posted right next to the podium as he ordered—well, not counting that silly traditional ribbon that he would have to cut, of course.

He glanced out at the crowd. A _lot_ of people had come. Good. He could also see a few tables adorned with red, white and blue tablecloths nearby. One of the tables was laden with food and another with beverages, which he had contributed to the event. Right now, however, they were cordoned off to keep the 'cheaters' away. After all, what better way was there to keep the masses undivided attention the entire time then to dangle that enticing carrot on a stick?

Then he saw another table that was set up to sell mementos of the event. Vlad smirked. Good idea, since he did want to recoup some of his personal expense for the fountain. But then again, there was that other way he was going to make gains from this project…

Nevertheless, the man was pleased that his mayoral aide, Mr. Jones, had done his job, which only made his plans concerning the fountain even easier to complete. The man looked up into the clear sky. The purple, red and orange curtain of the setting sun was slowly pulling away from the first evening stars. He then glanced down his watch and smirked. It was time. He pulled out several folded sheets of paper just before he began to step toward the podium. As he approached the microphone, the audience in front of the stage lit up in applause and shouts of excitement.

"Good—ah," the Mayor began, only to cringe when the microphone loudly squeaked with interference.

Vlad frowned and threw a displeased glance at the sound tech, who promptly—and nervously—fiddled with some knobs before he gave the Mayor a 'thumbs up'.

Once more, Vlad began, "Good evening, fellow citizens of Amity Park."

He paused, waiting for the crowd to settle. He straightened out the handful of papers, upon which he had written his speech.

Once everyone had quieted, Vlad repeated, "Good evening, fellow citizens of Amity Park. Thank you all for coming out for the twilight opening of Central Park's new fountain!"

Cheers erupted in the crowd and Vlad gestured for them to calm again. Satisfied at the silence, the man continued, "As you know, I have always wanted Amity Park to be regarded as progressive as any other city in our fair state, and so, what better way to begin than to spiff up our Central Park's water fountain?"

The audience shouted their approval.

"I liked the old one," Mr. Jones, grumbled quietly under his breath to the Mayor's secretary seated next to him.

The secretary merely nodded without emotion. After all, they were in the limelight right now, so to speak. She shifted a little in her chair, getting physically and mentally ready for what she was sure would be one of many of the mayor's usually long-winded speeches…

After almost a half-hour—whereby Vlad was sure to answer all of the questions that the reporters had asked before he had gotten up on the stage and reminded the people about the free food and drink after the ceremony—the man was winding down his speech.

Now was the moment of truth…

As the last set of applause died down, Vlad turned around and gestured for the row of dignitaries behind him to come forward and stand to either side of him but also very close to the edge of the stage while he re-took the podium.

Once everyone was where Vlad had determined beforehand would be their most strategic place, he finally spoke into the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen: who you see here are part of my team. I could not have done this without their help. Please show your appreciation and give them a warm round of applause just as I get ready to unveil your fountain!"

The audience didn't hesitate to oblige their leader and stepped up their enthusiasm.

The group flanking the podium turned slightly toward the mayor while watching his every movement on stage.

Vlad made sure not to hurry as he walked over to a small table and picked up a ridiculously oversized pair of scissors adorned in patriotic ribbon. He stopped in front of the curtain and waited enough to allow the cameramen to indulge in their unceasing obsession to record history.

After a few more photos, Vlad cut the ribbon in front of the draped fountain and the cloth surrounding it immediately fell off.

The crowd roared its approval.

Vlad didn't hesitate to walk back to and step up to the podium again before he cut the smaller ribbon in front of the buttons that would activate the fountain and its 'special effects'.

The clapping continued.

Vlad skirted his eyes among the crowd and the people who were still standing and flanking him. Splendid. All eyes were on the fountain as he had hoped.

He hovered his hand over the first button and spoke into the microphone, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I proudly present Central Park's new fountain!"

The Mayor promptly pushed the white button and the fountain sprang to life a few moments later.

The citizens yelled and clapped.

But just when it seemed that the crowd was calming too much, Vlad half-smiled and placed his hand over the more important red button that he had designed himself. He was so excited about it, but his voice never betrayed him as he continued, "And, now, good citizens, a surprise for you. I'm sure you'll be as excited about it as much as I am!"

Just at the precise moment when he put his finger in the hole and pressed the red button, Vlad twisted his face around so that it was facing the fountain. Since he was sure that all eyes were on the fountain, he was confident that no one would see what he was about to do.

At first, all that happened was that lights lit up the various places where the streams of water first gushed out of the modern-sculptured fountain. The fountain seemed to come more alive in brilliant colors and was bathed in an overall dull glow, which was particularly impressive against the night sky.

The crowd approved and upped their clapping.

But then, the lights came on and off, giving the fountain an almost Christmas tree-like effect. And then the pace of the flickering lights mimicked a strobe-light effect, which mesmerized the audience.

Suddenly, joyous whistling effects spewed out of the fountain, followed by sparklers that coated the fountain in more twinkling light!

The mass of citizens hooted and whistled.

And just when the sparklers were fizzing out, a large and very tall antenna-like metal pole shot out from the top of the fountain. An eerie red light pulsed from within until it seemed to ignite its exterior with a fiery red glow. Several thick plumes of fireworks that rivaled the colored streams of waters suddenly flanked the pole and shot their sparkling light upward until they were just a few feet below the tip of the pole.

Several 'oohs' and 'aahs' erupted and echoed through the crowd at the sight.

But now that darkness had enveloped everything except the immediate area, no one could see what happened next. No sooner had the pole seemed to catch fire when a black gaseous-like substance spewed from its top. It became denser and denser as it swelled, growing blacker and blacker and larger and larger as the seconds ticked by. The lights on the fountain immediately reflected off of the forming cloud, and now everyone could see how bright they were. In fact, now that the light had a very dark 'backdrop', their effects were not unlike seeing very colorful shooting stars, though in the next few moments all of those glowing 'stars' were now red!

Everyone slowly stopped clapping, but still watched the show. They gave no second thought about that dark canopy since they had already concluded that it was the temporary smoky residue left by all the fireworks.

Only moments had actually passed since the cloud formation had started, and soon it had covered the entire area, now seemingly sucking away whatever heat in the atmosphere that had lingered from the day. And no one was aware that they were shivering, though their eyes had remained mesmerized by the sight.

Suddenly, dark pink electrical sparks shot out from the cloud and quickly penetrated any nearby thick wire. Everyone gasped in surprise when the atmosphere seemed to be alive with electricity! And once again, everyone was too enthralled with the phenomenon to notice that the deep ebony cloud had actually burst apart. The fireworks had also ceased and all that remained were the sounds of running water. The lights within the fountain dimmed to a soft glow shortly thereafter.

Nevertheless, complete silence followed almost immediately after that.

Vlad, meanwhile, felt a new slight pressure in his forehead from the events, but otherwise, he was quite pleased at the result. Everything worked more than perfectly than he had planned.

He walked up to the microphone and looked straight at the crowd in front of him.

"Well?" he began, only to notice that he microphone wasn't working. "_Oh, well_," he thought.

Keeping his eyes on the audience, the man repeated more loudly, "Well? What did you think about it?"

A loud thunder of applause answered him.

"Very good," the mayor said with a smile. "That concludes the ceremony. You're free to eat or go home. Until you hear from me again, have a great night!"

As the crowd began to disperse, Vlad watched on with a smirk coating his face. He couldn't be more pleased even as he unconsciously rubbed his forehead. It had been easier than he had thought for everyone to cooperate with the start of his second plan….But then again, what could he expect of the fools?

Finally, it was time for Vlad to return to his mansion. He and his chauffeur had no difficulty getting home and once there, the older hybrid wasted no time with getting changed for the evening. After drinking a special evening tea to help him sleep, he turned in for the night. He might as well get to bed because there was still at least eight or so hours before Maddie said she would be through repairing the Subliminal Helmet and microchip…

* * *

><p>Vlad woke up feeling more refreshed than he thought he would be. He smiled. That meant that this was nearly the twelfth hour that Maddie had said she would have needed. It also meant that all was going according to plan.<p>

He got out of bed and walked over to the intercom.

"I will be having breakfast in the control room of the simulation room this morning, George," he said into the device.

_"Right away, sir_," the ghost chef replied. "_The usual?"_

"Yes, that will be fine," the billionaire answered.

Vlad quickly got ready for the day and set out for the control room.

As soon as he had entered the room he could see that, as usual, the holographic representation of his computer was diligently working at the control panel while intermittently checking the monitors.

"You are five minutes and ten seconds too early, sir," she reported without emotion.

"So I am, my dear," he replied with a half-smile. "Anything to report?"

Maddie turned slightly away from the controls and said, "The Subliminal Helmet is repaired. I'm finalizing the tests on it."

"And the microchip?" he further asked.

"It has been repaired to the best of my ability. After all, I could not remove the chip from where it was without damaging your test subject. I don't think the repair is optimal, but all the tests concluded that it is functional within the specified standard deviations of the parameters of performance," she dutifully summarized.

One of Vlad's eyebrows arched up a bit. Not optimal? He replied, "Is there a possibility of failure under those specifications, Maddie?"

"Negative, sir. However, there might be delays in communication between the microchip and the mainframe. But those delays will be in milliseconds," she said.

"Hardly noticeable for the typical human, of course," the man mused out loud. "But we both know that Daniel is not a typical human. So, do you think he'll notice it?"

"It is hard to determine without putting your subject through more tests."

Vlad pursed his lips in slight displeasure. Of course he had hoped he wouldn't have to put Daniel through more of these 'tests' if he had finally broken the boy's will.

He finally commented, "Well, as they say, 'we will never know unless we try', Maddie." He walked over to her and pulled out a sheet of paper. "But before we do, I would like to change the next program a bit."

The hologram scanned the paper for less than a second and then pushed several buttons. "The program is ready at your command, sir."

Vlad smiled. It hardly took Maddie any time to change things whenever he wanted. He finally said, "Very good, my dear. Let's go ahead with then next program, then."

With the push of a button, the computer replied, "Activated."

* * *

><p>Danny was slowly becoming aware of a headache. It was so bad at the moment that he didn't even feel like opening his eyes. Not only that, he was still tired, even though he was vaguely aware that he was waking—and for some reason, he had shivered for a brief moment.<p>

But then, he suddenly frowned in confusion at another sensation. He had just felt a feathery pressure caress his lips. And then, that pressure was gone as quickly as it had come.

"S-Sam?" he muttered, his groggy mind both denying it was she, yet uncertain who else would have kissed him—or why since…

But he was radically pulled from his thoughts.

"_Sam_?!" a female voice loudly growled in answer—a _too_ familiar female voice.

Danny gasped as he jolted upward, and just missed bumping the person who had been totally in his personal space moments before. He glanced at where he was and could see that he had been lying on a couch only moments before. And then he gasped again when his eyes finally focused enough to confirm who owned that voice.

"**Ember**?" the teen uttered in disbelief before panting a bit in mortification when he suddenly realized that since _only she and he_ were present in this room right now, it must have been _she _who had kissed him!

He reflexively wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand in disgust, only to gasp again when he caught site of his hand.

He was wearing a black fingerless leather glove on that hand again! He quickly pulled his other hand up and saw that it, too, was gloved in like fashion. He then glanced downward at the rest of himself and his eyes widened even more in incredulity. He looked very different this time. He was now wearing a black muscle shirt and black jeans with a thick leather belt laden with chains and spikes. And on his feet were black leather boots also accented with short silver spikes on the outside of each.

"What's wrong with you, anyways?" Ember suddenly growled again, which pulled all his attention to her again.

He could see that she was dressed as she always was, with her one-shoulder cropped black halter, one arm-length black glove, and hip-hugging black pants with a broad grey belt slung sideways on it. And she had those same knee-high grey platform boots accented with the face of skulls at the front of the toes. But she didn't have her guitar slung over her shoulder and really wasn't threatening him—well, if he didn't count the disapproving scowl on her face right now.

But before Danny could say anything, she grumbled, "Fine, then! I came out here to apologize and all you could think about was that lame ex-girlfriend of yours?"

"_Ex-girlfriend?"_ Danny thought in shock. But he was able to stutter, "W-What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on now, lollipop. I know we had our spat just last night, which is why you came out here to sleep. But it's usually all blown over in your book the next day. So, I don't know why you would still be so steamed up enough to bring up history," Ember said with a pout as she crossed her arms and twisted slightly away from the boy.

Danny reflexively rubbed the back of his neck, definitely having major 'bad feelings' about it all. Was this another dream? Somehow, he sure hoped so. But then he reached over and pinched himself.

_"Ow_," he mentally reacted before he groaned, "_Definitely awake_!" He swallowed thickly at the realization. "_Oh, no, because that must mean that I'm in another one of those lame tests!"_

The teen paused when his memory finally came into full focus. How was it that he could suddenly remember everything else that had happen before what had happened, to…Johnny when he hadn't remembered a thing when he was _actually with_ the biker ghost? He knew that they weren't brothers; but what about what had just happened? Was _that_ just a dream, then?

Danny frowned. He didn't understand this at all. Nevertheless, his thoughts shifted back to Johnny 13 and suddenly, he felt his stomach tighten. It wasn't real, was it? But then again, he didn't think what had happened to Cujo was real either at first; but it had to be since the Observants had the power to control time and existence…And they had said that they didn't 'make any distinction about the ghosts'….even if it might mean they would _destroy any ghost _while studying _him_.

Could they be that cruel?_ Maybe they were!_

Suddenly that thought hit him squarely and all of those emotions he was having just before the Observants must have knocked him out came flooding back. He felt the pressure in his eyes increase and his breathing increase. But more than that, he felt…angry over what had happened! Johnny couldn't be…gone! If it hadn't really been a dream, did the Observants actually expect him to 'play along' from right now? Especially after they had set him up just to get Johnny destroyed? And what about now? How could he 'play along' with a ghost he not only didn't like, but who had just _kissed_ him? He felt his stomach tighten even more. Just what was the Observants' game with the rocker ghost girl?

He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck again. And _now _what was he supposed to do? He bit his lower lip. He certainly felt _that_ pressure, too. He must be _awake_, then. His mind drifted to other thoughts, which calmed him, if even slightly… No matter what, he had to force himself to focus, at least for his mom's sake. And that meant focusing on what was happening _now_. He purposely slowed his breathing to almost a halt. He couldn't lose it, especially in front of _her_…

Still, he didn't like this one bit.

But as the teen brought his hand down off of the back of his neck, he accidentally brushed his ear and felt an…..earring?

He gasped again. He spied a nearby mirror hanging on the wall and reflexively ran over to it. He couldn't believe what he saw. The earring was there, all right, but he also noticed something else. He looked _older_. And his hair. It was still white, but it was very, very short and spiky. But there was more. There was a long _scar on his forehead_—a scar which would have been covered if he had his usual long bangs!

Instantly seeing his reaction over what he had had for as long as she could remember, Ember ran up to him. She grabbed him by his shoulders, twisted him around and shook him saying, "What's with you, Danny? You've been all weirded out ever since your brother Johnny got wasted!"

But that only shocked Danny even more. This was…impossible! She couldn't possibly know about _that_….even when he hoped it had been his _nightmare_. After all, he remembered screaming himself awake. He remembered crying and shaking afterward. He remembered inspecting himself and seeing proof that he was awake because he had been wearing his black-and-white costume.

Suddenly uncertain, the teen bit his lip and tried to control his breathing. All that stuff about Johnny 13 _just had_ to have been a dream…..Wait a minute! Now that he thought about it, he was _certain _it was a dream because not _once_ did he see _Sombre_ during that entire time. And he knew Sombre would never leave Johnny's side—ever. So…it must have been a dream—a very _intense_ one—but a dream nevertheless... And…and so that meant that what was happening _now _had to be a dream! Right? He frowned in more uncertainty…Wait. He knew he was awake! So then, this had to be just another of those many tricks pulled by the Observants because this was definitely one of his _enemies_ right next to him!

That was all Danny needed to understand, though he was still having trouble thinking clearly. He instantly pulled away from the girl's loose embrace and bolted toward the door nearest to him. But, he heard a lot of growling behind that door and then several loud bumps and loud scratching sounds against it from the other side. In fact, the door vibrated violently against whatever force was shoving it. Now upset about _that_, he charged up his green energy bolts in both hands in anticipation.

Just then, there were several other very loud knocks on _another_ door, only this one was just across from the one which he was now facing.

Danny immediately twisted his entire body toward the rattling door when it suddenly burst opened! He raised his glowing hands, ready to fire at whatever would enter!

"Whoa, lollipop!" Ember suddenly yelled before running up to him and quickly shoving his arms down.

Her unexpected move was forceful enough that Danny accidentally shot out a couple of beams, which immediately hit the floor and burnt a rather large hole in it!

Danny growled in irritation and reflexively pulled away from the ghost girl. But before he could recharge his energy, several ghosts practically rolled into the room with hardly a care. It was as if they had been doing that forever.

This time, Danny's eyes widened in disbelief and he could feel his stomach pull itself into his throat. The ghosts. They were all dressed like the _Skulls_ had been in what he thought was his dream!

"Heya, Danny. Ember," the first ghost said as he came closer to the couple.

Another ghost looked at the hole in the floor and chuckled. "Heh-heh. Looks like you two have been at it again! Cool!"

Danny, however, was still too stunned at seeing these ghosts to reply. He just couldn't believe this. _This couldn't be real!_

"Come on in, boys," Ember finally said with a smile as she motioned them to come and sit down on the couch. "What's the news?"

"News?" a third ghost asked in confusion as he and the others sat down and got comfortable on the couch.

Ember, meanwhile, didn't sit down. Instead, she walked a bit closer to Danny, who was near the group and still standing as well.

The third ghost continued, "We're here to get our latest plans from Danny. It's been a long two years, but it's been worth the wait since the Wraiths are almost history! Things certainly have sped up ever since Danny finally wasted Razilo!"

This time Danny's mouth fell open and he paled. No. _This wasn't real_. Johnny 13 _had _been destroyed? No! He wouldn't believe it! He felt his breathing increase again. True, all that hate he had felt in his dream was intense, but he would never, ever destroy anyone—even a ghost as bad as Razilo…He wouldn't…_He didn't_…He…couldn't. And there was no way that the Observants were going to blame him for that!

All of the sudden the boy was angry at what he thought the Observants were attempting to do. He paused. He couldn't believe how angry he was feeling right now! It really scared him! He had to get a hold of himself and the best way to do that was for everyone to leave and let him alone to have time to think this out.

Suddenly, however, Danny's eyes began to glow as his angry thoughts returned. Why were the Observants doing this? And they had no right to…kill Johnny no matter their reasons!

He walked swiftly up to the group and taking a threatening stance, hotly growled out, "Get out! Get out, all of you!"

Everyone else in the room startled at the teen's abrupt outburst, especially when no one had thought they had said anything wrong.

Raising his hands up in surrender, the ghost who had first spoken to Danny when the group had entered said submissively, "Okay, dude, we're going!"

"We didn't do anything!" another complained.

But when Danny's eyes flared more and his hands also began to glow in threat, that ghost gagged on a squeak.

The others also knew not to cross the ghost hybrid when he was this upset. They all practically fell all over themselves before they flew over to the exit and left.

Except for Ember.

And she didn't look too pleased that Danny had just rudely thrown out those ghosts for no reason. After all, they were part of Danny's gang.

"I don't know what's gotten into you lately, Danny, but you need to chill! It's really getting under my skin," she said as she approached him.

Danny unconsciously backed away from the rocker girl even though he wasn't happy about what she had said. He knew he had to get his feelings under control. He wouldn't let the Observants get the better of him. He just wouldn't.

He stopped only because he had bumped into the wall, at least he thought it was the wall, until he felt it move —and growl! Then it shook at what sounded like claws assaulting it. What the heck was behind that door? He grew irritated at having to deal with _that _as well as the rocker girl. He fisted his hands but wasn't even aware that his hands were beginning to glow. He quickly twisted around to face the bulging door and give whatever was on the other side a piece of his mind.

Ember's eyes widened in alarm.

"Okay okay! I _apologize,_ babypop!" the rock diva hurriedly said with a worried frown while raising her hands up in surrender. "I shouldn't have invited the gang over when you obviously are still out-of-sorts. I just thought it would be just the same with how you handle rough things and you would've blown everything off by now…And I'm sorry about bringing up, uhm, Johnny…and your 'ex'."

She deftly wiggled her body so that it was now in between his hands and the slightly bulging door. She smiled underneath when the slightly bucking door was actually pushing her deeper into the Ghost Boy's arms. But then she pouted slightly when he stepped back when he realized she was a bit too close. Still, she nodded her head in the direction of what must be on the _other side_ of the door and said a bit more softly, "And please don't get mad at them 'cause they didn't do anything...And, sorry again, but let's just forget about your ex. After all, she can no longer bother either of us anymore."

Danny's eyes widened a bit as he let his energy diffuse; and that was enough to calm him. That was new. Ember? Ember was _apologizing_? And saying 'please'? But then, her other words sank in a bit more. Who were 'they'? Hey, now wait. What did she say about Sam's not being able to 'bother either of us anymore'?

That just made him tense once again. And, of course, he didn't trust her. But before he could say anything, he bit the inside of his lower lip at what he saw next.

Ember's eyes had _softened_ a bit when she saw that he had dispelled his energy. And there was more. He just couldn't believe it. Was she…_swaying_ closer to him? And he _couldn't _be hearing her right when she next spoke. He could swear she was _cooing_ her words to him.

"So, honey, what do you say that we go to our favorite little hideaway place and make up for that awful fight last night and for right now? After all, I didn't like being colder last night without you."

Danny swallowed hard, stunned again at all the rocker diva's words, though what she said about Sam was still bothering him. Just what did she mean by _that_? And then, once more, what she just said finally registered in his brain. No. She didn't say what he thought she just said, did she?

Now, he didn't know what to think. But then he frowned, irritated at his next thought: the one where the Observants had warned him not to let on to any ghost from now on that he was in some sort of test while interacting with them. But this was way too much. Still, he hesitated for the sake of his mother. So, he knew he had to say something, since Ember had frowned at his delay in responding to her.

He finally blurted out, "I-I'm sorry. S-Something's very wrong here…"

Ember puckered her face more and tersely replied, "Oh, yeah? So are you saying now that you don't want to go anywhere with me, your _girlfriend_?"

"**Girlfriend**?" Danny gasped again.

Now Ember was rapidly getting peeved again. "Will you stop with all the histrionics? We've been a couple for two years now…"

Danny felt his stomach practically do a somersault. No way was she and he a…what she said! But he impulsively blurted out, "Uh, what about Skulker?"

"Skulker? What's he got to do with anything?"

"Uh, weren't you two dating?" he squeaked out. He so wanted to get out of here right now!

"I don't know what you're talking about, Danny!" she answered, getting more agitated. "I've never been interested in him!"

Danny's eyes widen in disbelief again. This just _had_ to be a mega-weird nightmare! At least, he desperately hoped so. He had to wake up or…

"I gotta go home," he found himself uttering.

"Home?" Ember growled in irritation. "Now you're really sounding crazy!"

Suddenly, Danny felt his stomach tightening even more in dread. "You're not saying that I'm…" he blurted out, only just as suddenly _not _daring to say anymore now that he had sick hunch at what this might mean.

"What is it with you, Danny? I said we've been _together_ for two years now!" the pop diva yelled in exasperation.

"This can't be right!" he blurted out again, feeling his face flush and his breathing increase with anxiety.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Ember challenged, her hair flaring a bit.

"Uhm, uh," Danny stuttered, not really knowing what to say. But his redden face spoke for him. But finally he offered his weak 'explanation'. "Uhm, aren't I, uh, a little too young for…all of this?"

Ember narrowed her eyes when she finally figured out what he might mean about 'all of this'. And that only made her even more irritated, "No. Way. This can't be happening! Maybe you didn't get enough sleep and you're hallucinating or somethin'! I'd hate to think you've all of a sudden grown a conscious…or somethin'," She paused a bit at her next thought before adding with a slight growl, "Everyone's doing it and you were all for it two years ago! Especially after your ex-girlfriend Sam dumped you!"

"Dumped me?" Danny interrupted her with a gasp.

"That's right, babypop," the girl ghost said with a grin this time. "Seems she had her eye out for another dude named Dash Baxter."

"NO, I don't believe it!" Danny insisted, suddenly aware that his heart rate and breathing had increased with the sudden emotion.

"You know, you're really getting under my skin with all of this drama. Just face it, Danny. That chick just wasn't your type."

Danny blinked hard, still a bit in shock over this whole conversation. Nevertheless, he was trying to make some sort of sense about all of this. But before he could try to respond to this new round of craziness, Ember continued.

"Or are you goin' to argue that point, too? What was she but a dumb, silly human? You saw all that, too, after she told you to take a hike. So, what could she offer to you that I couldn't? Now, I admit, you and me didn't see eye-to-eye at first, but I helped you see things…differently. And you know what? You began to see things my way. And you not only liked the change, you insisted on taking it all a step further. So then, babypop, you aren't anyone to judge nothin' about how this all worked out since you've got more bad deeds chalked up than the number of chain loops hanging off your belt!"

Danny jolted at her words again, only to have his anger sparked once more at the sudden realization. That was the only way to explain all of this nonsense. Ember was never interested in him before—thank goodness, because the feeling was more than mutual on his part. But now he thought he knew what the angle the Observants had been aiming for. This was_ more than _a trick! They must have sent him to some kind of alternate dimension, like his _other _evil self had been in. If so, it was a very _cruel_ one!

He didn't want to go on with this charade, no matter if the Observants had wanted him to do just that or how much they had warned him. This was _too_ much. He would _never_ do what Ember was implying! And he couldn't be held responsible for however his other selves acted in any other dimension or timeline. In fact, he didn't even want to think or believe that any of his other selves could stoop to this. But even if they did, that would be _their_ doing, not his! And _he_ wouldn't do this —_ever_!

"They…they _can't_ make me do this… They _have_ to know that I'm not one of those…" he whispered harshly, more to himself than replying to the girl ghost.

"What. Are. You. Talking about, Danny?" she demanded, growling out her words this time and fully giving into her temper. "What do you mean by 'one of those'?"

Even still, she didn't give him a chance to answer as she thrust her face right into his and jabbed her index finger into his chest as she continued, "Look. I've tried to be patient with you, but lately, you've just been getting crazier and crazier! I've tried to get you to talk it all out, expecting you to just get over it. But _nothin'_ I do seems to change things! Heck. You even got me to apologize even if I didn't think I had to; and even _that_ didn't satisfy you!"

"Look, Ember," Danny firmly said, pushing his face back into hers in defiance. "I don't want to know what you're talking about and really, I don't care what you think about it. In fact, I don't know what came over me in the first place because, really, I don't even like you, much less want to be your…boyfriend."

He then pulled away from her in a huff, pulled out his earring and yanked off his gloves. He suddenly looked up at the ceiling before raising and then shaking his fist upward as he angrily yelled, "In fact, I don't care for this whole test, do you hear me, Justeco? You've really crossed the line this time—big time! This is beyond being unfair! I would never agree to any of this and you should know that! This isn't right!"

"Test? What test?" Ember interjected. "Now what are you talking about, Danny?" She continued, getting more exasperated by the moment. "And what did you mean that you 'never agreed to any of this'?"

But Danny wasn't listening to her. Now more discouraged than mad, he just uttered, "I just _wouldn't_….especially not with….No, not with _anyone_… My parents have taught me better, you know! If I ever wanted to commit like this with someone— which right now I **don't** because I'm way too young—I would do it the _right_ way! Not… like this! And especially not with _her_!"

He then grew angrier and yelled out again, "I'm better than this, Justeco!"

This time the rocker ghost grabbed him by an arm and swung him around so that he had to look at her. "You're making my head hurt, Danny, with all this crazy stuff you just said! And you still haven't answered my other questions! What didn't you agree to do?! And _what_ test?"

Danny was so upset he couldn't make himself answer any of her questions at the moment. He didn't like the thought that in this loony dimension, he apparently did a lot of…wrong things. And he couldn't swallow that at all. That was so unlike him. In fact, he wasn't going to 'play along' with this test at all

But then, he thought about his mother and his throat hitched. He swallowed hard with dread. No matter how unfair this all was, the Observants might be even more unfair and do something to his mother if he didn't 'play along'….But still, how could he? This just went against so many things he thought…important.

Still, he found himself mumbling under his breath once more, "But I'm not one of those.

Ember repeated with more exasperation, "A _what_?"

He didn't even realize that she had been the one to ask him to clarify what he had said. Still mumbling more to himself than to her, he replied, "I'm just not one of those kinds of dudes…"

But then he glanced up at Ember and his brain cells finally registered that he had been speaking to her after all. Now even more uncomfortable, he then choked on his words with embarrassment, "You know, heh-heh, someone who…who isn't committed to anybody yet pretends to be committed to some person."

Ember squinted one her eyes in irritation before growling out of one side of her mouth, "I see now. Funny. So, that's how it is, huh? So, now what, dipstick?"

Danny bit his lower lip with determination before replying, "I'm outta here, that's what!"

But before he could turn to go, he watched Ember soar over to a corner of the room and quickly retrieved her guitar. Without a hitch, she turned a small dial at the base of the guitar so that it was pointing to a little 'whistle' icon on it and quickly strummed several cords.

Danny stared a bit in disbelief when _no music or sound_ came from her guitar! He looked from the silent guitar to the rocker ghost. Then he jolted when he heard a lot of banging against that same door that he almost blasted twice. Once again, he fired up his green energy, now upset at this turn of events.

Ember pulled her arm up, ready to strum her guitar even harder in the next second as she said with unquestionable disdain in her voice, "It wasn't bad enough that you're acting crazy, was it? I can't believe that now all of the sudden you have to go all 'goody-goody' on me after everything, including threatening my little sugapops a third time. Sure, everything was rough in the beginning and you need a little help to see things my way. But you finally didn't have any problems with it all on your own. So, unless _you_ apologize, and we forget this whole thing, I'm going to let all of my pets talk for me!"

She raked her hands over the guitar strings and, once again, no music or sound came out of her guitar.

The door to which Danny was still near began to vibrate violently while the banging noises behind it was rising twenty-fold. And then, the door shattered under the assault and collapsed with a loud thud. A lot of very agitated mutant ghost animals and other 'regular' ghost animals spewed out. They immediately charged right at the boy.

Danny reacted instantly and shot them with bursts of his green ectoplasmic rays, which quickly zapped them, incapacitating the leaders of the pack while thrusting them violently back into the room from which they had come.

Still, even more animals poured through the doorway and Danny continued to increase his efforts into subduing them. This time his ectoplasmic beams tore a hole through the lair while they continued to pummel the ghost animals. He overcame even more when he added doses of ice energy rays from his eyes, which instantly froze a lot of his foes.

But even more of Ember's pets charged at him, spurred on by her persistent strumming—though the guitar remained mute.

However, a few moments later, Danny found himself unwittingly retreating when the ghost animals' attrition tactic finally paid off.

But then Danny grunted in determination. He took in a deep breath and was also about to replicate to counter his being boxed in by all the animals when he was suddenly reeling from the blow of a gigantic pink fist that he heard only moments before it struck him. He plowed violently into the opposite wall and slid down it, momentarily stunned.

All of the ghost animals—mutant and normal—surrounded the hybrid, their claws ready as they angrily growled in threat.

Guitar in position, Ember flew up to the dazed teen, and threatened, "Are you ready to forget about everything now, Danny?" But then her face molded into a slight pout and she added, "After all, I made it so that we were the perfect couple. And you haven't needed any coaxing for a long time."

Danny shook his head, trying to put his double vision back on track. He slowly looked up at the ghost girl when his comprehension finally caught up with his woozy brain. "W-What are you talking about?"

That comment was enough for Ember to come out with it.

"If it will make you come to your senses, I'll tell you," she replied, shifting uncomfortably and sounding as if she were actually pleading with him.

The animals growled in response and a few of them pressed against the still- dizzy hybrid, successfully holding him down.

Pleased with what her pets were able to do, the ghost diva continued, "You know, I have to agree with you about one thing. You said you don't like me. Well, I didn't like you, either. At first, that is, uh, back then. No doubt that you were a very powerful ghost. But more than that, you were also a bit of a rebel and always defiant when it came to fighting any evil ghost. Including me, of course. And I liked that rebellious gig. Reminded me of me."

She nervously fingered the neck of the guitar but didn't strum it as she said, "Then, you seemed to change once you and your brother hooked up with the _Skulls_ gang. You got a bit wilder. And suddenly, I noticed just how handsome you were. And how strong, too, of course. Again, something that meant something to me and that I didn't think I could ever have. Plus, it could get me more cred. After all, power is the name of the game in the rocker world. It is so delicious to sway the gullible masses, especially if you have a partner."

She paused a bit, smiling with the thought, before adding, "But then, I knew that you wouldn't feel the same about me. You had that stupid human as your girlfriend. Hmph. As if you should want something that powerless. So, I took care of that."

Danny's mind cleared a bit when he had finally been able to tune into what Ember just said. However, he was still too dizzy to much respond.

The rocker ghost continued, "But, I also knew that you wouldn't fall for me because the way we see things clashed too much at the time. Such a waste! Don't you know that with your power and my influence, we could control everything? But, you know, shortly after I, uh, _convinced_ you to see things my way, I just wanted to take a 'time out' and get to know you. And after a while, things seemed to go just as I wanted. I had even thought you wouldn't need any more 'persuasion', especially since it seemed to work for a longer time than I thought. And we had everything just about wrapped up…That is, until today!"

She turned to the still stunned boy and, "So, looks like I might have to resort to the same thing I had done in the past to you and your ex-girlfriend!"

Once again, Danny's head cleared a bit more and he resisted the force of the animals pinning him down. But then, that same and always annoying weak feeling flooded into his spine and his dizziness increased.

Turning the dial on her guitar to an icon shaped as a 'heart', Ember said with an evil grin, "I made your stupid Sam fall in love with Dash! And I really outdid myself because I pushed that spell into her with a new, powerful chord that has lasted for way longer than I thought possible. The same one, by the way, that I used to _convince_ you to become my boyfriend. It was the only way that I could get you back then, you know; and the only way now! You'll thank me over and over again from now on."

Danny tried to counter the force still pushing him down but his whirling mind couldn't get its act together enough to be successful.

At the moment his efforts were futile.

Ember had aimed her guitar at the boy and strummed it with evil glee almost instantaneously. Several red hearts shot forward with the force of the chord and slammed into Danny.

The boy relaxed under the spell, his eyes softening as he beheld the diva within his sights.

"Ember, my love," he softly replied.

Before he knew it, he was lying down. All his blurry mind could comprehend were feeling a pair of lips pressing against his own. Still, he couldn't understand why they felt wrong. It didn't matter in the end, because his mind suddenly was thrust into an unknown pit, and he fell… It felt as he was falling forever.

In less than a heartbeat, however, Danny was lying all alone in darkness this time. His head was still swimming from the last sensation and from being put through what felt like a centrifuge.

Danny blinked a few times and the darkness gave way to slightly more brightness. Though his mind was still in a fog, he still frowned when the first word he could finally make his head comprehend was 'Ember'.

He groaned, vaguely aware of the memory…He still questioned whether it had been real or something else. He shivered in disgust nevertheless. Him…and Ember…being…No way! How could he ever have feelings for that ghost girl—however brief? He didn't want to even think about it anymore! Then he sighed in partial relief with his next thought. If it were all true, and he had guessed he was in some kind of awful alternate dimension or something, then at least his alternate self in that freaky parallel universe had been under some kind of spell after all and was forced to be with Ember. At least he hoped so since that would explain how all that…uncomfortable stuff had happened.

He suddenly bolted to a sitting position at another anxious thought. Was he still under Ember's spell? He chuckled in embarrassment. Of course not. If he were, he would only be thinking about her…Wait. He was! He gulped.

He suddenly cradled his head. No. He didn't want to think about her anymore! Still, he knew that he wasn't in her lair anymore. And that must mean that he had been in one of those 'tests' after all. Part of him was relieved about that. But part of him was quite disturbed by the whole thing… And for more than one reason. But if he had indeed been thrust into an alternate universe, then he now knew that there were _two_ evil ones of him since they both were capable of…killing others… And doing other…awful things.

The boy shivered; but he forced himself to focus on the fact that he _was nothing_ like that other…self. He just _wasn't. _That thought, coupled with his distress over thinking that he was still under Ember's spell had certainly helped tune his mind.

Suddenly, his ghost sense fired off. He jolted to a stand and quickly readied his ectoplasmic energy.

A moment later, two very familiar beings appeared right in front of him.

Danny frowned in disapproval even as he reabsorbed the green glow around his hands.

"Enjoy the putrid show?" he dryly asked.

"We are not here to 'enjoy' anything," Justeco tersely replied.

Danny didn't care that the spirit had narrowed his eye in disapproval.

Konsilisto's eye was also able to convey a bit of annoyance as he added, "And we warned you about the consequences of revealing anything of the nature of your tests to the other ghosts, Danny Phantom."

Suddenly, Danny felt his heart flutter. _Mom!_

Before the boy could say anything, Justeco said, "No matter what we do, no matter what alternate universe to which we send you, you are to adhere to the rules, youngling!"

"So you _did_ send me to an alternate universe!" Danny said, his voice now sounding more accusatory.

"That we did, Danny Phantom," Konsilisto admitted. "And you have nullified the test!"

Danny's eyes widened in both disbelief and indignation. How could they say that when _they _were the ones who had stepped over the line in this instance?

He boldly replied, "This was a whole other level, Justeco and Konsilisto, and you know it! That wasn't me in that universe just like that other older evil dude isn't me, either! And then you plopped me down in that universe and expected me to do what? Act evil? You know I wouldn't do that! And you can't possibly blame me for what happened in those universes and you can't hold me responsible for what my other 'selves' do!"

"We agree," Justeco concurred without a hint of emotion in his voice.

This time Danny's eyes widened in surprise before he frowned. Could they get any more confusing? Still, he had to know. "So then, why did you put me through that? And for that matter, why do you keep giving me these tests?"

At first, the two spirits didn't answer him.

Finally, Justeco replied, "We already told you. We still have a lot of data to gather and study."

"But not only that," Konsilisto added, "We merely wanted to show you that you are quite capable of becoming evil—depending on the circumstances. And that still makes you a plausible threat."

Danny blinked in disbelief. How could they think that? But instead of making him angry, that only stirred him to prove them wrong.

He squared his chin and said with determination, "You are so wrong. So then, bring on your next test!"

* * *

><p><strong>*dodges rotten tomatoes* Well, gang, I'm glad you made it down here—with all the rotten food and eggs you have a right to throw at me right now! And I absolutely know what you're feeling and I have to say that I agree! I did reveal what was happening with the fountain, but not everything about it because what actually happened won't be revealed until the end of the story. BUT, I had to introduce that it happened <strong>_**here in this chapter **_**because it's going to take some time for other things that will happen to make sense later in the story! Uh, still confused? Sorry and let me give you a cyber-hug!**

**Then, of course, to add more evilness, I introduce some other kind of mystery going on between Vlad and his maids!**

**But, of course, I blame that all on Ms. Hyde!**

**Finally, I have **_**never**_** been a fan of DannyxEmber (my apologies, IJ!) and this is my answer to how it would be. The only way I think Danny would become Ember's boyfriend is if she put him under her love spell and then expect him…well, I think you get what I mean! Plus, I did want to make this a sort of AU chapter, only with the twist of Danny's not being sure that what happened to Johnny wasn't real AND sort of borrowing a lot of cool theories I like about alternate universes and mind games. First, the AU bit: For this chapter I borrowed the premise from an old TV show called "Quantum Leap" in which the protagonist is able to leap through time and alternate universes, and actually 'possess' a host in a surreal sense and ends up seeing things happening through their eyes. (And the other characters only see who they expect to see and not the protagonist.) I loved the premise of that show but I have to admit that I only watched a couple of episodes because the actor playing the protagonist wasn't good-looking enough to me! (Yeah, shallow—I blame that on Ms. Hyde, too!) But getting back to the 'Quantum Leap' show. In this case, Danny believes that the O's have sent him to 'live' inside another alternate dimension one of him, who is as just about as evil as Evil Dan.**

**Then, I find mind-games deliciously entertaining—when I'm NOT the victim, that is! LOL. In any case, one fav tactic is to keep your victim uncertain what is real and what is not real. But then again, there are other reasons for that uncertainty in Danny's case.**

**Now, are your heads as blurred in a blender as Danny's head right now?**

**You can blame Ms. Hyde for that, too!**

**Still, while you're sorting that out, here is a bit of pleasure reading for ya: the Fantomos Ecto-Scale continues. And notice that some of those previous question marks are gone! So:**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_—**Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_—**the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_—**Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_—**Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_—**Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, "TrueHeart"**

**289-level 4**-_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember**

**Hope you send me a review and hope you're under Ember's love spell when you do it!**

**Until next time, dear readers!**


	22. Chap 22 Level 4 Ghosts: His Own Chance

**A/N: Hi-ho, everybodee! I sure hope you had a great Thanksgiving Day! We sure did! And I'm sure you're still digesting, like me; and so, how about a little extra dessert to go with that leftover pumpkin pie? Yep, you read that correctly! The sweeter the better and what's sweeter than an update? Still, remember that sour note that I don't own any Danny Phantom characters, then let's get to the sweets! Here is Chapter 22. Enjoy!**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 22—Level Four—His Own Chance<p>

Vlad frowned at the scene. He really thought this program would be the one that would be the final straw for the boy…..

The older hybrid grabbed his chin and fell into his thoughts. Daniel was much more resilient than he thought. That was good…and bad. Good because Vlad knew that tenacity was a component of strength and even courage. Bad, of course, because that meant that whatever principles the boy held were deeper into his psyche than the man thought—which only meant that it might take longer to break the boy than he expected.

He paused at his next thought. He just noticed that whenever the Observants were on the scene, things got…stirred. In fact, the boy seemed to get more obstinate, then. This last encounter was a case in point. Daniel was actually _daring_ the two to give him _more_ tests!

Vlad huffed under his breath. It was as if that boy wanted to prove something to them. Like what? That he wouldn't become evil? Foolish boy! It was only a matter of time before he would give up. And after he did, Daniel would be so mentally lost that he would welcome getting his life back in some kind of order—even if that meant seeing things more…like how Vlad saw things.

This time the man slightly smirked. That is just how he wanted for his _son_ to be.

His mind came full circle and he frowned again. But the boy wasn't anywhere near to becoming broken. Was it actually _because_ of the Observants? True, the spirits' role was an important component of this part of his master plan, but they were supposed to hammer at the boy's mental stability, not give him more fuel for that spitfire will of his! The man frowned a bit more. He would have to re-think using the Observants too often.

But in the meantime…

Vlad turned to his computer and quietly commanded, "Activate program 289-level 4-_Beta,_ Maddie. We have more work to do after all._"_

"Activated, sir," she replied as she pushed the last button in the command sequence.

* * *

><p>Just as the Observants disappeared, Danny bit his lower lip. Now he had done it! He had just <em>agreed<em> to more tests! True, until the spirits said that they were through—_and_ as long as they had his mother for that matter— he was stuck! Still, he just wished he could think of a way to get out of this mess. He squelched a yawn. He just couldn't come up with any ideas about that since he knew he wasn't getting enough sleep, which only dulled his mind. He frowned when his stomach growled. Okay, so he wasn't getting fed regularly, either.

Suddenly, he felt his empty stomach tighten when the surrounding Time and Existence Chamber began to twist and turn as it always did when he was about to be sent to another 'test'. This time, however, he didn't fight the vortex when it pulled him into the kaleidoscope of colors.

When Danny's stomach finally slowed, he knew his 'transportation' had stopped and the atmosphere cleared.

His eyes finally focused on the black, green and purple swirls in the sky and he knew at least that he was somewhere in the Ghost Zone. But, of course, there was that old question of where exactly in the Ghost Zone was he?

He shut his eyes, hoping this time to connect to his internal sense of direction that he had developed almost two years ago when he and his friends were mapping out the Ghost Zone. Because of that sense, he could easily navigate the Ghost Zone.

But the boy frowned when he realized that he couldn't pinpoint where he was. He slightly shrugged in resignation as he thought, "_I guess the putrid Observants must have somehow messed up that power, though I don't see how."_

Danny frowned once more at the thought. Could the Observants 'deactivate' his internal sense of place this time? It seemed a likely explanation, since in the past they had been able to block his powers. But… they had had to use something physical—like that power-inhibiting collar with the whole ordeal with Iluzisto. And he couldn't see anything on his person that they could be using now to mess with his powers…

Still, he thought that his sense of time wasn't working here because he was in the Realm Beyond Time, where time was irrelevant. But then again, maybe there was more to this. Maybe his sense of time _and place_ powers were all messed up because of what he feared: that he was losing _all_ of his powers. And maybe losing them would start with the ones he had most recently gotten. Still, he wasn't too sure about any of that…after all, he hadn't even thought about using those most recent powers: his healing and telepathic powers… Now the boy didn't know which possibility scared him more. Or, maybe he did. At least if it was the Observants' messing with his internal sense of time, it meant he could get it back. But what if he lost it permanently—what if he lost _all_ his powers permanently?

The worried boy suddenly felt a sting shoot through his mind, not knowing that at that precise moment the next sequence of Vlad's program had finally interfaced with the microchip, which only compounded the dull headache it had caused from the moment it had been activated. And when that slight jolt of pain ebbed, Danny suddenly didn't think about anything in particular—again…He frowned in confusion, not at all happy about feeling this…lost.

But then, his memory came into focus once more and he suddenly thought of Ember. He frowned, quickly dismissing it—and its disturbing emotions. He set his jaw in determination.

_"Okay. Bring it on, losers! I'm game!"_ he thought, immediately focusing all of his thoughts on trying to figure out what he had to do now.

The young hybrid stood up and finally noticed his full surroundings.

He was at one of the edges of some kind of square grassy field that was about the size of the length of a football field. The entire area was surrounded by tall, thick, yet neatly trimmed, hedges. At each corner of the four edges of the square was a statue made up of some kind of white material. Each of those statutes looked like they could be carvings of people from ancient times. They were also slightly taller than the hedges; and from this angle, they looked as if they were trying to peek over the thick bushes. He really didn't care to get a better look at the statues, though. He just wanted to get on with this lame test.

His eyes scanned the area once more. Nothing was happening…again! He folded his arms at his chest in a huff. Of course he knew that the Observants would be 'showing' him what he was supposed to do next. But then, he glanced over to the statue nearest him and when he saw that it looked like a female, he felt a burning sensation inside. His thoughts had drifted to his….mother… and food! He just remembered that he was starving!

"Hey, Justeco!" he finally impulsively blurted out loud, "I think it's time to show me how my mother's doing and show me some food—in that order!"

But before he could insist again, a small portal opened right in front of him. He could plainly see that his mother was asleep in that same plush bed in that same ornate room in which he first saw her.

_"At least she seems to be all right,"_ he thought.

And before he could open his mouth again, a table laden with breakfast foods and a chair appeared right next to him.

"I know I should say 'thanks' but I'll pass, since I hate to think how smug you would be about hearing just that," he dryly said to the air.

He sat down and promptly dug into the hearty meal set before him…

This time, however he was still finishing his last few bites when the table and chair disappeared.

Danny fell right on his bottom on the ground. He grumbled, "Geez! You could have waited two seconds. I was almost through!"

Nevertheless, he stayed where he was. After all, what else could he do until those dumb Observants decided on when to start this stupid test?

But as time ebbed, Danny grew anxious again. What was with these Observants? Hadn't they 'observed' enough? What other 'precious data' could they possibly need?

He sighed. Well, since he sort of had time on his hands, he might as well get comfortable, especially since he still was way minus several minutes of sleep—and counting. He pulled his knees to his chest, crossed his arms around his knees and let dropped his head within the space that naturally formed from his position.

As Danny closed his eyes and tried to relax, his mind drifted back to what had already happened. He certainly had fought a whole lot of ghosts. Most of them, he finally realized, were the weakest ones. And others were a bit more powerful….Wait…'more powerful'. The thought gripped him and he threw his eyes open and lifted his head.

_"Was that it? Was there a pattern to all of this?"_ he asked himself. He searched his weary mind, analyzing just what kind of ghosts the Observants had already made him fight so far. They were _much_ weaker than he! But why didn't the Observants just throw the more powerful ghosts at him and be done with it?

He frowned in frustration and let his head fall on his knees again as he thought, "_At least I might be home by now, even if at the rate I'm going, that would mean that I would be just plain pummeled to a pulp instead of being beaten and humiliated all at once like I have been so far. So, if that's what it takes to get me and my mom out of here, then let them bring them on!"_

Though he wasn't happy about it, the idea did stick. He pulled himself up to a stand and hollered upward, "Hey, Justeco! If you really want to get this over with as quickly as I definitely want it to be, why don't you just throw the strongest ghosts at me and then it'll be all over?! I'm game! I just want to get my mom and go home!"

He frowned when he got the usual 'silent treatment'—for now.

* * *

><p>"Blast! The little rat is on to us, Maddie!" Vlad growled just before he slammed a fist down on the console.<p>

He had ordered his computer to pause the program soon after starting it to begrudgingly grant the boy's request to see his mom and eat. He was about to have the hologram resume it when Daniel had uttered that last comment.

"I see no rat, sir, and there is most definitely no rat on either one of us, sir," the computer casually replied.

Vlad rolled his eyes in both annoyance and amusement, which actually calmed him. He then continued with more control, "Forgive me, my dear, but what I meant is that Daniel might be suspecting something about our plans. We just might have to step things up."

"'_Step things up_?' I thought you were going to have your test subject fight ghosts in the queue as needed, not put things on a step ladder, which I thought was used for getting things out of one's reach," Vlad's facsimile of his love said with a frown of non-computation.

This time Vlad smirked. He was going to have to make sure to not use so many figures of speech from now on. Still, he replied, "No, Maddie. I want to break him slowly. If we have him fight more powerful ghosts too soon, he'll just get all charged up and even resolved in resisting them. True, we might see some evidence of how and why Daniel is able to retrieve all that energy hidden within his central core. But we might miss the key because his reactions will be too fast from having to respond too quickly…Sort of like turning on a blow torch and therefore failing to see how it was ignited, you see?"

But then, the man winced a bit at his gaffe, anticipating his computer's next comment.

"Blow torches are ignited by opening a valve to some kind of gas receptacle and—"

"Never mind again, my dear," Vlad said, gently interrupting her.

But then, a familiar ring sounded from his pocket. He frowned but still reached in and pulled out his cell phone before he pushed the button to answer it.

After a few moments he turned back to his computer and remarked, "I have to see to this development, Maddie. But go ahead and resume the program, shall we? I won't be long."

"Right away, sir," she replied, her voice completely devoid of emotion as she pushed the next button…

* * *

><p>Danny sat back down on the ground after having waited for what felt like eons but was actually only a few minutes without hearing an answer to his last proposition.<p>

"Well, it was worth a try," he growled under his breath before yawning. "Hey, I hope that maybe they decided to let me sleep because I could use about twenty hours' worth; and even this ground looks awfully comfortable right now."

He was about to lie down when he spied something glittering in the distance. And it looked like it was getting bigger, like in _rapidly approaching him_!

He gasped and shot upward.

Fortunately, the shiny thing hadn't altered its path and it imbedded itself within the mesh of the thick wall of bush that had been right behind him—and at the same height that his head would have been had he not flown upward out of its way.

Only briefly glancing at what he now could see was a wicked-looking gold-colored metal weapon, the hybrid charged up a ball of green in both of his hands and waited.

A second later, another similar object came flying right at him. He bolted upward a bit more in time for the sharp object to fly past him and smack into the top of the same thick bush not too far away.

"Another lame ghost taking the cowardly way," Danny mumbled in annoyance. "The question is—_again_—which one?"

Nevertheless, Danny flew back down toward the thick wall of foliage to examine that metal object more closely—all the while periodically glancing over his shoulder in case there was more….

He frowned as he carefully grabbed the small sharp metal object and easily pulled it out the bush it had assaulted. He cautiously walked back toward the center of the field as he carefully examined it, all the while musing, "Okay. It's pretty obvious that there is at least one ghost —and an 'attack now, talk later' one at that. And from what I see by what kind of place this is with those statues and the markings on this metal thing, it would be a good guess to say that it must be some kind of ninja ghost."

He rechecked the area and confirming the oriental-like décor, he added, "Or, it should be at least…"

The teen frowned in concentration, searching his mind briefly before twisting the side of his mouth with some annoyance at his idea, "_And that could mean that…."_

But his thoughts were interrupted when he caught sight of a large spray of those same types of sharp star-shape metal objects known as _shuriken_**(1)** moving toward him from _all four_ sides this time!

He dropped the golden _shuriken_ in his hand and bolted upward just in the nick of time to avoid the onslaught. The metal scraping upon metal when the small weapons had dinged into each other instead of the teen sounded as if they were screeching in anger over their failure… A moment later, they were collapsed in a pile right where they should have embedded the boy.

_"Okay, so there must be __**four**__creeps and not just one!" _Danny thought as he soared higher.

As soon as Danny thought he was high enough, he pulled himself into a jack-knife-like position before diving downward and replicating three others of himself. Together, each of his three duplicates and he charged up a shield in one hand and readied an energy beam in the other as all four spread outward. They already knew that each would be counterattacking all four poles that had attacked him at once…

The first Danny replica charged toward the easternmost bushy edge of the garden. His left hand was still ablaze with his emerald ire and his right hand held his green energy shield steady. But while he was still in flight, another round of six golden _shuriken _had violently thrust out from the wall of bushes directly in front of him, dug into his shield, and slightly cracked it.

Reflexively, the teen grabbed the partially damaged shield by its edge and flung it like a Frisbee into the bushes. A moment later, those bushes were in effect decapitated by the green shield, leaving only their spindly trunks in its wake before it disintegrated.

Danny's replica frowned in annoyance when he saw that his foe was now exposed and slightly stunned after he had mowed down the bushes.

The glowing entity in front of him was certainly a ghost. And it was dressed in some kind of yellow outfit which covered it from head to toe. Its trousers were wrapped at the ankles by split-toe boots; and a body-fitting _Uwagi_**(2)** jacket adorned its upper torso. Forearm-length _Teko_ gauntlets hid its hands and lower arms. And a two piece _Zukin_ hood and face mask covered its entire head and only gave Danny a glimpse of its yellow glowing eyes. Although Danny was sure it was a ninja ghost after all attacking him, the oriental warrior's costume gave no observer a clue to his identity.

Danny didn't care that he had never seen this ghost before…all he cared about was defeating him and getting this test over with.

Danny shot up into the air, and after producing another shield, charged right at the ghost.

Seeing a black, white and green comet rapidly approaching him was enough to jolt the yellow ninja ghost out of his shock. He quickly launched even more golden metal star-shape weapons at the boy.

Danny's duplicate hitched in a gasp at the counterattack but immediately answered it with several small oval ectoplasmic missiles to match the number of _shuriken_ flying at him. The moment green oval met golden star, the ninja ghost's army of small weapons vaporized.

But that was exactly the distraction that the yellow ninja ghost had hoped for and he stealthy retreated from the battlefield.

Danny's replica narrowed his eyes in irritation that the ghost had gotten away. He immediately took flight and enacted a search-and-pursue strategy.

In no time the teen had spied his foe and increased his speed.

But the yellow ninja ghost had felt the turbulence in the wind as a result of Danny's flight and twisted around to face his pursuer.

Once again, the warrior ghost threw even more _shuriken_ at the incoming boy.

Danny stopped in mid-fight. He concentrated and took in a short breath before letting out only a partial onslaught of his ghostly wail. The force was just enough to thrust the _shuriken_ back at Danny's foe.

The yellow ghost gasped and couldn't avoid the returning missiles. An instant later, the _shuriken_ had made contact and had nailed him to the thick brush.

Danny's duplicate smirked just as he dusted his hands. Now he could return to the original…

In the meantime, the second of Danny's three replicas had soared over to the southern edge of the grassy square-shape field. His shield leading the way, the duplicate thought he was ready for anything. But just as he neared the line of bushes from whence he was sure those star-shaped missiles had come, a long, thick blue wooden sword, known as a _bokken__**(1)**_, jutted out right in front of him. It batted his shield right out of his hand on the forward swing and then swatted the teen on its backhand swing, sending the boy several yards away from the bushes.

Danny groaned at the blow but shot right back up before answering the attack with a powerful ectoplasmic energy ray. The green force plowed right into the bushes and evaporated some and knocked down others.

But the boy's foe was not in sight behind the area that Danny's energy bolt had cleared.

Danny quickly scanned all around him, searching for his attacker. Before he knew it, however, he was being swatted again from _behind_ this time. The hard blow from that same blue stick had sent Danny tumbling several more yards away from where he had begun before the boy landed with a hard thud.

Now grunting in annoyance, Danny's replica pulled himself up and soared over to one of the large bushes that had fallen and grabbed a large, thick branch. He quickly sheared off the excess branches and readied himself with his own makeshift _bokken._

Danny called out to his foe with determination, "Okay, jerk, it's pretty obvious that you fight like a snotty-nose bully instead of a real ninja warrior. But now that I can fight on your terms, will you have the nerve to show yourself?"

Suddenly, a bright blue blur came at him; but Danny reflexively raised his stick just as it clapped loudly with his foe's blue _bokken_. Even as his wooden weapon countered the other, Danny could now see that his opponent was a ghost outfitted in a blue-covered ninja costume.

"Who are you?" Danny finally demanded as he fought on, countering move after move. "And what do you want?"

But the blue ninja merely answered with another even harder swing from his _bokken_, which was easily deflected by Danny's duplicate.

Danny quickly counter-attacked, and the blue ninja was forced back. But then, the ghost warrior pulled himself and his _bokken_ away and upward. With a defiant yell, the aggressive ghost immediately slammed the Ghost Boy from above.

"I see," Danny sarcastically said as he grunted under his latest overhead block. "The silent, obnoxious type, aren't you?"

The teen counter-swung and missed. Danny grunted and prepared for his foe's retaliatory attack. He successfully flicked it off and quipped, "And for that matter, what's with the 'blue costume thing'? No wonder you were afraid to show your face, dude. I wouldn't want to, either, if I looked like I should be hanging in someone's glow-in-the-dark closet!"

Still, the blue ninja answered him only with another swipe from his _bokken,_ which this time made contact with the side of the duplicate's head, both stunning and knocking the boy to his back and onto the ground.

Danny reflexively shook off the sting and raised his rudimentary _bokken_ just in time to block the blue ninja's next blow.

But the ninja rammed his _bokken_ down even harder now that he still had the teen flat on his back and pressed to the ground. He could taste the victory even as his weapon was pushing the boy's own stick right against the boy's neck.

Danny's duplicate's arms trembled as he fought to counter the downward push against his windpipe. He grunted in defiance when his foe chuckled at what Danny interpreted as a smug, yet premature, sound of triumph.

But then, Danny could feel a slight release in the pressure the same time as when that small chuckle of overconfidence had sounded. That was all the leeway he needed. He shoved his makeshift _bokken_ back with more grit and it was enough to throw his opponent slightly off balance.

Before the blue ninja could react, his younger foe's rudimentary _bokken _was making contact across his upper torso, spinning him away from the boy and wrenching the ninja's weapon from his hand.

In the next instant, Danny had pulled himself up and swiped at the ghost again. This time, his crude _bokken _hooked his opponent's ankles and knocked his feet from right under him. But Danny didn't stop at that. Immediately afterword, his wooden stick had delivered an upward-arc of a blow which flipped the blue ghost and sent him slightly into the air, as if he were a ball about to be lobbed. Danny quickly followed up with another powerful full-body swing, and his wooden weapon made firm contact.

The blue ghost was riveted away and flung up even higher into the sky…

"Just so you know," Danny smugly called out to the ninja who was now unwittingly falling out of the sky before plowing into the ground several yards from the boy. "I'm much better at baseball now!"

The blue ninja ghost was only still for a moment before he pulled himself off of the ground. But instead of surrendering, the ghost yelled in defiance and instantly produced another blue _bokken_ and readily renewed his assault.

"Oh, great. Silent, obnoxious, _and_ _stubborn_ type!" Danny grumbled under his breath as he quickly retaliated with his own weapon.

A few heartbeats later, another violent clap of wood upon wood resounded in the air as the two rivals smacked into each other. After only two more blows, however, Danny's replica's makeshift _bokken _split in two.

Instead of retreating, Danny's eyes immediately turned ice blue before two cold energy beams shot forth from them and encased the ninja's hand and his _bokken_ in solid ice.

The blue ninja ghost unwittingly fell forward, as he was now off-balanced with the unexpected extra weight.

Once again, Danny took full advantage of that. He grabbed the frozen _bokken_ to prevent his foe from using it for leverage and immediately pummeled the ghost with a powerful left hook.

Ice shards flew as the blue ninja's hand was yanked from the frozen _bokken_ before the ghost was sent flying into the air once more. The ninja slammed hard into the nearby statue, sliding downward along it until he lay still in a heap at its base.

Danny broke the blue _bokken_ in half over his knee and threw it aside before flying over to the blue ninja, who had yet to stir.

The teen quickly shot out more ice energy and solidly sealed his foe to the ground.

Satisfied that his attacker was now totally incapacitated, Danny's duplicate's face broke out into a goofy smile as he intentionally punned, "Looks like everything's on ice! Time to get back to the boss!"

He quickly dissolved into ectoplasmic energy and returned to the original Danny.

The last of Danny's duplicates flew in anticipation with his green shield toward the northern side of the edge of bushes.

Just as the boy landed at the foot of those bushes, a screaming ninja ghost dressed entirely in black leapt out from atop those same bushes. Both of his arms were extended high over his head, momentarily together and forming an inverted 'V' over his head, as if he were a lumberjack about to chop a very large block of wood in half.

But Danny's replica instantly saw that the ninja was swinging no axe at him, but it might as well have been one because it was a large _ninja to__**(1)**_, a twenty-four inch sword that was slashing rapidly down upon him.

"Whoah!" Danny uttered as he reflexively lifted his green shield over his head just as the sword made contact, cleaving it right in two.

But that was enough of a moment for Danny to dive sideways and out of the way of the completion of the sword's arc of aggression.

The young hybrid swiftly soared upward, not hesitating to charge one of his hands up with blue energy. Instantly, he formed a masterful sword made of hardened ice from that ball of energy before counter-attacking.

But the black ninja ghost was swift and quickly countered the boy's ice rapier with his own _ninja-to _and its blade clanged in anger upon the impact.

Danny answered with a counter move to free his blade but was promptly matched by his opponent.

"Why are you fighting me?" the boy asked through his grunts. "I don't even know who you are!"

But the ninja ghost only pressed even harder without a word.

"Hey, aren't you going to say something? I wouldn't say that you were the 'shy' type with all this fighting you're doing, dude! So, what gives?" the boy prodded as he flicked off a strike.

Still, Danny's opponent stayed mute.

"Well, don't think that giving me the 'silent treatment' is going to change anything," Danny pressed as he parried another slash.

Several more exchanges ensued, but with each, no victor or advantaged fighter was emerging.

Suddenly, the black ninja ghost changed the angle of his swing and aimed for the teen's legs.

Danny reflexively pulled himself upward, tucking his knees toward his chest just in time to avoid the blow, only to have to duck down when the ninja had followed up immediately with a slicing move at his head.

Grunting with anger, the teen's replica thrust his ice sword straight down perpendicular to the ground in response to his foe's next move, blocking yet another attempt of his attacker to slice at his mid-torso that time. And then like a tennis player, Danny followed up with a backhanded swing, thwarting the metal sword from jabbing right into him once again.

Now charged with energy, the strength of Danny's counter-attack finally forced his opponent to take several steps back. Danny took full advantage of that and pressed forward with a jabbing thrust of his ice sword. A scraping sound like chalk gliding sloppily over a chalkboard squealed when Danny's ice sword brushed against the ninja's metal one before Danny deflected it off to his left, which threw the black ninja off balanced toward the ghost's right.

Danny immediately swung his left leg in a hard wide sideways arc which then hooked around his opponent's right leg enough to ensure the ninja's fall.

But the ninja ghost would not be defeated that easily and rolled out of a complete fall and pulled himself upward before wielding his sword in attack once more.

"Dude, don't you know when to quit?" Danny sighed before drawing his ice sword up in order to counter any immediate blow.

This time, however, the ninja's sword hit its mark squarely. Starting at its tip and progressing along its length, the metal blade split the ice sword in two, until the crack finally stopped half-way down the ice sword.

But Danny didn't let go of his weapon.

The glow around the ninja's face brightened in delight at this development, only to dull in surprise when he could not retract his sword because it was stuck between the cloven halves of the ice sword!

This time, it was Danny's turn to grin. His eyes lit up with more of his ice energy just before he shot out frosty beams toward the ninja's still captured sword. The ice quickly crept down Danny's now useless sword until it encased the ninja's sword in a thick sheet of ice.

However, the black ninja had immediately let go of the hilt of his sword before the assaulting mini-glacier could capture his hand.

With an irritated growl, the black ghost reached behind his back with both of his hands and drew out a pair of trident-like daggers called _sai__**(1).**_

Danny frowned in annoyance, dropped the ice mass, and drew out his wulf claws—his own kind of _tekagi__**(1)**_ —in response. He then dryly said, "Bring it on, jerk!"

The ninja had barely squelched his surprised gasp when he saw the boy's new weapons, but he readied himself just the same. He lunged at the boy with his _sai_ while thrusting them in rapid succession.

But each time, Danny's was able to counter the strikes with his wulf claws.

Both of the rivals ignored the occasional sparks that ignited when _sai_ and claw clashed. They fought on, even when each of the foes failed to tangle up their weapons in an attempt to disarm the other.

In the midst of their fight, Danny suddenly felt the beginning of that totally unwanted feeling, that lightning-like pain he had been experiencing far too often lately. But this time, the young hybrid's replica was determined during this fight that he was not going to let that 'foe' cause another one of his defeats.

He concentrated and fought even harder, slashing at the black ninja ghost with his wulf claws and driving him back in retreat.

But then, another jolt of that electrical energy tore through the boy's spine, and he hitched in a gasp just as he barely blocked another swipe of the black ghost's _sai_.

However, that slight distraction was enough to throw off Danny's momentum, and in the next heartbeat, the teen felt the sting of one of the _sai_ angrily thrust between two of his ribs. The replica groaned in pain before it vaporized in a cloud of ecto-dust, leaving the black ninja ghost searching quickly around in disbelief…

All the while, the original Danny had covered the western border of the grassy field while his duplicates were busy with their own search for those ghosts who had thrown all those _shuriken_ at him in the first place.

As soon as the teen was near enough to the thick row of bushes, two whirling green batons linked by a sturdy green chain shot out at him from the bushes. They were thrown low enough to just brush Danny's shield on its lower edge. And the force was enough to knock the shield right out of his hand before the shield evaporated.

But the ghostly _nunchuku's_ **(1)** momentum didn't stop after that. It continued downward until it had entangled Danny's feet before it shoved him violently to the ground.

"Ooof!" Danny grunted just as he reflexively pulled himself off his back and zapped what were commonly known as _nunchucks _off of his feet.

The boy pushed himself upward immediately after and charged up both another shield in his right hand and a large energy bolt in his left.

And it wasn't a moment too soon because another set of twirling nunchucks bolted out from out of the bushes and charged at Danny.

Danny was more than ready this time and instantly fired a green ectoplasmic ray at the moving target while raising his shield at the same time to block the weapon in case he missed. But he hit his mark and the assaulting oriental weapon vaporized on contact before it was near enough to do any damage.

"Look, whoever you are. If you're so hot and bothered to fight me, then at least make it a fair fight and show yourself!" Danny yelled at the bushes, keeping his shield in a defensive position all the while.

But he was only answered by another set of nunchucks, which slammed into Danny's shield right away. However, the double batons ricocheted off of the shield rather than damaged it before they shot upward and away in a wide arc. They then rapidly lost their momentum and fell useless to the ground.

Now more incensed at the low-down tactics of his ghostly foe, Danny quickly reabsorbed his shield into his right hand yet maintained a ball of that same energy within his now shield-less hand. He then produced his wulf claws in his left hand before channeling the green energy in his right hand into his right index finger. And a moment later, he was charging his wulf claws with his green ectoplasmic energy as if he were igniting five sticks of dynamite at the same time.

Now, the wulf claws in his left hand looked like solid laser beams**—**which in effect they were**—**except with more bite to them.

Without hesitating, the young hybrid threw his left hand over his head as he willed another shield in his right hand. He then jerked his left hand forward as if he were slinging a whip. An instant later, five strings of his green ectoplasmic _ghost stinger_ energy were slicing and dicing the bushes in front of him as deftly as five high-powered weed-whackers.

Just like the strategy of the boy's first duplicate, the cover of his foe was no more.

Danny's eyes narrowed in anger and irritation when he recognized this ghost….It was Bertrand in his green ninja persona.

"I should have known from how sneaky and cowardly you fight that it would be you," the Ghost Boy dryly remarked before frowning more and adding, "And so, where is your creepy boss?"

"She's not creepy and she's not my boss!" Bertrand protested as he shot up in the air.

Danny was about to counter that movement when he suddenly felt an unexpected and ice cold electrical pain shoot up and down his spine. He felt one of his duplicates weaken as well but he hitched in a gasp. He was determined to stay focus now that he could see whom he was up against. He steeled himself and was pleased that he could withstand the pain this time. He then soared upward just as he felt the conscious energy of his lone defeated replica surge back into his mind.

"_Now that I think about it, just who is that black ninja ghost, then? He is a little similar to how Bertrand is right now, but that's all. So, what gives with that?"_ Danny mused at his replica's memories.

Still, an instant later, Danny's two victorious duplicates' conscious energies had raced back to join the original.

And now that all of their memories had melded into his, Danny thought that all of the other ninjas had subtle differences from Bertrand…but there was something about them that he couldn't put a finger on, either. However, he didn't have time to think about it any longer because his thoughts were interrupted by Bertrand.

"And for your information, kid, I don't need her to kick your butt!" Bertrand jeered, pulling up another set of nunchucks. "I wanted my own chance to humiliate you!"

"Is that so, jerk? Then who are all those lame, sneaky sidekicks that you apparently need?" the young hybrid answered through a set jaw while charging up another energy ray to counter the ghostly oriental weapon.

"For your information, little freak," Bertrand snidely began as he started to twirl the nunchucks, "You and that stupid Plasmius aren't the only ones who can duplicate! I just recently discovered that I could that myself. So, those so called 'sidekicks' are merely duplicates of myself!" He ended that with a jerk of the _nunchuku_, which sent them on a forward motion.

Danny frowned but reacted quickly enough to avoid the attack while the nunchucks spun wildly away.

_"So," _the boy thought while quickly analyzing each of his duplicates' fights with Bertrand's own. "_If what he says is true, then why were his duplicates so different from the original jerk? That doesn't make any sense….Wait a minute!"_

He smirked at his next thought. Then that meant that there was only one explanation…

"Oh, yeah?" Danny finally said with as much disinterest in his voice as he could muster. "If you and your 'bosom buddies' were all that impressive, why did you resort to such cowardly tactics when you were fighting me? Oh, wait! I know! It's because it doesn't matter if there are four or four _hundred_ of you because in the end it all equals up to one sneaky, slimy, sniveling Spectra's-servant-of-a-ghost!"

"Why you…!" Bertrand threatened with a growl that sounded a lot like his wolf persona.

"Hey, thanks for reminding me," Danny smirked when he recognized Bertrand's wolf growl. "I mean to say you're a sneaky, slimy, sniveling Spectra's-lap-_dog_ of a ghost!"

That was too much for the shape-shifting ghost and he lunged right at Danny.

The Ghost Boy frowned in irritation and shot forward as well while pulling his right arm back like a slingshot in ready attack. Just as the two enemies were about to clash, Danny launched a powerful right hook.

Bertrand ricocheted off of Danny's angry fist and jettisoned up into the air in a wide arc from the blow.

Danny immediately soared after the shape-shifter and rapidly duplicated so that there were now four of him heading toward Bertrand.

Meanwhile, Spectra's sidekick lay dazed on the ground where he had landed with a hard thud. But when he saw the four Dannys nearing him, he yelped in a panic and instantly produced his three multi-colored ninja _burazaazu__**(3)**_ and forced himself to a stand with the others.

The sniveling ghost's head began to spin, however, as soon as he stood and he was suddenly aware that his three sidekicks were just as dizzy. Still, Bertrand was not to be outmatched by this freak and he willed all of his duplicates to pull out their individual weapons.

But before they could organize an assault, Danny and his replicas were upon Bertrand and his duplicates and laying into them with a fury of rapid fists.

No more than a few moments later and all of the Bertrands were soundly defeated and lying on the ground in a pile upon each other until, one-by-one, they melded back into the original Bertrand.

Danny, too, willed his replicas back into his original self and stood over the trounced shape-shifter. Though Danny's arms were crossed over his chest and his face was stern, the boy couldn't help but feel a bit vindicated in this triumph. He had been right. Even when Bertrand had created three others to help him fight the boy, the ghost had simply broken up his energy and power between himself and the other three. It had only set Bertrand up for failure.

Those lame Observants would certainly have a lot of data to 'tally' with this test!

Still, in some ways, Danny was also relieved that the electrifying and incapacitating feeling hadn't really interfered with his fighting today—even though he still wished he knew why he was having those episodes in the first place!

In any event, Danny was pulled from his thoughts when an obviously pained Bertrand—both physically and morale-wise— managed to squeak out in that whiny voice of his, "I don't understand it! I had perfected my techniques. I was ready! And me and my replicas have been training for months. I just knew that I could finally beat you if I just had my own chance to do it. And when the offer was finally given to me, I jumped at it!"

"You mean you jumped _in_ it…a lot of trouble's worth, that is," Danny quipped back, his arms still folded over his chest. "And now about that 'technique', jerk. Don't really care about it, though I do think that it's time for you to go back to the drawing board!"

Danny really had a strong hunch about why Bertrand was so easily defeated….Well, okay, not so easily since one of his replicas had been defeated by a ruse….Still, at least he definitely would learn from that for the next time when he would be attacked like that. Anyways, he wasn't about to tell the jerk of a ghost why he ultimately lost. And the half-ghost knew it had to do with how to replicate.

While Danny had mastered his ability to duplicate himself a while ago, it had taken some time for him to perfect it so that he could maintain the _same _power level for _each_ of his replicas so that they equaled his original power level. In fact, he knew he had mastered it when he could actual _feel_ that he had produced duplicates that _weren't_ at twenty-five percent of his original power level like he had first felt when he had first tried to replicate himself in his dad's ecto-skeleton power suit when he had fought Pariah Dark.

But that really wasn't the crux of what made Bertrand's ability to replicate inferior. And that had to do with _how_ the shape-shifter had premised it all.

Danny knew that he had been successful at truly replicating himself because all of his duplicates looked exactly like him—temporary clones of the same person.

Bertrand, however, _hadn't_ learned the correct way to replicate like the jerk ghost had thought. No. Bertrand had learned to _split _himself, which divided and diminished his powers with _each_ split.

Danny was now pretty sure of that hunch because of how each of the 'Bertrands' had looked. _None_ of the replicas looked the same or looked even remotely like Bertrand. Instead, they were as divided as light split going through a prism. In fact, each of his replicates was made up of components of the color of the original green skin-toned ghost; that is, one of his 'clones' was blue and the other, yellow—made up of the primary colors that when mixed, made the color of green. And since that split probably 'used up' a lot of Bertrand's power, the final, black clone lacked all color—or, as far as Danny was concerned, lacked the most power and _brains_. That also must have been why none of them talked. They were just weak replicas and could only muster one single motor function, which was to fight—badly!

The young hybrid chuckled at the thought until the memory of splitting himself suddenly dawned on him. Hold on. Maybe he was wrong about Bertrand! After all, when Danny had split himself with the Ghost Catcher, he had looked the same…He paused, searching his mind a bit more…No! He hadn't looked the same! Even when each of his 'split' halves was next to each other in their human or ghost forms, there was a difference in looks, voice and attitude. Then he was right after all! Bertrand hadn't mastered replicating himself, but had merely split himself and then, subsequently, fractured his power.

Now satisfied about it all, Danny was about to leave the area when he suddenly felt his limbs grow unexpectedly heavy. Before he knew it, he had unintentionally slipped to the ground next to the defeated Bertrand; only now, the totally still young hybrid was much more incapacitated than Spectra's moaning minion.

* * *

><p>As it turned out, Vlad had actually been forced to be absent during most of this program due to having to deal with unforeseen complications with the fountain. But he knew that the computer would follow protocol to the tee, so he hadn't worried about it.<p>

But when he had finally been able to step in towards the end and saw the unsatisfactory results, he frowned and had immediately ordered the computer generated clone of the love of his life to place the boy into _delta_ sleep.

Just as the computer had completed that order, Vlad quickly reviewed the recording of what had happened and frowned once more. Daniel should not have been victorious in this 'test' at all. Yet, there the boy was, floating in triumph over the more-than-obviously defeated shape-shifting ghost.

Addressing his computer, the man said with as calm of a voice as he could muster—even if he really hadn't been totally successful in masking his irritation, "What is the meaning of this, Maddie? You should know that the results of this program are completely against the protocol for Master File 285-MP."

But the holograph didn't bat a computer-generated eye and calmly replied, "I am sorry that your calculations are skewed, sir, but Program 289-level 4-_beta_ precisely follows the protocol for Master File 285-MP."

"How?" Vlad said, now a bit flabbergasted at the fact that his computer had actually erred and somehow made Daniel's victory in this program possible. He couldn't afford to conduct a complete computer overhaul at this stage of the game!

But then getting a hold of himself with his next thought, he admitted, "Well, alright. I can say that I'm a bit happy that Daniel kicked Bertrand's butt because Daniel is absolutely right about Bertrand's being a sneaky, slimy, sniveling lap-dog of a ghost. But, my dear, how did this program still follow protocol?"

Without a hint of reacting to the man's comments, Maddie replied, "In order to keep the 'believability' factor reliable for your future most ideal and powerful…son**—** that is, your test subject**—**the laws of ecto-physics must be applied. And that means that once the ghost subject of Program 289-level 4-_beta _cloned himself, his power level would have had to halved, then quartered, and so on until his power level diminished exponentially. And that would mean that as the number of clones multiplied, his power level proportionally diminished. Otherwise, your test subject would have grown suspicious right away, since he alluded to the fact that he may have known why the Level 4-_beta_ ghost subject had failed."

Vlad looked in silence at the facsimile of Maddie for a moment. She was absolutely right and he should have thought about that little technicality and somehow adjusted for it before the program had run. Still, maybe this would not cause any major snafus in his plan.

Finally resolved about the results, he sighed, "Quite right, my dear. Quite right."

* * *

><p><strong>(1) various ninja weapons<strong>—**official names: **_**shuriken**_**—metal star-shape blades**

_**bokken**_**—wooden sword**

_**ninja to**_**—typical 24-inch long ninja sword**

_**sai**_**—three prong dagger that looks like a miniature trident**

_**nunchuku**_**—nunchucks: two wooden sticks held together by a chain**

_**tekagi**_**—hand claw**

**(2) official names of the type of clothing worn by ninjas.**

**(3)**_**burazaazu**_**—Japanese for 'brothers'**

**A/N: I see y'all made it down here even though you're still stuffed! Great! Of course I hope you liked the chapter and will send your sweet Thanksgiving-ly desserts to me! I still love those kinds of leftovers! And as you can guess by now, the Fantomos Ecto-Scale continues as follows:**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_—**Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_—**the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_—**Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_—**Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_—**Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, "TrueHeart"**

**289-level 4**-_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**


	23. Ch 23-Lev 4: Struggles in the Night

**A/N: Hi, Everyone! Thanks so much for all of your reviews, including all of those from you mystery readers. I love to hear from everyone, so don't be shy! I also hope that your week has been good. Mine certainly has gotten better now that I've been able to update! But there is a spoiler in here about one of my stories, but I hope you'll read it anyways! (Yeah, shameless advertising—that was Ms. Hyde's fault!) Ahem. Don't forget that mantra: IDNOADPC! Here is Chapter 23. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 23—Level Four Ghosts —Struggles in the Night<p>

Vlad walked over to the observation window and glanced out at the stuporous teen lying on the ground. Even when he had to admit it that Daniel's encounter with Bertrand had to end as it did, he still wasn't satisfied. He should have been able to accomplish the first part of his plan by now.

Suddenly, he rubbed the sides of his temples and squelched a yawn. Yes, there was that other thing: he was exerting a lot more energy ever since he started his plan. So, maybe he could also use a bit more rest. He unconsciously gave into that feeling; and before he knew it, his eyes were glossing over as he fell into other thoughts.

_"I'll have to double-check the next few programs to make sure what happened in this last one doesn't reoccur. I cannot afford those kinds of distractions. And I certainly don't want to feed anymore into Daniel's already over-the-top stubborn tendencies."_

A frown suddenly dressed the man's face as he continued to muse, "_But, of course, I should have guessed he would be this stubborn considering all that he went through when we both were prisoners of those imbecilic Observants….So, that only means that I'll have to wait even longer for him to come under my control….Still, it can't take too much longer."_

He paused and then smiled at his next thought, "_Especially if I turn up the heat a bit more….And the next program will do that nicely….with a bit more spice to stir things up!"_

Vlad finally pulled out of his thoughts and said, "Oh, Maddie dear?"

"Yes, sir?" the holograph asked with hardly any voice inflection, though it was obvious that she was ready for her next set of orders.

"It is time for Program 289—Level 4 _alpha_. But also add patch Program 288 BH to it, just for spice—I mean, just for the extra effect, hmmm?"

The computer image of Vlad's love of his life frowned at first in non-computation when the man had shifted in his words. Still she did not record her memory chips with it any longer and merely replied, "As you command, sir."

* * *

><p>Danny's murky mind was suddenly aware that he was floating in darkness…and in complete stillness….But this place was so cloaked in blackness and his mind was still so off-kilter that it was as if he was really lost in a sea of forgetfulness.<p>

He wasn't even sure if he had even woken up yet or whether he had even _opened_ his eyes…

But there was more. Everything around him was pitch black and he felt…absolutely _nothing_. No inkling that sight, touch, smell, taste or hearing had ever existed.

He definitely didn't have a clue to the kind of atmosphere in which he was. In fact, the strange feeling almost suggested that he might be a _part_ of this void instead. And yet at the same time, he felt that he was really separate and the blackness may actually be some kind of blanket wound tightly around him. Or maybe not…

He frowned in confusion at the strange sensations. They were very unsettling.

This time he tried to move; and the sensation was even odder. He could _still_ move even when he felt that he was covered in something that slightly countered his movements.

Danny reflexively reached up and touched his face and finally realized that he _hadn't_ opened his eyes yet. He forced himself to make his eyelids slide upward and when he did, Danny gasped. He was _still _surrounded by complete darkness that was completely devoid of…everything. He could not detect even a single photon of light anywhere near him—not even from the reflection of the glow of his ghostly eyes against the blackness.

He paused, trying to figure out what that resistance was. It didn't feel cold or hot, wet or dry. Yet, he was sure that he was floating in what he felt was a liquid of some sort. And though it felt more viscous than ink, it was still just as black. At least, that's what he guessed.

Not only that, it was still deathly quiet, without a hint of a decibel of any kind of 'whooshing' sound from the slight movement of his hands against whatever this stuff he was in.

That definitely didn't make him feel any better.

Nevertheless, he acted upon his next impulse and charged up a green ectoplasmic energy ball within the palm of his left hand to see if he could see where he was. As soon as he formed his green orb, however, he looked in disbelief at what happened next.

That ball of light emanating from his hand….it was changing. Wait! That wasn't right!

_The blackness around the ball of light was changing!_

At first the blackness seemed to recoil from the intensity of the young hybrid's energy. But then, it oozed toward it, as attracted to it as a thirsty man is drawn to a watering hole.

In the odd shadows created by his green light the boy could see that the total darkness seemed to have suddenly grown arms…and even…hands as it crept toward the light still glowing and hovering above his own hand.

Danny was both mystified and stunned by the sight, and he reflexively pulled back away from the darkness as if it were some kind of threatening liquid creature. Still, was any of this possible? He blinked, before having the wild notion that maybe he was dreaming or was still sleepy …especially since he didn't feel at all rested.

Still, all he could do was stare with both a bit of dread and fascination as the blackness rolled over to the ball of ectoplasmic light energy. It quickly cupped its newly-formed ebony 'hand' over the glowing orb before covering it as easily and completely as a top covered a pot, all the while not ever touching Danny's own hand.

But then, something even stranger happened. The black 'hand' pulled slightly away from the boy's hand before it formed two 'fingers', which seemed to 'pinch' only the top part of the ball of light between them. Then, the black 'fingers' slowly pulled on that small portion of the orb of green light.

But the two 'fingers' made of 'nothing' didn't pick up the orb in its entirety like they looked like they were going to do when they first approached and grabbed the top part of the ball of light. Instead, the two ebony 'fingers' seemed to have only pinch off a small piece off of the light away from the rest of the ball—only that wasn't all to it. As if the ball of light was suddenly changed into a ball of glowing yarn, the two black extensions pulled the end of that ball of 'yarn' and lifted up a thin 'string' of light from the rest of the mass.

Then the orb of green energy began to slowly roll within Danny's hand as the lead 'string' was pulled even more from it and pulled upward into the darkness. It was as if the ball of light was indeed a ball of yarn dressed in light and that it was now being 'unraveled'.

Before too long, the 'ball of glowing yarn' was completely unraveled so that it was now a very long thin string still pinched at its end by the fingers made of nothing. And it was now suspended at Danny's eye level and completely out of his hand.

In the next instant, however, and starting where the 'fingers' had first pinched the 'yarn of light', the darkness began to envelop the string, oozing down as if it were black paint coating a bright green twine until there was only total blackness left in the end.

Danny had been too stunned to move all this while. But now that he was a bit over his shock, he finally tried to move—only to feel like he was no longer freely floating, but was now being resisted by some kind of black goo that had significantly thickened in the last few minutes.

"Hey, what gives?" he uttered out loud in protest, but then he startled at the sound of his own voice.

It was as if he was both speaking underwater _and_ within a cave! His voice was both garbled and yet echoed away from him. But that was impossible that he was in an underwater cave, because how could his voice _echo _like it did?

"Am I even in the Ghost Zone?" he suddenly asked himself before frowning at the same garbled, hollow sound that his voice had made. He then silently said, "_Of course, it's that old cliché of 'Yeah, I haven't been here before'_. _But not so much clichéd to say 'I certainly don't want to be here!'"_

He looked around again, hoping to see something, anything. But all that was around him was completely thick and black.

Then he tried to move again, but fretted a bit when he met even more resistance with his effort.

_"Man, I so don't like this!"_ the boy immediately thought as he tried to pull against this stiffening stuff once more.

But when the black substance seemed to have somehow changed even more, so much so that now Danny felt he had fallen into black quicksand, he said to himself in sudden panic, _"What IS this stuff?"_

Though throughout this entire time his mind was still groggy, he still managed to resist going into a full panic mode and stopped to think about what was happening.

How was it that he was totally immersed in some kind of semi-solid something that was getting thicker by the moment, and yet, he could breathe normally? But then, he reflexively brought up one of his hands up to his nose to check whether he was breathing and wished he hadn't!

He could feel something fluid moving in and out of his nose and brushing his fingertips as he breathed.

"Oh, gross!" he said with disgust, especially when his voice was still distorted and echoing. He just knew that this black icky stuff had now invaded his throat! "Now this stuff has _way_ invaded my personal space! That is _so _wrong!"

Then it finally occurred to him that even though he hadn't sensed any other ghost so far, this must be yet another test the Observants were throwing at him. He smacked his forehead and said, "Duh! If I wasn't so tired and grossed out by all of this I would have thought about that in the first place. But, so what if I had thought of it at first? I have no clue what this is all about and quite frankly..."

He suddenly yelled more forcefully into the void, his voice now sounding eerie and threatening within the blackness, "And quite frankly, I think this test reeks! Do you hear, Justeco? You never give me any inkling…"

The boy suddenly winced at his unintentional pun. Still, he plodded onward… "You never gave me a clue about what I should be doing and yet you stack things up against me so that I wouldn't even notice any kind of hint you may have given me. So, what kind of ghost are you going to have me fight now? The 'creature from the black lagoon'? If there is such a thing, though it would be very fitting at this point."

But as if the young half-ghost half-expected it, the void engulfing him remained mute.

It was creepy to say the least.

Though the utter darkness dared him to sink into total panic, Danny shook his head, trying to stay focus and rational. He could think of some way out of this _literal_ mess…he hoped. But first, he had to see where he was!

But before he could charge up another ball of green ectoplasmic light, he startled a bit….Did he just _hear _something?

He strained his ears to listen and this time heard nothing. He sighed in disappointment. He must have imagined it. But then, he heard it again! And it was the same sound! Its echo was faint, as if it were far away; and it was distorted, so he couldn't tell what kind of sound it was. But it was there, definitely there!

Suddenly, Danny's heart leapt in excitement before it was gripped with hope. He wasn't alone in here! And maybe whoever—or whatever— had made that sound felt as lost as he certainly did right now! Just as suddenly, he wanted to search out that being, giving into that innate desire of all creatures of life to be with others…

The boy attempted to move again, though he was not as disheartened at the counter tug of the thick darkness surrounding him. He stopped when he heard the sound again….But…this sound was…different. In fact, it sounded as if…someone was crying…But then, the crying melded into some kind of hollow howling?

He shook his head. He _was_ going crazy!

But then, he startled at what he next heard. There were _voices_….indistinguishable voices echoing all around him, yet moving past him—or was _he_ the one passing them? Still, he was certain they were voices.

Some of them were laughing—all kinds of joyous laughter…others speaking so rapidly in excitement that their words weren't distinguishable. Still others were sighing loudly, as if they were content about something, though Danny really didn't get why anyone in here would be _happy_ about being here!

However, the next sounds he heard raked dread into his spine. There were other voices, but these poured out terrifying screams….hopeless cries…anguished moans…words strangled by wails…..He could actually _feel _their pain penetrate every bit of him. Their sorrowful echoes vibrated through the black sludge around him, as if a string had been plucked on a violin and had sent its melancholic sound along it until it had accosted his eardrums and skin.

"_What IS this place?"_ Danny asked himself, feeling terror slowly tightening around his throat when the distraught voices grew louder and seemed to press against him. Layer upon layer of voices weighed down upon him as if he were trapped under falling rubble—and more was raining down on him!

He reflexively swallowed the unsettling pressure down before he coughed on the black, dry ink that had earlier invaded his throat.

And suddenly, the sounds stopped, as if they had been ripped away from him and literally swallowed up by the void.

This time it seemed that the void had exchanged the voices for another, more terrifying feeling: despair. He tried to shake it off even as it had suddenly wrapped itself around him as if it were a hungry boa constrictor.

But it didn't help to calm him when he was suddenly aware that he was more than 'just floating' within this void. He had had the hunch that he was actually gliding past all of those voices. But now, he _was_ certain by how he was feeling that he was definitely moving. And somehow, he knew he was moving linearly as well, like he had been caught up in what he could only describe was the strong current of this black river of something in which he was. And he could feel that he was going _faster_ as each second past!

"Now I'm really worried!" he yelled to himself as he now resisted the movement with more determination this time, especially when new sounds erupted all around him.

And then suddenly, he saw…light. A very vague light ahead of him. He couldn't tell how far it was from him, but he thought it was definitely there because the blackness looked grayer there. He swallowed thickly at the thought before coughing on the thick liquid still within his throat. Was that even a good thing?

But then, he knew it definitely wasn't a good thing when he saw small comet-like balls of very diffuse light fly past him and head toward that grayer area, as if they couldn't wait to plunge into that gray mire. In fact, just as some of those orbs of light flew past him—even when he knew he was traveling at quite a fast clip himself—he now felt as if something was pulling on his _skin_!

Immediately guessing that the blackness was the 'culprit' behind all of this, Danny brought his hands up to his eye level to inspect them because they had been stinging a bit more from the unseen pull. He sighed a bit. At least his ghostly eyes allowed him to see his hands, even if they weren't that clear.

He then jolted when he realized that the blackness was not pulling on his skin, it was _pulling on his ghostly white aura_ as if it were trying to peel tape off a package—only he was the package, and his aura was the tape! Though the ghostly sheen surrounding him was bowing out unnaturally and he winced at the sharp pain, his aura was stubbornly staying put —thank goodness, well, sort of.

He shook his hands free from the pinching night and knew he had to get out of here. He struggled to counter the pull toward whatever 'one way' direction he was going. But the more he struggled, the _faster_ he went!

This time, Danny struggled to push away the panic that was suddenly creeping into his dulled mind. But then, he finally got a hold of himself.

"_What a minute…,"_ he began, clinging desperately to this thread of a hope of an idea. _"This stuff I'm in is sorta liquid, right? Well, that might mean that it can become a solid!"_

With that thought, his left hand suddenly lit up with his blue ice energy before he jutted the energy forward into the black mire. Much to his shock, however, the blackness seemed to grab his ice beam and _yanked back_!

Danny reflexively pulled back, only to have something forcefully counter-pull him again. He hadn't expected any kind of tug-of-war with his idea! He tried to extinguish his ice beam, but it had now hardened completely around his left hand without his willing it so, as if the void was somehow determined to counter his strength as well as pull against him and his ice 'rope'.

Now desperate and not even thinking clearly about it, Danny willed his wulf claws out of his right hand and rapidly sliced through the solid ice beam, releasing his left hand from within its grip before the ice energy melted completely into the darkness.

Danny jolted when he saw past where he had swiped and spied a small hole he had accidentally rent in the process of slicing his ice beam —and he saw the familiar green, black and purple atmosphere of the _Ghost Zone behind it_!

"That's great and 'Duh!' again! I _can_ get out of here because I can tear into other dimensions with my wulf claws!" the boy excitedly said to himself as he produced all ten of his claws this time.

Suddenly, Danny startled when he heard another sound! Its echo resounded from somewhere in front of him; and though it was garbled, it sounded… human? He wasn't so sure, but it did seem as if someone was yelling out to him.

Danny frowned when the sound was suddenly snuffed out just like those strange voices he had heard earlier had been. It was a trick like before; or else, he had to be imagining it this time. Either way, he couldn't afford to take the time to investigate.

Without hesitating another second, the boy slashed at the atmosphere immediately in front of him. But at first, nothing happened! The boy then stabbed all of his claws into the blackness, concentrating on finding where it ended and where the Ghost Zone began. He pulled back, this time using the strength behind his entire body to try to rend the atmosphere. But it proved to be harder than it looked. He grunted in determination as he concentrated in his task. And moments later, he finally was able to carve a huge hole in it.

Just before Danny was about to throw himself into the hole, however, the boy heard another ear-piercing, yet woeful cry. But now he could tell that it was _very_ nearby. But what startled the teen more was that the cry sounded both human _and animal-like_. He couldn't have imagined _that_! And now he was suddenly worried for the person —or creature —that might be stuck within this mire like him. He couldn't leave now knowing that he would have callously left someone—or something— behind.

"Who's there?" he reflexively called out, ignoring the eeriness of his voice.

But then, he heard lots of gibberish again, which was quickly stifled and sucked up into the void —like had all the sounds so far. But somehow, he thought that the cry sounded more like a howl this time, only that the howl was mixed with a whimpering sound. Now Danny was certain that the person or creature sounded lost and hopeless!

Danny strained to pinpoint from where the sound originated when it resounded once more. This time, its plea sounded just as garbled and spooky as every sound all this while had been; and all he could tell from it was that it was still somewhere nearby and up ahead.

Suddenly, however, Danny could see that his crude portal was beginning to close!

He yelled out once more, partly in distress and partly in desperation, "Where are you? I can get you out of here if you just help me find you! But you hafta hurry!"

He heard the howl again —only this time, it didn't sound upset like it had moments before. It sounded…excited! Maybe whoever or whatever it was had finally heard him!

Now just as encouraged as the other entity, Danny called out, "Okay, uh, whoever you are. Just keep howl —I mean, just keep yelling and I'll try to get to you, okay?"

As the boy watched his way to freedom shut, he couldn't help saying to himself, _"I guess I can always make another portal—at least, I hope I can!"_

When he heard the entity howl again, Danny closed his eyes. He had to concentrate on locating where the sound originated so that he could open a portal to that entity with his claws. After a few more sounds from the being he was trying to reach, Danny decided where to attempt to rent open another portal.

But before he could even begin to try, _a different_ hole burst open right in front of him! And before he could react, he felt something grab him and suck him right into the hole!

* * *

><p>Danny's eyes slowly opened, but his vision was still blurry. He was a bit dazed by what had happened, especially when he wasn't even sure if he had ever been fully awake during this entire thing.<p>

Finally, some of his surroundings were coming into focus. If he wanted to call them 'surroundings', that is. He blinked, trying to make out anything of form from the blackness he was still in. Well, okay. This place was really a bit _brighter _than where he had just been —_if_ he wanted to call gray-black better than _black_-_black_, that is. Still, there was enough light here to create shadows in this area and for him to see slightly better.

Finally, the teen's mind cleared enough for him to realize that there was even more weirdness in this area in which he now found himself. He was _not _covered or floating in that blackness anymore. Instead, he was lying on some kind of _solid _ledge. And it felt as if there was some kind of space, some kind of _emptiness_ around him that had not been there before he got into this mess.

Now all he needed was more of some kind of light.

"_Duh!"_ He silently chided himself as he powered up a green ectoplasmic energy orb.

The hybrid startled when he noticed movement in the blackness when his light penetrated that area, which was several yards away from him. But the movement he saw wasn't the same as before when the atmosphere had swallowed up his light.

Danny pulled himself upward and immediately took a defensive position as he readied himself to face that entity.

But then, he was suddenly distracted when he heard his name. Did he hear that right? He could swear it was _Jazz's_ voice that had called him!

"Jazz?" he blurted out in bewilderment while still scanning the area.

Cringing at his sloppy caution, the boy immediately brought his attention back to the place where he had detected the movement. He lifted the hand that had created the light and surveyed the area. It looked as if he were in some type of cave. But the walls were all black. And he could see that there was some kind of black 'river' of semi-solid 'something' which seemed to cut the 'cave' in two and was moving very slowly along against the 'shore' of the solid ledge on which he was. He could also see that there was a matching 'shore' on the other side of this cave, separated by that 'river'.

Danny scanned the area more thoroughly this time; and, once again, there was a shift in one of the walls—only it was now _closer_ and on _his side_ of the 'river'!

"All right, I see you!" he challenged, powering up more energy from his other hand.

He was about to throw an ectoplasmic beam at it, when, all of the sudden, before he could do that, whatever he had seen move pounced on him from _behind_!

Danny gasped, though he reflexively twisted his body so that he could face his attacker even as he was being pushed to the ground. But then, he frowned in confusion when whatever had jumped on him was warmly embracing him rather than attacking him.

However, his confusion was short-lived.

"_Friend!_" it said in its strange language, and the boy knew immediately knew who it was.

"Wulf!" he cried, trying to pull away from the very friendly beast. "What are you doing here? And what am _I_ doing here? And, for that matter, why didn't my ghost sense let me know you were here?"

Wulf got up off of his friend and helped Danny off of the ground.

"_I am sorry I took you from where you had been without your permission, but, I need your help. I_—_…."_ Wulf began in Esperanto, but he stopped when his friend put up a finger to indicate for him to wait.

Danny reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a tiny device. And even though he was much better with speaking Esperanto, he still needed a bit of help at times…

He chuckled as he turned the device on and put it into his ear, "Good thing Tuck gave me this _English-Esperanto Translation_ gadget for my, I mean, our birthday!"

Once he had translated what he had his werewolf friend repeat, Danny continued in Esperanto, "_Okay. Go on_!"

And Wulf proceeded to tell Danny about what had happened…

"I was put here by Walker. He had put a bounty on me and I was captured again by his guards and sent to his prison," the werewolf began.

Danny smirked a bit and teased, "Really? C'mon, Wulf! You were able to sneak up on me just now and you couldn't avoid getting caught by Walker again?"

Wulf winced and said apologetically, "Sorry?"

Danny then chuckled, "It doesn't really matter, and I was just teasing. So, then what happened?"

"As you probably could guess as well, Walker was beside himself that I kept messing up his prison record for no escapes."

Not resisting the urge to gloat about his own escapes, Danny quipped, "Yeah, feels good, doesn't it?"

Wulf smiled a bit but continued more seriously, "Well, this time he had other plans for me. He sent me here, which he felt was a unique area of solitary confinement. And, quite frankly, I think he is right and his record will be unblemished from now on."

"Why?" Danny asked, his throat all of the sudden tightening. He didn't like the sound of that.

"Because what we are in is the Ghost Zone's own version of a black hole. Only that ghostly black holes are very different from those you have in the Real World."

"Of course they are!" Danny dryly interrupted him, though he still swallowed hard.

The werewolf frowned a bit in slight confusion but replied, "A ghost black hole is both semi-solid and has a gravitational pull. It forms when a natural portal between our worlds collapses."

"They can do that?" Danny asked in awe.

"Yes, my friend," Wulf replied before continuing, "Natural portals form and are then reabsorbed by the Ghost Zone all the time. Occasionally, however, something goes wrong. It is as if the metaphysics of _both_ worlds suddenly want to reabsorb the portal at the same time. Sometimes, the effect is insignificant and nothing comes of it."

The werewolf paused a moment before continuing "But more often than not, the struggle for the control of the portal is violent. When that happens, the portal compresses and collapses under the tugging force exerted upon it by both worlds, and it becomes what we call a _fantoma nigra truo_.**(1)** And when it does form it has two parts to it— sort of an 'outer' and 'inner' shell. In fact, when I heard and then found you, you were in the outermost fringes of this black hole, being drawn into the center, since the outer part of the black hole always moves toward the inner part. Not only that, but the outer shell's wall is less dense, but as you near the inner shell, the black hole's wall gets thicker and thicker. And as you know, its qualities are unique: neither wet nor dry, solid nor liquid; yet its walls are indeed real and are always made of an entirely black substance."

Instantly cringing when remembering that stuff being in his nose and mouth, Danny immediately blurted out, "Ugh. Tell me about it!"

Wulf frowned and blinked with non-comprehension before replying, "But I _am_ telling you about it, my friend."

Danny blushed slightly and said, "Uh, that's just an expression—uh, never mind. Go on, okay?"

Wulf slightly smiled and continued, "It is precisely because of its uniqueness that it is a very dangerous force within the Ghost Zone, but not so much for the Real World."

"How? And for that matter, why is that?" Danny interjected.

"As for the 'how', I will get to that. But why are they the way they are? We do not exactly know, but we definitely know that they are very dangerous and you don't want to be near one. I should know, since I have been studying them for several decades now."

Danny's eyes widened at his friend's words. "You have been _studying_ them? I thought you weren't very smar— well, I mean…"

"That is quite all right, my friend," Wulf said, gently interrupting him while raising one of his paws to signal his friend to say no more.

Before now, no one would have guessed that what Danny had thought about the werewolf's being stupid was actually just a ruse on the part of the older ghost. In fact, that exact same impression was what the werewolf had wanted to perpetuate about himself. Wulf really did not want others to know that he was really quite smart and very curious about learning about things. That way he could go about researching things in which he was interested without anyone bothering him, especially since no would be taking him seriously in the first place.

But his secret was discovered during the time when Vlad had been researching and planning for this latest scheme of his. The billionaire had found out all about the werewolf's past…

Wulf had really been a very bright, but private person even before he had become a werewolf all those many years ago when he had lived in Poland with his sister, Jadiwiga, and his mother, Olga… He was known as Karol Jaroslaw back then and he would probably have grown up to be a scientist until… that fateful day he had met Alphonse….which resulted with his life being forever changed shortly after that. **[2]**

But Vlad had also concluded that the werewolf was smarter than he let on because Wulf had discovered the cure for Daniel when the boy had been accidentally turned into a werewolf himself. Of course, the billionaire had been responsible for that particular complication, but it had all turned out to the man's liking since Daniel had never found out that Vlad had been behind Wulf's attack in the first place.

Nevertheless, it was easy for Vlad and most other ghosts to think that Wulf _was_ a bit dumb at times. After all, sometimes the werewolf _did_ carry that ruse a little too far because he _did_ get caught by Walker and his henchmen _too often_. But then again, that could be explained in terms of Wulf's being a bit of the 'absent-minded professor' type at times, including drifting off the subject as he had done in the past.

Wulf cleared his voice all of the sudden and Danny jumped with how loud—and random—it had been.

"Sorry," Wulf said with a small smirk. "Hair balls!"

"But I thought cats—never mind!" Danny began, only to quickly add in order to get back on subject, "Uhm, you were telling me all about, er, spectral ghost holes, er, right?"

"Right!" the werewolf agreed before he continued with his explanation, "As I was saying, the spectral black holes are very dangerous forces in the Ghost Zone. Like the black holes in the Real World, they absorb everything—light, sound, objects and the like. They can even absorb almost all of our powers—like your ghost sense. However, they do not constantly pull things in like the Real World black holes. Instead, their gravitational pull is intermittent; that is, they have lulls when they do not suck things in."

Wulf paused only a moment and added, "We are in one of those 'lulls' right now, which only occurs in the inner shell of the black hole. And when those lulls happen, things stop moving and the black hole solidifies."

Danny's felt a lump of anxiety within his throat. He was definitely having a very bad feeling about all this. Still, he carefully listened to his lycanthrope friend.

"But as with all _fantomas nigras truo_s, when this black hole's gravitational pull reactivates, nothing escapes it. Nothing."

"But, I was able to—" Danny began, only to be interrupted by his friend.

"Please, my friend, let me finish. There is more you need to know," Wulf said, his face growing more serious by the second. "As I was saying, it is during one of those lulls that solid areas form, like blood coagulating to form a clot."

Danny winced at the allusion, but he remained quiet as the werewolf continued, "We are on one of those solid ledges. And at first, these relatively small pockets of solid areas may seem like a refuge from the spectral black hole. But in reality, those ledges form extremely close to the center of the spectral black holes, which also means that their borders or walls within here are extremely denser. And that means that they are almost impossible to penetrate in order for any escape to be possible."

Danny was about to say something but Wulf raised his hand to stop him.

The werewolf then said, "There is still a bit more to explain and then we can discuss everything, my friend."

He paused slightly before continuing, "As I have told you, a natural portal collapses from the pull by both the Ghost Zone and the Real World. But something both fascinating and odd happens because of that, which gives the spectral black hole its unique properties. The 'solid' nature of the Real World then bleeds into the Ghost Zone, while the 'ghostly' nature of the Ghost Zone leaks into the Real World all at the same time, pushing and pulling each other for control until they form a primitive temporal rift. That is why you could hear echoes of voices from either the Real World or the Ghost Zone, echoes that could be happening in the past, present or future. And….there has been evidence that you can also hear things….from the Oblivion!"

"That is why I could hear Jazz call me! Well, I thought I heard Jazz calling me!" Danny excitedly said, before he frowned in worry when he finally comprehended Wulf's last words. "Uh, I hope I heard _the past_ about Jazz and that she's alright!"

Wulf didn't answer right away but then said, "We can only hope that she is, but chances are good that what you heard was the past."

"How do you know?" Danny asked with some consternation.

Wulf placed a large paw on top of Danny's shoulder in assurance and replied, "Usually when a loved one passes, the family members that have gone before them are…summoned by Another to be at their passing. And, even though you are only half-ghost, I do believe you would have been summoned by that other Entity to her side if she were at the threshold."

Danny bit his lip at the news; but then, when he focused his thoughts on his sister for a moment, he sighed in relief….Maybe she was all right after all—especially since what he thought he heard was a very 'normal' thing that Jazz would have done when she was at home; and that would be for her to chide him for doing something stupid. He didn't think she would be worried _about that_ if she was on the 'threshold' that Wulf had talked about!

So, you understand, my friend," the lycanthrope solemnly continued, "that once the spectral black hole comes out of its lull, we will be sucked into the void and never return, unless—"

Danny excitedly interrupted him, "But let me tell you what I wanted to say before all of this, okay?"

Wulf nodded and Danny continued, "I was able to open a portal with my wulf claws just before I heard you howling. And, since both of us have that power, then—"

But this time, Wulf interrupted him, "I am sorry, my friend. But it took most of my strength to open that portal to bring you here. The portal did not last long enough at this location for me to get myself or you out of the black hole. And now, I am not sure if there is anything we can do about it. I am afraid that we are stuck."

Danny frowned after understanding Wulf's explanation. Not at all satisfied with what his friend had last said, the boy dryly commented, "Okay, so, you say that this doesn't look promising. So, what are we going to do? Just sit here and give up? And like I said, I was able to do it, so even if you're out of energy, I'm not, and I can just try to open another portal like before!"

"You probably just got lucky. It is unlikely you will succeed a second time. The outer shell is possible to break open with a lot of strength and power, but the inner shell—where we are now—is impossible. The force holding it together is impossible to overcome… No, it is impossible. Once the lull subsides, there is nothing else to do but give up, my friend," Wulf sadly said, his ears falling in submission.

"I can't believe that you said that, Wulf! You've been through just as tough or even tougher times than this! I think we should try to open a portal with the strength of _both_ of us! Maybe between the two of us we'll have a big enough portal to get out of here. C'mon, dude. We have to at least try," Danny said, his face etched in determination.

That was all that the ghost werewolf needed to hear. He finally said, "You are right, my friend. I am glad that you have enough hope and —" He paused before slightly grinning and adding, "— doggedness for the both of us."

Danny's face fell into a small smile at his friend's intended pun. He then said, "Okay, then, where do you think is a good place to try?"

The lycanthrope sniffed the air before heading to the area farthest away from the center of the _fantoma nigra truo_ with Danny close behind him.

The boy watched the werewolf closely as his friend continued to sniff, searching for a likely spot for them to start.

Once Wulf was satisfied with his choice, he grinned and pointed to the spot just like a hunting dog would point to its prey.

Danny rolled his eyes at his friend's intentional tease before he nodded in understanding.

Without another word, the two friends quietly and rapidly produced their wulf claws. They quickly plunged each set of their sharp talons tip-to-tip into the thick, black outer membrane of the _fantoma nigra truo._

The two males instantly pulled against the tough barricade, struggling to rent open a crude portal. But just as Wulf had said, it proved to be an incredibly huge challenge that hinted at failure.

Neither of the friends could separate even an inch of the wall of the spectral black hole even when they began to pant and their arms shook with the effort.

"I-It is no use," Wulf uttered through his pants.

"N-No!" Danny objected through his hard breathing and even as beads of sweat began to trickle down his face. "W-We can do it!"

But before the two could argue or even put more effort into their task, the ground under them began to tremble!

"T-The lull! It has subsided!" Wulf yelled in slight panic.

Danny's eyes widened in dread. But then, he steeled himself. He closed his eyes and concentrated, digging deeper within his inner being.

Suddenly, the boy knew he had tapped into his central core and its secret well of energy. He felt his ghost aura brighten and expand just as he felt a rush from within, like cold fire thrusting outward from his central core and infusing every sinew and nerve within him with renewed energy. In a heartbeat, he was grunting with both determination and effort as he poured his newly created strength into tearing open a portal.

Wulf had noticed the change in his young friend but didn't say anything. Instead, he, too, renewed his efforts to rent a hole into the wall of the _fantoma nigra truo._

Meanwhile, the black hole's efforts to suck things in doubled and the two friends could feel the ground under them violently shift and knew that their window of opportunity was shrinking by the millisecond.

Still, they struggled to finish their task.

With one last pull by the two males, the barrier finally gave way and a large hole peeled open!

The Ghost Zone's atmosphere looked almost like glaring bright lights compared to the blackness they were in!

"C'mon!" Danny excitedly commanded as he pulled away from the hole and retracted his claws.

The effort had drained the boy, but he was still determined to escape with his friend.

"The portal is too small for me!" Wulf objected, stumbling a bit when the ground began to split open and the rumbling increased.

"No, it's not! I'll help you get through!" Danny insisted, lifting himself off of the ground and then grabbing a hold on his friend with the intention of having him go through the portal first.

But just as the boy began to pull on his friend, Danny felt a stronger counter-pull.

Thinking it was the black hole's gravitational pull, Danny poured more of his strength to resist that movement and bring Wulf closer to the portal.

But then he gasped when his eyes drifted slightly toward the portal. It was beginning to close!

"We have to hurry!" Danny yelled above the din of the shifting ledge while still pulling on his friend.

But just as he was about to turn to look at his friend, Danny grunted when he was suddenly shoved _toward_ the portal.

Now the teen knew that he hadn't been resisting the black hole, he had been resisting Wulf! And now the werewolf was pushing him into the portal!

"No, Wulf! Stop! We can both get out!" Danny screamed in a panic, trying to counter his friend.

But the more Danny resisted with trying to keep his friend from pushing him into the portal, the harder Wulf grabbed hold of him and pushed back—and the lycanthrope was winning!

Danny's eyes widened when his legs and then his torso were passing through the closing edges of the portal and entering the Ghost Zone.

Now knowing that he couldn't prevent or convince Wulf to stop from shoving him through the portal, Danny then clamped down on his friend's arms and started to pull back in the same direction that he was being shoved. He was determined, then, to pull his friend through the portal along with him even as the portal was rapidly narrowing.

But at the last moment, Wulf wrenched his arms away from the boy and shoved Danny completely through the portal in order to keep Danny's hands from being captured by the black hole again. He then uttered, "Go, friend! And remember me!"

"WULF! NOOOO!" Danny screamed at the top of his lungs before he inadvertently blacked out.

* * *

><p>"Perfect execution of File 287D, Maddie! Daniel is once more in <em>delta<em> sleep. Now, deactivate Program 289—Level 4 a_lpha_," Vlad said to his computer even as his eyes stayed glued to the unconscious boy still floating in the Ghost Zone, "And activate the standard protocol program."

"As you command, sir," the female holograph said as she pushed the corresponding buttons.

Instantly, the scenery surrounding Danny melded from being the Ghost Zone to being the Observants' jail cell. The cot that usually was in the cell seemed to gently scoop up the _delta_ sleep-induced boy as he fell on top of it.

The billionaire finally looked away and walked over to the inactive grey Subliminal Helmet. He picked it up and quickly inspected it, not aware that his thoughts about its repairs and about Daniel had intertwined…

_"The new wires for the helmet are state of the art. All the more likely that whatever dream I need to use on Daniel will be even more vivid…Daniel…I'm sure that he is upset about what happened to his 'friend' in this last program. But is it enough to break him?"_

The man then frowned. "_Hmmph_. _Why Daniel could befriend such a stupid fleabag of a ghost is beyond me. Still, I'm not quite satisfied that what happened to Wulf in the last program is enough. So, I will have to make sure that I not rule out using the beast again to completely squelch the boy's mental resistance. And the Subliminal Helmet will let me do just that!"_

"Are you sure that the modifications have been secured, my dear?" he suddenly asked out loud as he placed the helmet into a receptacle and pushed a button.

"You only plan perfect modifications, sir, so all has been secured," the computer said without emotion and without her eyes' ever straying from the monitor in front of her.

Vlad looked at the holograph, a bit stunned by her words. Still, he continued, "Then it is time for File and Program 287 SH to be interfaced with Program 289-Level-5 _Epsilon_, my dear."

"Already done, sir," Maddie said as she pushed a button….

* * *

><p><strong>[1]<strong>_**fantoma nigra truo—**_**Esperanto for 'spectral black hole'.**

**[2] 'History' of Wulf partially borrowed from Angelus-alvus's fanfiction story, **_**Werewulf Tales**_**. Used with the author's permission.**

**Fantomos Ecto-Scale so far:**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**A/N: As you can see, we've wrapped up the level four ghosts. (Wulf is the alpha animal of level four! LOL! Sorry, I couldn't help myself!) Now before some of you feel that I made Wulf too smart, let me tell you right now that an argument could **_**definitely **_**be made that Wulf is not very smart and I ****accept ****that argument as well! Yep, you read that right!**

**But after reading Angelus-alvus' story, **_**Werewulf Tales**_**, my opinion of Wulf changed. Plus, I did have him 'save the day' in my own story, **_**Bewerewulfed**_**, so I couldn't exactly claim that he was all muscle, including his brain! But I thought that the best way of arguing for **_**both **_**theories was to have him be bright underneath, but also be a sort of 'absent-minded professor' type who doesn't always pay attention to details unless: 1. They are related to the things he loves and is brilliant at doing; and 2. He's **_**forced **_**to pay attention to details because not doing so ended up making him do something stupid and therefore gets him into trouble!**

**So, I hope that satisfies those of you who are of the "Wulf-is-definitely-dumb" persuasion!**

**No matter what you think of Wulf, I hope you enjoyed how I saw him and you will send me lots of cool wulf claws or fleas via a review! Until next time, then, dear readers, thanks for your support! truephan**


	24. Level FIVE Ghosts: Night of the Soul

**A/N: Early Merry Christmas greetings to everyone! I hope you're ready because I am! Aww! My favorite holiday! And speaking of Christmas, I have a surprise to reveal at the end of the chapter. But back to this chapter, first. It's the **_**first **_**one dealing with the 'level 5' ghosts! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 24—Level <strong>Five<strong> Ghosts—Night of the Soul

Once the Subliminal Helmet was secured onto Daniel, Vlad instantly knew that it was activated when the lights began to flicker and the antennas began to play catch with their electrical 'ball'.

Suddenly, he was caught up in their almost mesmerizing, yet simple, interplay. The quiet twinkling of the Subliminal Helmet really was beautiful in its synergy. But then he smiled wickedly.

"Be sure to include that special thought we need to convey to Daniel when he begins to dream, including all of the appropriate emotions surrounding it, my dear," he quickly added.

"Right away, sir," Maddie said, confirming that she had understood his command.

After all, the boy was showing some signs that he was ready for more subliminal messages.

Vlad saw the single sentence which had suddenly popped up on one of the monitors. He glanced up once more and through the window to the sleeping boy still lying on the cot in the faux Observant prison. But this time, the Subliminal Helmet's lights and the interplay between its antennas didn't impress him one bit.

In fact, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself, _How deliciously ironical. All that silly sense of balance and peace that helmet generates only belies all of that mischief that it is about to be driven right into Daniel's stubborn mind and dreams..._

* * *

><p>While lazily lying suspended against the sloping edge of a roof, Danny looked through a hand-held telescope and into the darkened heavens. He smiled and happily said, "This has got to be the most beautiful night for star-gazing yet!"<p>

"Hey, dude, you came out without us?" a familiar yet slightly irritated male voice called out from above.

Danny twisted around and looked up. He saw his best friend hanging over the ledge of the flattened part of the roof and gazing down at him.

The half-ghost could clearly see by the smile on Tucker's face that the bespectacled boy had been teasing a moment ago.

"I thought you said you were busy, Tuck," Danny began before his face broke out into a mischievous smile as he added, "C'mon down!"

Knowing that his ghost friend knew he couldn't do that, Tucker deadpanned. "Ha-ha. In your dreams. Why don't you come up here? Sam and I set up a larger telescope!"

_Sam! _Danny excitedly said to himself as he pushed off of the sloping edge of the roof and floated upward toward where he knew his friends would be.

Glowing green eyes immediately found those warm amethyst eyes and could tell that they were waiting for him to land right next to them.

Without glancing away, Danny obliged his girlfriend right away; and the two locked hands as soon as he alit.

Tucker cleared his voice and teased, "I thought we were going to star-gaze, not gaze at the stars in you two's eyes."

Sam squeezed Danny's hand and replied with a smirk, "That's probably all we're going to see since it looks like the sky isn't cooperating."

"Huh?" Danny asked in bewilderment as he looked back up into the sky.

That was odd.

It was completely clouded over when only a moment ago it was as clear as any night could be.

"Oh, well. We can try again later. How about we play that new video game I just got?" Tucker asked, immediately whipping out a hand-held game device completely out of thin air.

"Besides, we still haven't finished patrolling for ghosts," Sam added.

Danny frowned. How did this conversation go from star-gazing to ghost-fighting?

But when Danny turned back to look at his girl, he startled a bit. They were no longer on the roof. They were on the sidewalk and Sam had a helmet on and was on a motorized scooter. He glanced to the right of the girl and saw that Tucker was also on a motorized scooter but still holding onto his gaming device…only that, the little techno-object wasn't so little anymore. In fact, it was ridiculously big. Though that seemed weird to the Ghost Boy, he didn't have time to comment.

"Yeah," Tucker piped in, though his eyes never pulled away from his device. "Things have gotten uglier in the Ghost Zone lately. All of the ghosts are on some kind of warpath or something—again! We really got our work cut out for us, right, Danny?"

Danny furrowed his brow but then strangely felt that his friend was right; yet at the same time, he felt his next thought was all wrong. Still, he couldn't help but think it and, more importantly, _feel _it. All of the ghosts in the Ghost Zone were his enemies, and had been for as long as he remembered. He was also sure that none of them was to be trusted. He frowned more at a strangely sudden emotion. He could feel his central core burn uncomfortably…

Just then, the trio was bathed in bright moonlight and they reflexively looked up.

"Full moon, ghosts come soon," Sam said ominously as she searched the sky.

Danny frowned. That didn't sound like Sam at all. He glanced at her but she was still looking upward. When he looked toward Tucker, however, his eyes widened. His friend was holding an even _bigger _gaming device and staring right into the screen.

Just then, however, Danny knew that his ghost sense had been triggered.

"Blue frost, a friend will be lost," Sam intoned once more.

Danny jerked his head toward his girl and felt a creepy chill shoot up his spine when he saw how eerie her eyes looked.

"What's this all about, Sam?" he finally asked.

Before anyone could even think of answering, however, the moonlight ceased and all three friends were in complete darkness.

Danny's ghostly eyes searched for his friends, only they weren't there when they had just been right beside him a heartbeat ago!

"Sam? Tucker?" he called and he startled at a vague memory. His voice…it sounded like as if he were both underwater and in a cave.

"Sam? Tuc—" he began to call again, only to be silenced when he heard a scream.

It sounded like Sam's—and it was somewhere close by!

Danny reflexively pulled himself upward, but before he could soar in that direction, he heard Sam yell again, only that it was faint, as if she had travelled several significant yards from him in a millisecond.

"Black hole, night descends on the soul!" his girl's voice mournfully echoed before it was choked out.

"Black hole?" the young hybrid gasped, his voice sounding as garbled as before. "No, this is impossible!"

Now panicking at the thought, Danny twisted his head all around.

All of the sudden, he saw movement just in front of him. It was twisting madly and heading toward him—or was he really just being thrust forward within the vortex of the black hole?

However, in the next instant, he felt the air brush past him just before he felt something slam right into the back of his head!

* * *

><p>"Oh, no, not again!" Danny Phantom groaned when he came to and opened his eyes.<p>

Nothing but blackness was greeting them once again. Was he back in one of the Ghost Zone's black holes, after all?

But then, he shook his head. He had no idea why he had said that, though he knew it had something to do with his still muddled brain. He didn't think he was in a ghostly black hole because it didn't _feel_ like one. In fact, did something just rub against his skin? Wait. Why was it so hard to _shake _his head?

He moved his arms and then his legs, feeling as if he was completely inside of black deflated balloon, whose rubber skin had clung to him as tightly as a scuba diver's. He struggled harder, slightly encouraged when the rubber membrane gave way with his strength and began to thin out.

Finally, he had stretched the rubber-like membrane far enough for it to peel away as he poked his head out. And when his head popped out, he gasped at what he saw. He could see stars again. Though he was slightly relieved that he was not in a black hole, there was more to be upset about. For some reason, he had ended up within some _thing _instead! He could feel its energy signature pulsing wickedly as it held him! But what—or, rather, _who_—was it that was restraining him?

Still, that same freaky feeling that something wasn't right about this also popped up and he impulsively said, "Hey, what are you doing?"

But the entity chuckled triumphantly and only squeezed harder.

Danny gritted his teeth. He was wrong about his first thoughts. This was his enemy, too…and somehow knew he _hated_ it!

"Got to break free!" he grunted as he charged up his green energy around his hands.

Even when his arms were still swathed within the black membrane belonging to his darkly-shorn captor, he quickly pulled his arms outward as if he were moving his arms in a morning stretch and thrust his beams outward at the same time.

The ebony entity was torn to shreds and the boy was now free.

But in almost an instant, all the black pieces remolded, forming a slightly dazed, but now complete _shadow ghost_.

Suddenly driven by even more hatred for all ghosts that had been subliminally planted and stirred earlier, Danny's dreaming mind clouded over. Very old memories replaced newer ones.

The boy cried out in anger, "You! I thought by now that you would remember that I'm just a heap full of indigestion for you! But, obviously, all those times I've kicked your butt a couple of years back haven't been enough for you to realize that yet!"

The teen immediately followed up with another round of his green ectoplasmic energy at the shadow ghost right in front of him.

But Johnny 13's shadow ghost friend opened up holes in his body and the beams quickly shot through him without harming him. He then screeched defiantly before he drew out his huge green claws and charged right at the young hybrid in counterattack.

Without hesitating, Danny willed out his own green wulf claws and soared right at his adversary.

Loud scraping sounds and sharp sparks erupted as claws dug at claws, each set twisting and jabbing at the other, trying to penetrate any area not shielded by their elusive moves and sharp weapons.

Now more blinded by the intense animosity pulsing through his mind, Danny sneered, "Where's your lame partner?"

Ignoring the odd sense of guilt that clenched his heart right after, the boy followed that harsh comment with a thrust of his wulf claws; and after entangling them with the other's claws, successfully shoved the shadow ghost away.

In spite of that nagging guilt, Danny felt compelled to add, "Oh, wait! Don't answer that! He always _gets you _to do all the dirty work for him, right?"

The black ghost screeched in more anger and lunged at the boy.

Danny quickly twisted his body and easily avoided the shadow ghost's angry talons before he faced his foe again and shot out an ice beam.

The ebony ghost was instantly sealed within a thick block of ice. He plunged downward with his now solid weight, and hit the ground with a loud thud.

But when Danny looked down at the frozen shadow ghost, he frowned in confusion. Another vague memory tugged at his brain cells. Something wasn't right. And he had known as soon as he had said those taunting words moments ago that he was wrong in saying them. He shouldn't be angry with or fighting the shadow ghost. But then, his head hurt and he shook the thought away. Why would he think something was wrong? _All ghosts were his enemies!_

Still, even as he spoke, Danny could feel his head spinning with that nagging thought that this was all wrong. "That will teach you, Shad— ...uh…Som— uh, huh?"

Danny suddenly moaned and reflexively cradled his forehead...

* * *

><p>"What is going on, Maddie?!" Vlad yelled out above the now screaming alarms.<p>

He could see that the Subliminal Helmet's lights had not changed in rhythm, but it was now beginning to smoke again!

"I don't know, sir," the holograph calmly began, though her fingers were frantically pushing buttons. "The monitors are recording off-the-scale readings."

"Yes, I know that, but why?" Vlad still loudly demanded before he glanced over at the boy, who was still lying on the cot in his fabricated Observant cell.

Only that, Daniel was no longer lying still! His body was twisting and turning violently even as he was still under the control of the Subliminal Helmet….

Or was he?

The man quickly scanned the monitors. Every gauge was still off the chart!

But then, suddenly, all the monitors fell back to normal and when Vlad looked out the window of the control room of his simulation room and looked over to the younger hybrid, Daniel was no longer writhing.

"Explanation?" the billionaire quickly asked his computer, especially when he could see that Maddie had placed the boy back into _delta_ sleep with the new precautionary protocol with which he had recently added to her memory banks.

"Unknown," came the reply. "Shall I cease the program?"

Though he was both concerned and still confused by what happened, Vlad glanced at the monitors again before looking back at the silent boy. He paused. He then said, "Nothing bad has come to light yet. You were able to stop anything from happening to the helmet. We just couldn't anticipate that Daniel's reaction to the dream program would be so intense at this point. After all, it has just started and I don't think he liked that irritating shadow ghost…"

The man paused again. He also hadn't anticipated Daniel's reaction in his _last _dream, either. He didn't think the boy especially cared about Johnny 13 and his shadow ghost. True, the man was delighted that the dream concerning the biker ghost had really thrown Daniel into an anxiety-laden loop. But he had thought that it was because of that dream program's specifications. It had been planned to be as realistic as possible —including drilling in manufactured emotions to confuse the boy–-just like this one—in order to end with an intense outcome. After all, he had to shake the boy from having those silly notions about doing evil things.

Contemplating the thought, he unconsciously grabbed his chin and lightly patted his cheek with his index finger. This could still play to his advantage.

Vlad finally said, "We are going to continue with the program, Maddie." He paused slightly again before continuing, "But be sure that you monitor the readings more carefully as we proceed."

"As you command," the computer generated image replied without emotion.

* * *

><p>Danny's eyes flew open when he felt the intense charge of his ghost sense's warning him. He reflexively flew upwards, and just barely missed the sharp talons of Johnny 13's shadow ghost. He knew he didn't have time to sigh in relief even as he felt the empty wake of his foe's blow and especially when he vaguely remembered that they were fighting for some unknown reason...<p>

Shadow grunted in frustration and twisted violently back and dove once again at the Ghost Boy. He pulled his arm back as if he were about to launch a grenade over his head, preparing himself to take a slice at the young hybrid on the next round.

But Danny didn't wait for the ebony ghost to fully set himself up for another attempt to rip through him. Fisting his hands and charging them with ecto-energy, the teen soared right at the ghost. He was able to twist away from another of the shadow ghost's attempt to impale him before he blocked still another counter-blow. The boy's strategy was good enough to move him closer to delivering his own attack. And just as Danny threw an upper left hook at his attacker, he added a blast of ice energy from the same hand at the last second.

In a heartbeat, the shadow ghost's eyes were encrusted in ice even as his body was catapulted away from his adversary.

Shadow screeched in pain and rage as he grabbed and then tried to loosen the thick band of ice covering his eyes as he slowed his unplanned flight at the same time. Though the ghost did manage to right himself, his frozen blindfold wouldn't bulge! Now desperate, the ghost turned intangible and the ice band fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, Danny tried to stifle his laugh at seeing his foe wrestling with the ice band while looking like a black kite out of control. He gulped slightly when the ebony ghost had turned intangible, yet he was still able to taunt with a slight chuckle, "Hey! I was looking forward to playing 'blind man's bluff', you know!"

The boy sobered up right away when the shadow ghost lunged at him yet again. This time, however, the young hybrid didn't fly toward him. Instead, he hovered in place, waiting for the ghost to near.

And within seconds before the shadow ghost would be making contact, Danny threw himself upward and forward, looking as if he was going to go into a mid-air somersault. But then, at the last possible moment, he extended his left hand frontward even as his body was still moving forward. As he had planned, he vaulted over the shadow ghost, his extended hand making contact with the top of Johnny 13's shadow ghost before Danny used his strength and weight to shove the ghost down with that same arm. And not unlike a gymnast executing a one-arm cartwheel over a pommel horse, Danny flipped completely over until he was facing his foe once again.

Still, Shadow squealed in anger, even more charged with rage at missing his chance to run the boy through at his last attempt. He soared upward before pulling himself backward into a hard arc, flipping over and then upside down before swooping down toward the boy with all his talons thrusting in front of him as if he were an arrow in flight.

Danny saw him coming. He quickly exposed his wulf claws once more, narrowed his eyes in determination, and readied himself for the shadow ghost's strategy. At the last second, Danny parried and then counter-parried the aggressive shadow ghost's knives until, finally, one of his wulf claws nicked his foe just as Shadow brushed past the Ghost Boy.

The ebony ghost roared in pain as black ectoplasm oozed out from his wound and onto his right shadow arm. The thick black liquid seeped downward until it coated the talons of the hand of that same arm.

But at the sight of the injured shadow ghost, a strange yet really familiar thought resonated in Danny's brain and he suddenly wasn't angry anymore. Somehow, he also didn't hate the ghost in front of him as much as before, and that thought helped clear his mind. He frowned in confusion at his next thought: he didn't like seeing the ghost hurt…or that he had caused it.

In the meantime, even as Shadow instinctively grabbed his cut arm and cradled it, his green eyes flared in both pain and fury. He hurled himself at the Ghost Boy, and quickly thrust his right hand dipped in black ectoplasm forward.

"Look, Shadow," Danny grunted just as he barely missed getting clipped by the ghost's angry claws. He flipped back around to face his attacker and slowly floated away from the ghost before saying, "I think it's safe to say that you don't like me and I don't like…"

Somehow the teen couldn't make himself complete that thought. But he didn't know why, especially when that same other thought suddenly pushed through again: _all ghosts were his enemies!_

Danny shook his head in confusion. This still wasn't right. He hadn't been quick to fight his enemies before—unless they had started it…But somehow he felt he had started it. Yeah, sure the shadow ghost had swallowed him in the beginning; but he hadn't given the ghost time to explain. Or had he? But as soon as his eyes inadvertently drifted over to and finally focused on the shadow ghost, he gasped and darted away, just barely avoiding the ebony's ghosts renewed attack.

This time Danny frowned in irritation. He was sick of all this. He didn't care right now if he did or didn't like the shadow ghost…or why the ghost was upset with him. He was done. And yet, he still had this odd notion that fighting the ghost was _wrong_.

He hesitated once again. And in spite of the fact that Shadow was headed right to him again, the boy still yelled out in a mixture of frustration and uncertainty to the shadow ghost, "Hey! Don't you think maybe we should just chill? I really don't know what's got your shadow pants all up in a knot, especially when Johnny 13 isn't even here!"

But just after Danny had mentioned the biker ghost's name, his shadow ghost screeched in more agitation and increased his speed.

Danny gasped and tried to twist away once again.

Shadow, however, had guessed right this time and swiped in the same direction in which the boy had moved.

Danny was taken off guard this time, yet he managed to throw up his claws in defense.

But it was a split second too late.

One of the shadow ghost's blackened rapiers was able to penetrate Danny's hurried block. Its caked razor's edge skimmed the top of Danny's gloved hand, just barely peeling the glove away along with a superficial layer of the boy's ghostly skin.

Though the injury seemed minor as only a little green ectoplasm seeped out, the black ectoplasm-coated talon had done its job.

Within moments of getting cut, Danny's head began to spin.

"W-What's happening?" the Ghost Boy blurted out as he felt his flight rapidly become unbalanced.

But then, Danny gasped in the next instant when Shadow attacked again. The teen barely missed another attempt of the shadow ghost to dig his talons into him.

Nevertheless, Danny's head wasn't clearing. In fact, he felt even woozier as Johnny 13's shadow ghost quickly planned another assault on him.

Danny could barely react to the next round this time. Charging up a weak shield in a desperate attempt to defend himself, he lifted his arm up, though he knew at the same time that it felt more and more like lead as the seconds ticked by.

At this point, the boy could barely comprehend that his actions had been too late.

The young hybrid screamed in pain when he felt a sharp blow to his head. But his head was spinning so wildly that he wasn't even aware that his cry had been snuffed out in mid-breath just as he lost consciousness…

* * *

><p>"Ugh," Danny groaned as his vision slowly cleared. That is, <em>if <em>he wanted to call it 'clear' since he had been seeing total blackness seconds before and his vision was still very fuzzy.

He glanced around. He could see he was in some kind of dark, dank room. Water was dripping on him and sliding oddly along his body. And then, suddenly, the inside of his nose was burning!

He tried to move, but felt only resistance.

"H-Hey!" Danny protested, suddenly aware that he was slurring that word.

Still, he reflexively tried to move. Though he realized right away that his arms were free, his hands were not. He struggled against his bonds, only to realize that he was now swinging in an odd arc. He tried to flex his legs but they were held firm. His mind shifted to more clarity. He must be swinging from his feet! And then the inside of his nose burned again when more water invaded it!

He pulled himself into an abdominal crunch in mid-air and confirmed that he was indeed hanging upside down like a ham being held in a smokehouse! And even more water was dripping up his nose!

"Aargghh!" the boy growled as he struggled harder against his bonds. What the heck was going on? Hadn't he just been fighting Shadow in the Ghost Zone? So, how did he end up here? And **why** was he tied up? But before he could even attempt to make sense of all this, something caught his attention…

"_Mankasuz, mia amiko_," **(1)** a foreign— yet strangely familiar—voice barely uttered.

Danny frowned, his hazy mind trying to figure out who was uttering those slurred words, especially when it seemed whoever that was, was very close. But then when he realized who it was, his mind jolted at a pained, awful memory.

The last time he had seen him, he had been swallowed by a black hole, trapped in it forever! But he didn't care how the ghost had escaped or how nothing made any sense because he was too happy that his friend was alright….

"Wulf!" he suddenly cried out….

* * *

><p>The alarms were blaring again and Daniel was writhing in bed once more!<p>

Vlad ran to each monitor, examining their readings as quickly as he could even as he barked out, "Maddie! Hurry! The Subliminal Helmet is on overload! We have to put…"

But before the man could complete his sentence, the alarms ceased and Daniel was still.

Sighing to bring himself back into control, Vlad added more calmly, "Have you found any leads as to why the Subliminal Helmet still keeps almost short-circuiting or almost getting destroyed every time we have used it, Maddie?"

"Only a hypothesis, sir," Maddie said without any emotion.

"Which is?" the man begged the question.

"The subject is able to override the _beta_ wave sleep program."

"What? How?" Vlad asked incredulously.

"Insufficient data, sir," came her reply.

"What do you mean? How could there be 'insufficient data'?" Vlad asked, still sounding astounded, which he truly was.

Maddie's holographic image blinked in blankness before she finally computed what the man was trying to comprehend. She responded without emotion, "You have programmed me to provide you with the facts, sir. And there is simply no data that explains why your test subject was able to overcome the effects of the Subliminal Helmet."

"Do you think there is still some kind of malfunction within the helmet, then?" he then probed.

"Possibly, but highly improbable. The chances that I miscalculated the correct sequence of repairs are…"

"That's quite alright, my dear," Vlad gently interrupted her. "I am certain that we fixed its flaws and enhanced its performance. I just wish I knew why this keeps happening."

The man walked over to the monitors and studied the readings. "This data is much more significant than that which we gathered when Daniel used his mysterious burst of energy which he calls his 'inner strength'. Though what he calls it is accurate, it is still a ridiculous name. These recent readings suggest it is much more powerful than I first thought. I _must_ know how Daniel is able to draw it up and out! But more importantly, I need to know _why_ he can do it!"

The man's eyes inadvertently drifted from the monitors over to his computer.

He cleared his throat when he saw Maddie's unemotional eyes. "Ah, yes. Well, that is one of our objectives, isn't it? But in the meantime…"

"I can further study the phenomenon," Maddie offered, anticipating the man's train of thought. "And I can run another diagnostic of the Subliminal Helmet if you wish, sir. But I hypothesize that there is no error with its functioning properly."

"Then what about the microchip? Do you think that it is the cause of the phenomenon? After all, you said that the repairs you made on it was not optimal," Vlad further prodded.

"I can't rule that out as a possibility, sir, but I don't have a hypothesis about that," she replied.

"Why not?" he queried, now more curious than concerned.

"Because the monitors did not record any dangerous readings in the microchip, only the Subliminal Helmet."

"Oh," he simply replied.

Vlad looked at the hologram and paused a moment in thought before asking, "Do you think we should delay the program until you're through then, Maddie?"

"That is your decision, sir. I am merely programmed to obey, analyze and report conclusions. I do not make decisions, but am programmed to give you options once I have been able to formulate them."

Once again, Vlad paused. He glanced past his computer generated image and beyond the observation window to the incapacitated younger hybrid. …Just how much longer was this going to take? Sure, he had planned more than enough programs for his plans, but he also didn't think he would have to use them all.

"_Blast it, boy, give up!"_ Vlad thought as he continued to study the reclining, silent teen. _"Don't you know that you can't win this time? You have survived up to now only on pure luck and the fact that I didn't want to destroy you! And you would have certainly perished during our imprisonment in the Realm Beyond Time without me! Why can't you just accept the fact that fate has meant us to exist together in this timeline because we were destined to rule it all __**together**__—__**as father and son?!"**_

His eyes refocused back on the computer image still in front of him and that helped ease his mind a bit.

He finally said, "We will give the program one last chance. But be ready to stop it and put Daniel back into _delta_ sleep in order to protect the helmet if the readings indicate the need, Maddie."

"As you command, sir."

* * *

><p>Danny slowly opened his eyes before startling in confusion when he tried to move. Now his hands and feet were bound to the wall! He instantly struggled against the metal clamps and chains, but they held firm. He didn't remember <em>that<em> happening!

"_Mankasuz luktanta, mia amiko_." **(2)**

"Wulf!" Danny cried in some relief upon hearing his friend's voice again, even if the lycanthrope's voice was weak and his message glum. Still, he had a sudden déjà vu feeling…

Nevertheless, the boy excitedly turned toward where Wulf's voice had come from, only to jolt in shock this time…

Wulf….

Danny's friend didn't look at all like himself.

Wulf was no longer a robust werewolf; instead, he looked weak and emaciated. In fact, if the boy had not recognized his friend's weak voice, Danny would have sworn that it was a totally different ghost.

"W-What is wrong with you, Wulf?" Danny couldn't help but stutter in disbelief.

"I have been wounded..," the werewolf weakly said in his native language as he struggled to lift his head to answer, "...wounded by the poison."

"Poison? What poison?" Danny gasped, a creepy feeling instantly running up the nape of his neck.

"Do you not know? Do you not feel weakened already?" Wulf barely whispered.

Danny's eyes widened. Just what did his friend mean? Still, he replied, "No. I mean, sure, I feel a little dizzy from that blow to my head…At least I think I must have gotten a blow to my head because I don't remember getting these chains put on me. Otherwise, I feel fine. What do you mean, then?"

Wulf 's head unwittingly fell before he pulled it back up with effort. "Did you not get stabbed by the Shadow's talons?"

Now remembering the cut on his hand, Danny hesitantly replied, looking at the now barely healed laceration, "Yes, but it's very small…"

"And were they not stained with the Shadow Ghost's ectoplasm?" his friend still prodded.

"Well, my wulf claws did nick the Shadow Ghost and some black stuff did ooze out and onto his own green claws, turning them black. Then, uh, that was his ectoplasm, right?"

Wulf only gravely replied, "That is most unfortunate."

Danny bit his lower lip, not liking the tone of his friend's voice and suddenly fearing very bad news. But he still questioned, "W-What do you mean by that?"

"You and I are doomed to extinction, eliminated by the poison of the Shadow Ghost."

"How can that be?" Danny asked, not believing his friend as that same nagging yet vague memory suddenly resurfaced once more. Somehow, he didn't think shadow ghosts, especially not Johnny 13's shadow ghost, would do this. He blurted out, "That can't be right and this can't be real!"

"Unfortunately, it is real," Wulf sadly yet firmly informed him. "The poison moves slowly in some ghosts, frightfully quickly in others. It sucks all of their ghostly energy as if the poison was a malevolent parasite…" The werewolf paused, now feeling the full effects of the poison. Yes, he was determined to tell his friend as much as he knew. He struggled to say, "B-But the end is all the same…for any ghost…infected by the.. black ectoplasm of the shadow… ghost… We…are…doomed!"

Immediately after Wulf had said that, the werewulf's head fell to his chest and his black hair turned totally white.

Seized with grief and panic, Danny suddenly yelled, "Wulf! NOOOO!"

* * *

><p>The alarms had barely registered something amiss when the Subliminal Helmet shattered and Danny shot up in his bed, panting in panic. Tears were already sprouting from his eyes and sweat falling down from his forehead when he reflexively pushed his face into his gloved hands.<p>

"That had to be a dream! I-It couldn't have been real!" Danny choked out, trying to shake the totally fabricated nightmare out of his head.

"Not again! Not again!" Danny suddenly cried, now uncertain whether what he had seen was a nightmare or real….

But it _felt _real! He gasped. He even remembered _smelling_ Wulf's unmistakable scent! He had first thought that Wulf had somehow been able to escape from the black hole when he first saw him—only to find that he had been gravely injured by another of his friends! This couldn't be real. It made no sense. None of this made sense.

Still, the intense emotional reaction to the nightmare was still rattling his mind and muddling his logic enough for him to continue to think very irrationally. If all of this was indeed real, then that would mean that Wulf was definitely….

"Gone forever!" Danny cried out. "NO!"

Not another of his friends…gone! And worse and more painful to take…destroyed by another friend. Just what was the Observants' point in all of that? Suddenly, he didn't care. All he knew was how the word 'gone' seemed to stab straight into his heart and hammer his brain as he cried unashamedly.

And just before he was placed into _delta_ sleep before his incredibly high levels of anxiety could possibly destroy the monitors as well, he could somehow sense similar fitful thoughts of another….

And indeed, Sam was writhing in agony in her bed, though she was still within the grips of Vlad's strong sleeping potion. But in the next instant, she softly yelled, "Danny!" before lying still…

* * *

><p><strong>(1) Esperanto for "There is no use, my friend."<strong>

**(2) Esperanto for "There is no use struggling, my friend."**

**A/N: Hey, glad you got this far; and I wonder how many of you caught on that this chapter was about Shadow? Hmmm...That many? Y'all are way too clever for me! But I'll still try to keep you guessing because I'm just plain stubborn…. But I hope you liked how I arranged this chapter. For those of you who haven't read my story, Shadow of a Doubt (tsk-tsk!), Shadow and Johnny13 are now Danny's friends. But Vlad doesn't know that. So, the only way to make Danny fight Shadow was in a dream. But, as you noticed, that plan has backfired because Danny has finally been able to shatter the Subliminal Helmet! Now what will Vlad do? And what's happening with Sam? Hmmm...sounds like a cliffie, huh? YOU KNOW IT! LOL!**

**Ahem. Now about the little surprise. I have been wanting to do it for years, but never had any kind of inspiration. But now**—**FINALLY—I came up with a Danny Phantom Christmas story idea. I actually have sapphireswimming to thank for that since she is the one who was able to give that gray mush**—**Wait! It is Christmas time. Okay. Ahem. Let me try again. She is the one who was able to give that **_**peppermint**_** mush in my head enough of a stir for something sweet to squish out it! So, thanks, sapphire!**

**I hope to post my new Danny Phantom Christmas story, aptly named, 'Christmas Presents' by Christmas Eve. And it might be a two-shot because it's so long but I'll have to decide that later after I have my beta look at it. But I hope you look for it and, of course, give me some delicious peppermint flavored feedback about it.**

**And speaking of sweet feedback, hope you liked this chapter and will let me know. It will be tooth-decaying, er, I mean sweet!**

**And for those of you who are still keeping track in order to compare and contrast, here is the latest on the Fatomos Ecto-Scale:**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, TrueHeart**

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**I hope to hear from y'all soon! And MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!**


	25. Ch25 Level 5 Ghosts: Well-Oiled Machine

**A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR and MERRY 10TH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! Yep, I did say: 'Merry Christmas'! As you remember from my Christmas story, **_**Christmas Presents**_** (And if you haven't read it yet, you still have time since we're still in the Christmas season!) Christmas has been traditionally celebrated for 12 days. (Hence, the 12 Days of Christmas). The 12th Day of Christmas is this Sunday, which traditionally was the celebration of the visit of the Three Wise Men. Some cultures celebrate this 'Little Christmas' as well as December 25th. In fact, my family does that! It's the most wonderful time of both the new and old years! YAY! Heh-heh. Now back to this story! As you can see, we continue with the level 5 ghosts. And Danny has just gone through another ringer in the last chapter. Now doesn't that just make Vlad and Ms. Hyde all the happier? Don't forget the "IDNOAC" disclaimer and here is Chapter 25. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 25—Level <strong>Five<strong> Ghosts—Well-Oiled Machine

Pain…anguish…The emotions were intense…

But there was more…

Hazy, random thoughts also wrapped around him. Still others echoed hauntingly throughout his mind.

Danny unconsciously frowned, barely making an effort to eke some sense out of any of them. In a way, he didn't care if his swirling thoughts would come together or not since none of them lingered long before another replaced it. In fact, it was more like he couldn't really discern any one thought or one emotion from another. But he knew that all of them were laced with….intense grief…

He haphazardly caught one memory: he had been crying. Then another impression surfaced…he had lost his friend Wulf, who had been destroyed by…He stopped as that train of thought briefly continued…No, in the end, he lost _two_ friends: Wulf and Sombre! He still couldn't believe it. But what upset him more than that was that he didn't know whether it had been a dream or not.

The boy's murky mind fell back into dismay again. It couldn't be true. He _had to_ believe it was a dream…He couldn't bear the thought of losing any more of his ghost friends.

Still, another, more disturbing memory caught a hold of him. He recalled another pungent feeling that had surrounded that entire encounter and it seemed to rattle his very soul. In fact, it had been so penetrating at the time that he could swear that he could almost _palpate_ it; and, strangely, even now he could feel its lingering emotion: _a hatred for all ghosts_.

He mentally shuddered just as intensely at how that creeped him out—only for his emotions to churn full circle and return to grief.

Wulf…Was he really gone? What about Johnny 13? And Cujo?

And for that matter, what about Sombre? Was that why the shadow ghost had attacked him? Because the Spectre was also upset about Johnny 13?

Suddenly, he didn't want to think about that because it made even less sense—and only made him feel worse.

But even in the midst of his sorrow, the boy was also aware of feeling _physical_ pain. He could even hear as well as feel the uncomfortable throbbing of his ecto-blood running through the veins at his temples. If his other thoughts hadn't distracted him, he might even think he would go mad at the constant, dull pulse pounding his eardrums.

Ironically, however, that _real_ pain helped him to focus.

Danny opened his eyes and groaned at the pain riveting his head. He reflexively lifted his hands and cradled the sides of his head before rubbing them. Great. He had a massive headache!

Little did he know, however, that the headache he had been having since he had first gotten to this cursed place had momentarily worsened from the slight jolt he had gotten when the Subliminal Helmet had shattered. He had no clue about that because he had never seen the helmet's remnants since he was placed back into _delta_ sleep as soon as it had been destroyed.

Danny groaned once again as he slowly pulled himself up and sat on the side of his cot.

He startled at his next sudden, frightening thought. Was he still dreaming now and all those previous thoughts were _not_ real? Or was he awake and this stupid headache was scrambling his memories? He swallowed hard, trying to get a hold of himself.

Still, he had to know if what had happened with Sombre and Wulf was real.

He searched his mind even amidst the bombardment of all the other thoughts and emotions still vying for his elusive attention.

The young hybrid relaxed slightly when a new thought pushed forward with a bit more clarity. Though the memory was still sketchy, Danny knew that it had happened just before his encounter with Sombre and Wulf. Inexplicably, _his friends_ had been part of that scene. His heart leapt with hope. _How could_ they have been a part of it? They weren't here!

But then another random thought countered him. Had he only been dreaming _just_ _at that time_, only to have his dream interrupted by Sombre's attack? He searched his mind again. It hurt to do that; and so he couldn't remember any detail to prove or disprove that thought.

And that only discouraged the boy more…

After several more moments of near catatonic silence, a thought seemed to float right in front of him. And he reached out to it in near desperation. And yet, at the same time, he was angered by it. That must be what the Observants' game was! They wanted to confuse him so much that he wouldn't be able to defend himself against any of their 'test results'. And somehow he also felt that those 'results' would only end up really being _accusations _bent on damning him —even if those accusations were false!

_That was so unfair!_

Suddenly, that thought was enough to clear his mind and spur him on.

The boy angrily yelled up into the air, "Hey, you jerks! Yeah! You know I'm talking to you, Justeco and Konsilisto! No matter what your 'test results' end up saying, it was never part of the bargain for any ghost to get destroyed in these lame tests! So, how can any of this be 'proper' now? It's time to stop this craziness!"

But once again, he was met only with silence.

Danny rubbed his eyes, all of the sudden feeling very drained from the mental stress. And his head still hurt. Were they even listening?

Once again, he didn't care. He was just so tired of all of this; especially since for some strange reason he always felt that any of the sleep the Observants had allowed him to have still wasn't enough or right or…something.

All he wanted to go home and lie in his own bed and —

A sharp pain suddenly shot through his brain.

_Home…Mom!_

He felt sick to his stomach for not thinking of her until right now.

Another intense pain further below jolted him. His stomach!

"_Oh, great! As if this freakin' headache wasn't enough! Now I'm starving!"_ he thought with irritation. "_But now what am I going to do? I can't just ask them for something to eat after what I just said to them."_

He gritted his teeth, angry with himself for giving the spirits _any_ benefit of a doubt.

"As if they deserve my asking them nicely for _anything_ after what they've done so far," he grumbled under his breath.

Still, he knew he was still at a big disadvantage since they had his mom. But he also didn't want the spirits to think he was going to be _that compliant_, either!

Danny looked back up at the ceiling and yelled, "Darn it, Justeco, even if you haven't decided on when to stop all of this nonsense, what about all of those other 'proper' things you talked about when you started this whole thing? You're forgetting about those! I mean, don't you have _any_ concept of…" But he quickly interrupted himself. "_Duh! Of course they __**don't **__have any concept of time!_"

Still, sounding more demanding this time around, he continued, "Okay, sure, you don't need time here, but _I'm__ very used to it;_ and even if you're not through with me yet, it's time for you to let me see my mom and get me something to eat!"

Suddenly, and as if he were commanding a genie, a small portal appeared right next to him, which actually jabbed right into his side—as if the Observants had done that on purpose and were having their own kind of fun.

The teen frowned. _Of course that was exactly it!_

Still, he did his best to ignore the irritation and peered into the portal and saw that his mother was in the process of eating what looked like some kind of breakfast.

"Okay. Just be glad that she's still okay," he said somewhat threateningly.

But before he could make any more comments, that familiar small table and chair appeared nearby with a very large breakfast for _him_ upon it.

Danny resisted the urge to smile or even thank the Observants as he approached the table. He silently served himself and instead of sitting at the table, brought his plate to his cot and sat upon it before digging in. He got up two more times before he finally felt satisfied. Even his headache seemed better now.

No sooner had he finished placing his empty plate on the table, and returned to his cot when his simple bed disappeared right from under him just when he was about to sit on it!

After falling onto his bottom, Danny dryly harrumphed, "Ha-ha! Very funny! As if torturing me with all these stupid tests weren't enough!"

He pulled himself up to a stand, only to take a step back in surprise when he turned to where his cot should have been. He had not expected to see another portal right away.

In the very next instant, however, Danny felt the glowing portal's trying to suck him into it!

"Arrgghh!" Danny yelled even as he was reflexively resisting the pull.

But the force was obviously too strong.

The boy continued to yell at being violently transported somewhere against his will.

* * *

><p>"Maddie! What did you do?" Vlad hotly demanded, just as shocked—but instantly angry—at what had just happened.<p>

"You ordered Program 289-5 _gamma_ to commence immediately, sir," the computer generated image casually replied.

"But that was after Daniel was supposed to go to the Observant's Dimensional Room which would be Program 288-DM!" he exclaimed.

"All programs originate within the simulation room, sir, including the program in which your test subject is currently," She began without emotion. "And you have programmed me to obey orders, not assume your thought processes."

Vlad stared at the image of his love and then it hit him. And just as sudden, he could kick himself. Sometimes he had to remind himself to remember that this Maddie was _only_ a computer! He pinched the top of his nose, trying to calm himself. He drew in a long, slow breath before he said, "You are quite right, of course, my dear. And, really, I think I can plan an alternate course of action that will clear the matter up in short order. So, it should be alright."

"As all of your plans are perfect, sir," the computer slightly gushed.

"Yes. Yes, they are," Vlad agree before he turned his attention to Daniel and Program 289-5 _gamma_….

* * *

><p>A few seconds later, Danny found himself back in the blackened Time and Existence Chamber.<p>

"Just what was _that_ all about, Justeco?" the boy called up into the air in irritation. "I could have walked, you know!"

"_Maybe that's how they got me here all those other times I don't remember getting in here"_, he added only to himself. He then frowned as he sarcastically thought, "_Just as well I didn't remember it because it can't come close to the rides at Floody Waters!"_

But just then, his surroundings began to twist and turn again. And the boy had no doubt at that point that this was another round of the Observants' lame tests…

The atmosphere cleared very shortly after it had begun shifting.

Danny was now standing inside what he could only describe as some sort of rundown warehouse. Its metal roof was rusted through in some places and he could catch glimpses of the Ghost Zone just beyond them.

The grey walls looked as if they could crumble to dust if he so much as sneezed —which was a possibility because there _was_ so much dust around. Yet, at the same time, he guessed that there also was a good chance that they would stay as they were being that they seemed glued in place by all the spider webs covering them.

What contents the warehouse contained were mostly in disarray, with all sorts of gizmos, old mechanical things and electronic devices strewed here and there, partially hanging out of various boxes, or carelessly placed on various rusty metal-framed shelves.

Some of the old neglected shelves leaned so heavily that it was a wonder that the boxes on them hadn't slid off yet.

Even the boxes didn't escape the chaos and overall were also jumbled up. Nevertheless, some of the cardboard receptacles _were _new and neatly sealed; but most of the others were haphazardly torn opened, as if someone was in a hurry to get into them. Still others were obviously very old and abused. Many of them were sloppily placed on some of their more even shelves, and were just balanced enough not to teeter off of their ledges.

The boy began to walk around the room. He knew he should be more suspicious and on guard about all of this—and really, he was—but after being around Tucker virtually all of his life, he couldn't help but be more curious and amazed about all of these neat-looking gadgets that littered the place.

But that thought only jolted him. _Tucker!_ He thought of his dream again and his face dropped. In the next second, however, he was determined not to let it bother him anymore right now. He squared his jaw and tried to think of other thoughts.

But his bravado had only partially worked. He was still thinking about Tucker. How he wished he could get a hold of his best friend! But he was sure that his friend would surely be looking for him….only, would there be any clues to his whereabouts? He sighed. He could only hope and pray that his best friend and his own neat futuristic gizmo—his PDA— would somehow figure out that he was in the Realm Beyond Time.

But then, of course, thinking of Tucker made him think about…Sam! Maybe he could contact her! Sure…it had been a while since they had used their telepathic powers. After all, they didn't think they needed it now that they had each other's trust and understanding. Still, _now_ would be a great time to use it! He closed his eyes and began to concentrate…

But before he could even begin to get a 'connection' with his girlfriend, a very loud alarm sounded, which startled him out of his thoughts!

"**Intruder alert! Intruder alert!**" the raspy voice called out amidst of all the blaring lights and clangs that made the warehouse look like some kind of weird discotheque.

Danny instantly recognized that voice and forgot all the other discouraging thoughts! Now, he was just annoyed; and, more importantly, very focused.

And then suddenly, his ghost sense was activated.

He instantly gritted his teeth, and saw wisps of frost still eking out around and through them. He tried to ignore that since he knew he couldn't take the time to think about it as he surged his green ectoplasmic energy into both of his ready fists.

But instead of seeing the ghost he expected, a few of the strewed about electronic devices around him lit up and were instantly encased in green energy.

They rapidly whirled and drew near together until they formed a large make-shift robot made up of several former individual gadgets. It immediately shot up in the air and rocketed over to the boy.

"Surrender, foe!" the robot's mechanical yet very threatening voice demanded while aggressively snapping its huge metallic claws at the boy.

"Not in your lif…uhm, Forget it, pal!" Danny spat back just as he flew out of the robot's reach.

The boy reflexively twisted back and threw an ectoplasmic blast at the robot.

Danny's emerald ammo squarely hit its mark and the robot disintegrated on impact.

One of Danny's eyebrows shot up in surprise. That was _too_ easy; but then he shrugged it off. After all, he knew he wasn't finished yet.

Just then, even more glowing gadgets and gizmos converged on themselves and finally formed a large, black menacing mechanical dog, which immediately barked loudly and aggressively.

Danny frowned at the mechanical mutt's razor sharp teeth that were obviously threating to cleave him in half even as it lunged at him.

Once again, Danny easily avoided his foe and shot another ectoplasmic energy ray at it. But to Danny's surprise, the dog machine chomped down upon his beam and effectively slashed it in half and rendered it harmless!

The young half-ghost bit his lower lip while rapidly searching his brain and his surroundings for some kind of plan. And then he spied a nearby opened door. He could see what looked like a long hallway beyond it. He smirked before he pulled his still ectoplasmic-laden arms behind his back and then purposely attempted to draw the dog's attention.

"Here, pooch," Danny said before whistling.

The teen smiled only to himself when those beady red-lit-light-bulbs-for-eyes zeroed in on him before the dog began to growl.

Steeling himself in spite of the dog's very aggressive stance, the boy quickly pulled one of his hands from behind his back and commanded, "Fetch the ball!"

He then threw the large green ectoplasmic ball that he had formed within the palm of his right hand moments before when it had been behind his back.

The automated dog instantly bolted after the pretty glowing ball as it flew down that hallway. As soon as the dog was in that hallway, however, Danny flew up behind him and slammed the door tight.

"Predictable as usual," Danny chuckled under his breath and purposely ignored the protesting barks of the dog made of junk he had just tricked.

But as soon as the boy floated back into the main room, several other mechanical devices suddenly lit up and began to elevate on their own.

"Time for target practice!" Danny smugly said as he lifted just his index fingers up and pointed them forward as if they were the barrels of a couple of hand pistols.

With quick and accurate precision, the boy picked off each of the glowing gadgets before they could form anything bigger. He continued until there was a lull in any more of them being activated.

"C'mon, Technus," Danny finally breathed out, sounding as bored as he felt. "Is that all you got?"

"Oh, come now, child," the green-skinned techno-ghost began just as he finally appeared.

His white hair was still pulled back into that annoying shaggy mullet and he was still sporting that black body-length jumpsuit covered by a floor-length gray cape and accented by large green laboratory gloves.

The older ghost raised the small rectangular-shaped frames of his sunglasses slightly off of his eyes before narrowing them evilly and continuing, "You're in my domain now!"

Danny looked all around the unkempt storehouse again. Then still sounding bored, the boy dryly replied, "Seriously, dude. I thought you would be a total neat freak. But are you saying that I should be afraid of you because you live in a _junkyard_?"

"This is not a junkyard, whelp!" Technus protested, obviously insulted. "These are treasures I obtained from other people's…"

"….junk!" Danny interjected, chuckling a bit.

Technus frowned in anger, and said, "Go ahead and be all smart-alecky all you want, young whipper snapper! You will be sorry! And for that matter, what makes you think that you will defeat me here, in my own lair?"

"Oh, I don't know….does 'because you're lame' ring a bell?" Danny quipped back with a defiant smirk.

The techno-ghost frowned before throwing the boy a sinister smile. "I am ready to make you, uh, how do you children say it? Oh, yes. I will make you consume what you say, and…"

"Uh, do you mean: 'Make me eat my words'?" Danny sighed, his arms crossed in front of him while one of his hands was cupping the side of his jaw.

"Whatever!" Technus countered before his face melded into a scowl. "You will soon see that you do not know whom you're dealing with. I am all powerful in my own domain! _And_ you forget that I am….

"….the 'Master of Long-Winded _Ego_ Speeches'! Yeah, I know!" Danny firmly interrupted him.

Just as a long, thin blue rod topped with a round electrical ball with stiff wires jutting out of it and charged with green energy appeared in Technus' hands, his voice shrilled in threat, "It is time that you were taught to respect your elders, whelp! And I am thrilled to volunteer to do that and have that happen here in my lair!"

"Only if they own up to being good mentors, jerk! And that certainly leaves you out of it!" Danny quipped back, also pouring more energy into his own hands.

The mullet-wearing green-skin ghost flicked his rod.

Suddenly, lots of hubcaps bathed in green swirling energy pulled away from the corners of the warehouse and floated toward the techno-ghost before they merged and formed what look like a large man made of, well, hubcaps!

"Hey!" Danny objected. "Those aren't mechanical stuff!"

"They are when they're the spinning rims' kind!" Technus countered before motioning with his rod.

The 'spinning hubcap man' then pulled one of his whirling 'arms' back and swung it in an arc toward the boy. But as the 'arm' came forward, the spinners whirled more violently and created a strong blast of wind.

The sudden beam of violent air crashed right into the teen ghost.

Danny was shoved right into a far-side wall. He slammed into it with a loud thud.

As the boy slid down the wall and cradled his head, he thought, _"If that didn't hurt so much, I would've thought those spinning rims were cool!"_

Nevertheless, he jettisoned back into the air and returned fire at the mechanical man.

Spinning hubcaps spun wildly out of control from the impact of Danny's energy beam.

Even Technus had to duck when two of the hubcaps were hurled right at him.

The techno-ghost growled in frustration and disapproval and lifted his energy rod up again. He willed even more green energy in it. But instead of sending its energy into other gizmos or gadgets, Technus created a large cloud made up of charged ectoplasmic energy. The plasma globe swirled in and on itself like a hurricane, emitting bolts of lightning as it grew in size.

"Behold, child!" Technus crowed. "You will now feel the sting of my new and improved and very ultimate power—in 3-D no less!"

The techno-ghost quickly thrust his rod forward and the whirling mass of sizzling electricity shot toward the boy.

Danny bolted away and barely missed the ball of chaos that had been flung at him.

But then, the 'entity' seemed to come alive. It popped and hissed before it sharply changed course and zig-zagged back toward the teen!

Once again, Danny managed to avoid the flux and shot a beam of his green energy at the cloud. But all the mass did was _absorb_ his ray with a sizzle! And then it moved even more rapidly toward him!

All the while, Technus cackled, "You cannot outwit the Master of All Things Scientific, child! Learn your lessons well. On my turf, my power is far out and limitless!"

Danny was too busy avoiding the electrical storm to quip anything back. And any beam he threw at it was instantly absorbed and made the entity expand!

But then, an idea hit the young hybrid's mind and he didn't hesitate to act upon it.

He quickly formed a small ball of green ectoplasmic energy between the palms of his hands. And then, he slowly and deliberately pulled his hands apart, willing the ball to expand before infusing his ice energy within it. The now solid ball of ice cold energy continued to pull moisture out of the air, making the ball more and more able to conduct electricity. And when Danny thought the ball was 'ripe' enough, he threw it at Technus's creation and his ball instantly engulfed the entity.

At first, that seemed to have stopped the storm.

But Technus had waved his wand in a counter-attack, sending a reinforcing wave of energy into the mass.

At that moment, Danny's ball of energy burst outward from the older ghost's repelling blow, which also sent a surge of shock waves outward and just in front of it as it headed back to the boy.

Danny was rammed into the nearby wall by his own ectoplasmic energy given an extra push by Technus' electrical storm!

The boy groaned as he slid down the wall and landed on the ground with another loud thud. That only made his headache worsen again!

"'Lesson One' complete, child!" the older ghost said with a triumphal laugh. "Hard learned, of course!"

Danny shook away part of his dizziness and gasped when he could see that not only had he _not_ destroyed that cloud of green electricity, but the storm was barreling down right on him again!

The boy bolted upward, quickly swerved away from it and soared to the other end of the warehouse. Now that he had put some distance between him and the electrical cloud, Danny frowned. His headache was pounding so badly right now that he was having a hard time thinking straight. In fact, he didn't even know he had floated nearer to a door.

But Technus saw that. The white-mullet-haired ghost aimed his rod at the door and it lit up in green energy before it opened.

It was the same door behind which Danny had trapped the mechanical dog.

In a heartbeat, the dog bolted into the area and pounced on the young hybrid!

"Get off of me!" Danny demanded just as his eyes lit up and shot out a powerful ice beam right into the menacing fangs nearing his face.

The dog yelped for just a moment before it fell completely frozen to its side.

But then, he heard the techno-ghost laughing a few feet above and in front of him.

"You can't win, whelp," the older ghost taunted with glee as he waved his glowing rod toward him.

Danny eyes widened. The electrical storm was headed to him again!

He winced at the increasing pain of his headache and an unexpected thought resurfaced: _he hated all ghosts!_

The boy narrowed his eyes as his rational thoughts dulled. He suddenly grew angry and he wasn't aware that his green eyes were now blazing a darker shade of green. He had to end this.

He shot upward from where he lay and instead of turning to face the electrical mass, he flipped over and headed straight to Technus.

The older techno-ghost gasped but nevertheless aimed his glowing rod right at the charging Ghost Boy.

Danny growled in more anger and intensified the ecto-energy glowing in both of his hands. A moment later, a thick powerful dark green beam shot out from both of his extended hands and slammed right into the rod that Technus was still holding.

But to Danny's shock, not only did the rod disintegrate, but so did Technus's hand!

The mullet-haired ghost screamed in pain and reflexively cradled that hand.

Danny immediately jolted to a stop in mid-flight, stunned at what he had just done. He hadn't restrained himself like he usually did whenever he fought weaker ghosts! The shock was enough to jolt the boy out of his irrational thoughts.

"I-I didn't think you would ever do that!" Technus wailed, still holding his hand close to his bosom.

Danny blinked hard. He didn't think he would ever do that, either! The thought of it suddenly crushed him, especially when it was coupled with another thought. He was losing more than just his powers! He was losing all control over himself!

The strong emotions sent a shiver in the boy. He _had_ to get a hold of himself.

He took in a deep breath and focused his thoughts in resolve. Suddenly, Danny winced when he felt a sharp pain behind his left ear. But then, the pain left as soon as it had come and he no longer felt any hatred toward his opponent.

"I-I'm sorry!" he suddenly blurted out, his voice very remorseful as well as on the verge of panic.

Now that his mind was in even more conflict, Danny wasn't aware that his sub-conscious desire to help was steering him closer to the upset techno-ghost.

And when he realized that he had floated too close, Danny's eyes widened when he saw Technus's face radically change from pain to a wicked smile.

Less than a heartbeat later, Technus rapidly produced another power rod with the same hand that was supposed to have been destroyed! He immediately sent out a powerful green ray which hit the Ghost Boy point blank. He laughed as the boy was harshly sent tumbling several yards back from him, with Danny's screaming in pain all the while from the hard blow.

"A booby trap for a real booby! It's so easy to fool your 'hero' side, child! You never hurt me! I just let you think you did! After all, how else can I prove to you what I told you: you can't win in my domain! But now, it's time to finish proving that!" the older ghost chuckled.

With another flick of his wrist, Technus conjured up an even more powerful cloud charged with his electrical powers and immediately willed it forward.

In the meantime, Danny was still hovering in a daze from the blow he had just absorbed. In fact, it was enough of a distraction for the cloud of electrical energy to finally reach him.

Technus laughed hysterically as Danny immediately yelled in more pain when the storm engulfed and pulled him up higher into the air. It seemed to drive its power in him as if it were a scorpion driving its poison-laden stinger into his skin.

Helpless within the clutches of Technus's power, Danny's body twisted and contorted in near convulsion as he desperately tried to wrench himself out of the mass in mid-air.

But there was more.

It was obvious now that the purpose the storm's bite was not just to attack the boy. It was meant to carve an opening, to lay down a lead wire to the boy's energy as it were. And as if the boy were indeed a battery and the storm were a hungry machine, Danny felt his power leeching out from him.

He struggled more when, suddenly, white lightning shot up and down his spine like too many times before, which only added to his agony.

As the seconds ticked by, Danny grew weaker and weaker. But even amidst the pain and drain of his strength —and like so many times when he was in dire straits —Danny was somehow able to cling to staying focused. He concentrated, digging desperately to reach his inner strength….

And then, suddenly, he felt a wave of cold energy swell from deep within him and then outward until he was surrounded by a ball of blue ice energy, which instantly burst outward.

The conductive nature of the wave of cold energy instantly sucked the electrical storm within it before all of it vaporized.

All became eerily still.

Even so, the stress of the event was too much for Danny. Instead of being recharged from his inner strength, the boy fell from near the ceiling and smashed into the ground, overcome with dizziness.

Danny groaned as he struggled to pull his upper torso up off the floor, followed slowly by his trying to get his legs under him.

Though Technus was secretly irritated that the yet defeated boy had managed to destroy his electrical storm —and really, everything else up to now —the older ghost flippantly said to the struggling boy, "No matter. I still have a couple of ideas up my pants leg!"

"It's 'a few tricks up your sleeve', jerk!" Danny managed to growl out in irritation at the ghost's bad use of idioms.

Nevertheless, the boy was finally able to right himself and fisted his hands in defiance.

"Whatever, child. That was 'Lesson Two' in minding your elders; and even if it was not as hard learned, it look like you'll still remember all the sore points it made with you, if you know what I mean."

"Yech!" Danny uttered with a roll of his eyes, "Can we just get this over with and put a hold on your stale quips?"

"You should remember your manners, whelp, and not talk back to your elders! In fact, it's time to hammer that point with 'Lesson Three'. My ultimate lesson!"

Ignoring his dizziness as he pulled himself back into the air, Danny sarcastically said, "Whatever! Just get on with it!"

"I'm getting to that, whelp," Technus replied, clearly irritated that the boy wasn't shaking in his white boots by now.

The elder ghost waved his rod and this time every piece of material in the room lit up with Technus' ghostly energy and floated up on their own.

But this time, the things didn't form together. Instead, each of the gizmos, gadget and other miscellaneous materials 'turned on' and moved their little joints menacingly before they rushed upward at the boy.

Gritting his teeth with determination, Danny quickly pulled himself back a bit to brace himself before he charged up his ectoplasmic energy and shot large, intermittent beams into the foray of seemingly endless mechanical devices.

But the more he shot at them, the more seemed to replace the destroyed ones.

Now tiring even faster from all he had already gone through, Danny willed out his wulf claws when some of his ectoplasmic energy began to sputter unexpectedly. He sliced and diced his way through slews of the energized gizmos and gadgets that Technus effortlessly threw at the boy.

But when the surge swelled, Danny shot ice beams out from his eyes as he continued to stab with his wulf claws.

But even as Danny fought on, even more possessed devices appeared and crowded the young hybrid back, finally shoving him back into a corner in retreat.

The Ghost Boy panted with the effort, now even more aware of his lack of productive sleep and mounting headache. Still, he fought on and just as he felt the bite of little mechanical jaws on his legs—literally—he thought of something in desperation.

He drew in a large breath and a second later let out his Ghostly Wail.

At first, all of the devices nearest to him were being swept away from him.

But then suddenly, the young hybrid felt the shadow of something pass over him and in that instant his Ghostly Wail was nipped in the bud! In fact, Danny felt his throat immediately dry up and he reflexively clutched at his throat. A moment later, he collapsed to the ground with his white transformation rings washing over him without his willing them to!

Danny pulled himself up and looked over to a smiling Technus who was now holding on to some kind of ….dream catcher! It looked similar to the Fenton Ghost Catcher his father had made, the one that separated his ghost halves, only this one had a red glowing spider-web-like pane spread taut over its oval frame and it pivoted in place very much like a gyroscope in motion.

"Ha-ha! You've failed 'Lesson Three', young whipper-snapper! Still, I guess I need to thank you. You had made this possible by giving me the idea when you used something similar on me that one time. I built my own modified Ghost Dream Catcher which is able to separate all the ectoplasmic energy out from any ghost that it passes through it….I call it the Ghost Anti-Energy Gadget, or GAG! Heh-heh, get it?"

Danny rolled his eyes but then when he tried to object, _no words_ came out of his mouth! He couldn't even hear the gasp he then emitted in shock after trying to talk!

The mullet-toting ghost floated menacingly toward the helpless human boy, carrying the GAG with him. He then darkly continued, "As you can see, it works perfectly! And by my count, that would mean you have three strikes and you're out, whelp!"

The techno-ghost crowed as he then pulled out and hurriedly waved his electrical rod. A stream of current immediately shot out from it and toward the fallen boy.

Since Danny was now fully depleted of all his ghostly powers and defenseless in his human form, all he could do was silently scream at the pain as his body was engulfed within and then absorbed Technus' raw power.

And Danny remembered no more….

* * *

><p>Vlad smiled at the results of this 'test', though he didn't feel entirely triumphant. After all, the room was still rattling slightly from the last effects of Daniel's Ghostly Wail.<p>

Nevertheless, Daniel's reactions provided even more data for analysis. The boy had used his 'inner strength' again. The monitors confirmed the presence of even more intense emotions that could indicate that the boy's mental stability was collapsing. In fact, Vlad was sure of it since he had never seen the boy's green energy be that dark —or powerful — before; and especially when the boy had produced them almost immediately after Vlad had sent the same subliminal message he had used in the last program: a hatred for all ghosts.

Indeed, the man should feel triumphant. But he wasn't totally because of what had happened not too long after he had sent that subliminal message and the boy had used his obviously more powerful energy. All the readings of the monitors indicated that the boy's stress level almost quadrupled when Daniel thought he had severely injured that idiotic Technus. And right after that, his computer had reported a minor short-circuit in the microchip —coupled with a strange yet almost immeasurable amount of some kind of energy.

Though Vlad couldn't explain that strange phenomenon, Vlad was sure that the boy's 'hero complex' contributed to its manifestation. And because of it, Daniel was somehow able to override —and he would even say destroy —the subliminal message.

Nevertheless, Vlad wasn't dissatisfied. In fact, he just knew that getting the boy under his control was in the very near future. All he had to do was shorten that wait…

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><p><strong>AN: Heh-heh, you made it down here! I sure hope you enjoyed Danny's meeting with Technus. I actually think he's a very annoying ghost, but I simply love his corny puns!**

**And speaking of corny puns, you can throw that wonderful popcorn at me when your review this chapter! LOL! *smiles goofily***

**Now, for those of you keeping track, you absolutely know and are expecting the continuing run-down of the Fantomos Ecto-Scale:**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, TrueHeart**

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**Until next time, have very MERRY 10th, 11th and 12th Days of Christmas, dear readers!**

**truephan**


	26. Ch 26 Lev 5 Ghosts: Relating to a Cocoon

**A/N: Hiya, everybody-ee! How are y'all? I'm doing great and I hope you like this next chapter. Things are pretty much full steam ahead for Vlad and it also looks like things are going according to his plans…or are they? Hmmm…. While you're mulling that over, don't forget that I don't own anything but my OCs and this story-yep: dirt poor! *permission to groan* Okay, enough mulling! Here is Chapter 26. Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire-Chapter 26—Level <strong>Five<strong> Ghosts—Relating to a Cocoon

Danny whimpered softly at the painful first memory that surfaced when he awakened. He had failed once again! What was happening to him? Was this really real, especially when he couldn't even defeat _Technus_? He unconsciously furrowed his brow as he searched his fatigued mind. No, this couldn't be real. This was just one of those many lame tests cooked up by the Observants.

He sighed. So what if this was just another stupid test? He should be defeating all of these ghosts! But so far…Suddenly, he swept the thought away. He didn't want to think about it anymore, especially when he could feel that what was now his 'regular' headache stepped into the forefront again. Maybe he just needed more sleep. He did feel sort of tired; but not really. He frowned. He couldn't understand why he was both tired enough to sleep and yet, once again, driven to be awake for some reason.

The boy sighed again when he decided he was too tired to think about _that_ as well anymore. He finally opened his eyes. And when he did blink them open, he groaned in frustration when all he saw was blackness yet again. What _was it_ with the Observants and all this blackness? But then he sighed a bit in relief. At least he could tell that he recovered enough from his fight with Technus that he was in his ghost form again since he was seeing with his ghostly eyes— even though they couldn't penetrate all of this bleakness.

Danny could also tell that he was lying on his back. But he was not lying on his cot; he was lying on something hard. And there was something…else. He really couldn't move. It felt like there was something tight around him—in fact, _all_ around him. Not only that, but it was also hard for him to _breathe, _though when he did, it felt as if…

His stomach tightened with the sensation and he immediately threw away the next discomforting thought about that feeling. After all, he _was_ breathing—even if it was still very difficult for him to do.

The teen tried to move again and growled with frustration when that only confirmed that he was as tightly bound as he first thought. Still again, he reflexively wrestled against what felt like cloth-like bands. And as his breathing increased with his struggle, he reeled even more at the musky and moldy smell that had been there from the start but suddenly seemed to stab at his olfactory sense. It smelled…rotten!

But struggle as he might, Danny still couldn't break free! He tried to go intangible, only to realize that he couldn't even do that!

Now grunting with determination, the teen began to try to twist out of his bindings; however, he then met resistance not only from the bindings but from _outside_ of the bindings!

"What is this?" he uttered but his voice was muffled.

He jolted when a sudden thought surfaced. His voice! Technus had used that stupid dream catcher he had made on him when he was using his Ghostly wail! Did the techno-ghost permanently damage his vocal cords?

Danny grunted out loud again and actually relaxed a bit. His throat felt fine. His voice sounded differently because he just realized that he was actually just gagged!

He rolled his eyes at that thought. As if being gagged was _good_ news!

Nevertheless, he wriggled his bound body more vigorously and each time he bumped into something hard. And it was then that he knew he was in some kind of box. Only that, this box followed the outward curves of his body, as if he were in some kind of…tomb!

He then fought harder in more determination not only from his bounds but also from his growing panic and dread.

"_This is just another test, that's all!"_ he tried to assure himself as well as keep his head together. "_The Observants are just trying to trick me just like those other times…this isn't real."_

His brain was suddenly flooded with the memories of all of his other tests so far. And one in particular still haunted his mind and psyche enough for his resolve to flounder: _"Foolish child, don't you know that this is all __**real**__?" the tree taunted just before Danny remembered it wrenching its mouth open and its vines pulling him toward it._

"_Can the Observants do that? Make all of this real? Sure, they h__ave__ no time here, but could they manipulate all of existence at will here, then?"_ he continued to ask himself, trying to figure out what this test was all about.

But, of course, he didn't have the answers, but the seed of doubt had been planted in his increasingly stressed mind.

Still, he tried to make some sense of his current situation. "I must be hallucinating or dreaming again…" he then concluded, trying to infuse rationality back into his panicking brain. "This _can't_ be real!"

The words finally resounded in his brain; and Danny stopped moving. He concentrated in throwing out the panic that was racing up his spine. He had to steel himself and think this through.

"_You can do this, Fenton,"_ he tried to reassure himself. _"You've done it before, like you've done over and over again when you were in a tight situation."_ He rolled his eyes and slightly groaned before half-smirking at his unintentional pun.

Nevertheless, that was enough to calm him and help him to focus. He closed his eyes again and tried to get a hold of his breathing, though it was hard to do in this stifling air.

Then he _heard_ something. But the sound was muffled even though the boy guessed it was directly above his face. He strained to determine what that noise was, and more importantly, what was making it.

With his eyes still closed and his brow wrinkled, the half-ghost concentrated on using his keen ghostly hearing. Then he heard several sounds this time. Some of them sounded like…he wasn't sure. But as crazy as it seemed to him, he had to say what came close to describing it was as if slow-moving egg shells were being dragged against wood. Not only that, every once in a while he could hear what had to be some kind of tiny rigid flapping sounds since the stagnant air moved very slightly above his face with each flap. And then there were several faint yet rhythmical click-clacks. Though he thought the analogy was weird, he had to guess that they sounded like several tiny porcelain feet tapping against wood.

He had no idea what was making that sound.

But then, Danny opened his eyes when he felt a slight change in pressure on his chest, on his outstretched, bound legs and finally on his gagged mouth! He could feel the weight of several circular-like things the size of small mice at those points. However, within a second he knew that those 'circles' on him had to be _alive_ because he could feel their weight shift before they exerted a new pressure on nearby every point on his body. They were moving!

The thing sitting on his gagged mouth, however, remained stationery for the most part. But the others.…he was now certain that they were moving because he could feel tiny needle-like projections pressing up and down through his bindings as if they were blazing a path toward his neck and head.

Danny could feel the sweat of anxiety slide down his wrapped neck as the unknown things crept closer to it.

The boy, however, wasn't about to wait for any 'moment of truth' in their reaching his neck. He forced out a muffled yell while struggling even harder against his bindings and the hard case entombing him. He could immediately tell by their sound that the things that had been on him flitted off of him in reaction.

But where did they go?

He didn't have any time to think about it, however, for all of the sudden, the lid of the box he was in flew off its base on its own power and light filtered in, momentarily blinding his unbound eyes, while the sudden rush of air stirred up the dust that had been within and on top of his box.

Danny coughed on the dust, though his cough was stifled by his gag. But then, he felt a sudden chill rush over him as he felt his form begin to dematerialize, as if he was being torn apart, molecule-by-molecule!

His muffled scream echoed through the room at the strange, terrifying sensation.

A moment later, the boy was reforming and he felt his bindings partially loosen. In fact, he could now move his lower jaw, neck, arms and legs and he now could feel solid ground under his feet.

But, his moment of relief was short-lived when he felt his knees unwittingly buckle under him. He fell prostrate, while his arms were unwittingly pulled upward by some force so they were now flying outstretched over his head before they, too, firmly slammed into the ground.

Before he could attempt to get back up, however, a booming voice announced, "I did not give you permission to rise in my presence, slave!"

_**Slave?**_

The word shot through the boy's brain as surely as it had been an arrow.

"_**Slave?"**_ Danny finally growled out in protest, now more determined to get up off from his face-down position.

"Yes, slave. _**My **_slave for all eternity! And I now give you permission to rise," the bold voice pronounced, just as he waved the instrument in his hand.

Danny suddenly jolted. That force holding him down was gone! And just as he pulled himself up to a stand, Danny hitched in his gasp. He had really hoped he hadn't been right about recognizing that voice. But he now knew he was. And even though the ghost in front of him looked differently than the last time they met, Danny was sure who that ghost was by the smirk on his face.

Danny growled indignantly.

So what if the ghost's appearance had changed? He was still just as much of a jerk.

The former mummy ghost was now wearing a multicolored gold-striped _Nemes_ headdress which covered his entire head and nape of the neck and fell just below the back of his shoulders. Two large cobras in ready-strike position—called the _Uraeus—_accented the Egyptian crown and seemed to be growing out of the ghost's forehead. Finally, the headdress had two large flaps which hung behind the ears and draped the front of his shoulders, which made Hotep-Ra's head looked bigger than it was.

The older ghost no longer had his face partially hidden under sloppily wrapped bandages, either. In fact, both of his green beady eyes were visible and were thickly outlined in the black _khol_ substance just like all the eyes of Egyptians depicted on those ancient hieroglyphics the boy had seen in his history books. His long black tightly woven goatee was now fully exposed, too, and curled upward.

The rest of Hotep-Ra's attire also befitted that of a pharaoh. He had a semicircular flat necklace inlayed in rows of gold, ruby and sapphire around his neck that were so wide that it looked almost like a shawl draping over his shoulders. Other than the necklace, the Egyptian ghost's grey-skinned chest was bare, except for a purple royal apron-like drape called a _shendyt_ which had been placed at the ghost's right hip and wrapped around his body, back to front. A golden arm band and a thick gold bracelet also adorned each of his bare muscular arms. Finally, he was wearing a white linen kilt-like garment girded by a thick linen purple belt, golden bands around his ankles and simple leather sandals on his feet.

But what really caught Danny's attention was that the ghost was holding the golden sacred scepter of the Pharaoh King Duulaman. The large blue scarab-shape jewel nestled between the upper horns of the staff glowed brightly enough that its blue hue was crowning the entire upper part of the scepter.

That definitely wasn't good news.

Nevertheless, Danny hissed, "_Nobody_ should be _anybody_'s slave, Hotep-Ra! I thought you of all ghosts would understand that."

"But that was before I had the chance to be the master of a highly-prized slave," the Egyptian ghost replied before he raised his scepter and waved it at the boy.

The blue force emanating from the scepter pushed Danny back down unwittingly into a kneeling position.

Even as he struggled to counter the force, Danny squared his jaw and defiantly said, "I will never obey you, jerk!"

Hotep-Ra laughed darkly before commanding through his gritted teeth, "You have no choice in the matter, dog! And you will speak with respect to me from this time onward. Now that I have reclaimed the sacred scepter, I have total power over you and this dominion!"

Danny struggled to stand again, but during his effort, his eyes finally drifted downward toward the upper part of one his partly bent thighs that he had managed to move enough so that he was in a partial kneeling position.

He startled at the sight and gasped in dread.

That leg…the upper part of it was wrapped in yellowing bandages…._mummy-like_ bandages! But there was something even more shocking. The bandages were torn in some places and there was _no flesh_ under them…_only bones_!

He anxiously lifted his arms and was only minimally relieved that his hands were whole and human under the loose strips of rotting cloth that hung around them. And that was because even though his hands had flesh, their skin tone was no longer their normal flesh color….they were _blue_!

Now horrified, Danny frantically inspected the rest of himself. There were cloth-like bandages lightly bound over his nose and more tightly around his forehead and scalp, completely hiding his head and hair under the strands of mummy bindings. And the rest of his body was clad similarly, except for random areas where they were torn, revealing either blue flesh or bone under them.

That was too much!

Reflexively, Danny grabbed those bandages in panic and began to pry them off.

Hotep-Ra responded through his laughter, "I would not do that if I were you, slave!"

Danny glared at him and grabbed an even larger handful of the cloth on his face and pulled with even more determination. But the sound of the decayed cloth tearing away from his nose suddenly sent as much chills down his spine as would fingernails down a chalkboard.

He gasped when his hands, still in front of his nose, all of the sudden crumbled into dust! The rest of his body also sloughed to dust a moment later before a small whirlwind herded the debris together and shoved it backwards.

A terrified heartbeat later, the boy knew by the decayed smell and the solid barricade and retightened bindings which kept him from moving that he was back in that sarcophagus in which he first found himself!

"Oh, no! This can't be possible!" Danny screamed to himself, now even more upset when his words were gagged once more. He violently contorted his fully bound body, trying to force the lid off of his small tomb by drawing his seemingly large single knee upward and pressing into it.

He stopped when he heard a muffled laugh which seemed to be hovering right over the facial part of the sarcophagus.

"Foolish, slave! You have no powers here unless the sacred scepter and I will you to have them—which I don't!"

Once again, the tomb's lid flew off on its own and Danny felt the uncontrollable sensation of his body disintegrating again into dust before rapidly reforming. He was fully prostrate once more before Hotep-Ra, who was now sitting lazily upon his Egyptian throne; his purple cloak now thrown just as lazily upon it and the golden scepter still glowing blue.

"How can this be happening?" Danny demandingly yelled in spite of the fact that Hotep-Ra's power held his face and body firmly to the cold stone ground.

Using the power of his scepter to shove the boy harder into the ground to make sure he meant business in having the younger ghost stay put, the mummy-turned-ghost-Pharaoh smugly said, "I suppose that a special new slave needs special training. After all, I intend to have you at the center of my entertainment from now on. And considering how so much inferior you are to me in intellect, let me make this clear and simple."

Danny defiantly growled and tried to rise from his position, only to be shoved handedly back onto the ground by the same unseen force.

"Let me refresh your memory, slave," Hotep-Ra continued with glee. "Your last encounter was with the ghost called 'Technus', is this not the truth?"

Danny startled at the comment. Of course, he remembered, but how could Hotep-Ra know that? Even more dread suddenly seized him, threatening to suck all hope out of him and he shuddered. Still, he said nothing.

"I see I have indeed captured your attention, slave. That is wise of you to give it," Hotep-Ra said, quite satisfied with himself. "And you know that your encounter with that lower ghost ended with your defeat. But it was more than that! It ended with your….death!"

Once again, Danny felt his stomach lurch, even as he tried to deny the words.

"No!" he muttered, though the floor right in front of his mouth muffled his word.

Nevertheless, Hotep-Ra heard the boy and flashed his uneven-toothed grin. "It is true. Why else would your flesh be a ghostly blue and part of you already rotted away? Only in my dominion will a ghost be presented this way if I will it! Which, in your case, Danny Phantom, I do!"

He readily continued, "And since I have the scepter, I was able to overcome Technus and lay claim to your lifeless body as my slave even as your body became a _fully_ ghostly one!"

Though Danny squished his eyes together with a desperate desire to squish out the Egyptian ghost's words out of his mind, the boy couldn't deny it. He saw those bones and how blue his skin was himself. And maybe now that he was a _full_ ghost, maybe he couldn't use any of his powers anymore because he once was a hybrid. Either that, or his having been a hybrid now interfered with his ability to use whatever ghostly powers he could have used if he had been a _full_ ghost in the _first _place instead of a half-ghost!

The boy began to pant with his panic; but then, a spark a hope twinkled in his mind. Wait a minute! This couldn't be right!

This time he purposely pushed his nose harder into the ground and snorted. Dust blew up and he coughed! He _was _breathing! And then he stopped and concentrated, straining to listen. He breathed in more in relief. He could actually feel that his heart _was beating_! But, wait. How could he be alive and have blue skin and bones?

He suddenly didn't want to think about that. Instead, he hurriedly convinced himself that what he was seeing must have been some kind of trick that Hotep-Ra had the Duulaman's scepter conjure up.

But if he was still alive, then that meant it was possible that he still had his powers!

Recharged with that idea, Danny pulled against the force still holding him prostrate. But before the boy had put much more effort into it, Hotep-Ra waved his wand and released the power restraining the teen.

Danny shouted in surprise as he inadvertently rolled onto his back after being unexpectedly freed.

But Danny quickly pulled himself upward and was happy to see that he was hovering!

"I thought you said I had no power here, jerk," Danny said through gritted teeth as he charged up green energy into his hands.

"Only that which I will allow," Hotep-Ra smugly said as he waved his scepter again.

In an instant, Danny's emerald energy dissipated.

Danny jolted in shock at the sight; but before he could react, Hotep-Ra raised up his staff once more.

A large blue beam shot out from it and slammed right into the mummified boy.

Danny screamed at the jolt before his eyesight and mind blurred.

When Danny's head and vision finally cleared, he was lying in the middle of an arena. He pulled himself up and the first thing he saw was a large empty throne-like chair. He quickly turned around and scanned all around him. The arena was empty as well.

"_What now?"_ the boy mentally groaned.

Suddenly, a large blue cloud of ghostly energy engulfed the large throne-like chair and a moment later, Pharaoh Hotep-Ra I appeared upon it.

"Let the game begin!" he announced with an already triumphant tone as he waved his gold-and-blue glowing wand.

In an instant, a blue beam filled the arena's stand and it filled to capacity with Egyptian subjects. Right afterward, a large black cloud shot out from behind the stands to Danny's left. The crowd gasped and everyone turned toward the phenomenon.

Danny also took the cue from the crowd and jerked to his left. The black blob sharply changed its direction and charged right at him!

As the black cloud neared, Danny could actually hear _humming and clicking—too familiar _humming and clicking_—_coming from out of it. But in no time his keen ghostly eyes could see that the cloud was actually a swarm of black Egyptian beetles known as scarabs.

Ignoring the sudden creepy hunch that some of those scarabs must have been in the sarcophagus with him earlier, Danny reflexively filled his hands with his emerald ectoplasmic energy and shot two large beams forward.

The rays sliced the cloud in half. The left half veered away but the right half continued to make a bee line to the young hybrid.

Danny steeled himself, planted his feet firmly into the ground, and poured more of his energy into the smaller black cloud headed right to him.

It evaporated on contact.

But it didn't end there.

After the second small cloud had pulled away from the boy's force, it radically changed course and increased its speed until it was now at the boy's rear.

Danny heard the humming and clicking coming at him a bit too late this time and the force of several hundred scarabs drove themselves into him. They quickly engulfed the boy and began to feast on his mummy bindings and whatever skin and bones that were exposed.

The teen screamed at the countless painful bites that seemed to be tearing his body apart as the seconds past.

Now desperate, Danny concentrated and felt his temperature drop precipitously in a nanosecond before a deep blue aura of very cold energy formed all around him. He could already feel his pain lessen since the aura was acting like a shield at this point.

But he had no more time to think about it. With one quick and loud grunt, Danny willed his cold energy outward. In an instant, all the scarabs were not only repelled, but were encased in ice. The new grotesque-looking icicles dropped to the ground and shattered on impact.

Danny panted with the effort but still reflexively scanned all around him in case there was more trouble.

He hadn't even noticed yet that the crowd in the arena had hushed in awe at the display of Danny's power.

When the boy turned back to the Egyptian ghost, his and Hotep-Ra's eyes locked onto each other.

Without blinking, Danny tightened his jaw and frowned in anger in response to the older ghost's smug smile. He fisted his hands tightly and held them in ready position.

"Very entertaining, slave!" Hotep-Ra beamed while flashing his ugly teeth once more.

As if on cue, the crowd immediately erupted in cheers. But a moment later, they gasped. They saw what Danny hadn't noticed yet.

The boy's body, though still draped with loose-fitting cloth bands, was glowing intensely with the same blue hue just before he destroyed the second swarm of scarabs. In the next moment, however, the aura melded from _blue to a dark green_ and was now pulsating with even more brightness!

Hotep-Ra's face fell when he realized that the boy's power was unexpectedly surging! He had to do something about it!

With a quick flick of his wrist, the Egyptian ghost reactivated Duulaman's sacred scepter.

Danny gasped when he felt the same power that had earlier forced him to the ground grab a hold of him.

But this time, the boy was determined to resist the ancient energy.

"I will _never_ be anybody's slave," Danny defiantly hissed through gritted teeth just as his eyes flared a solid green.

Still, Hotep-Ra wasn't going to give in that easily. The ancient power he held in his hands was immeasurable. He aimed the scepter right at the boy and a large blue beam of energy instantly shot out.

Blue and green energy violently slammed into each other and a line of aquamarine energy immediately formed between the forces.

Danny yelled at the punch but only concentrated harder to counter the scepter's power.

However, much to the boy's chagrin, a moment later a new wave of cold lightning-like pain attacked his spine—again! He could already feel his energy draining from that cursed sabotage of his own body!

"_Not __**this**__ time!"_ Danny mentally grunted, determined to defy himself this time.

He dug deep, desperately searching for his inner strength to counter both his own and the scepter's blows. His body shook under the strain.

In the meantime, Hotep-Ra couldn't believe what he was seeing. Not only was the boy able to counter his power, but there were greenish-blue sparks bouncing off the two fighting balls of energy! Nevertheless, the ghost commanded even more of the ancient power to attack the boy.

Danny struggled under the counter surge of the scepter. Still, he was able to stay it off.

But then, the cloth bindings around his arms began to shear. Danny purposely ignored them as he focused all of his strength onto this one task.

He felt the cloth began to tear under the antagonizing forces and a moment later, one of his bindings popped under the stress.

Danny gasped at what happened next.

He suddenly felt that very uncomfortable rush as his body melded into dust; and before he could utter a frustrated yelp, he was back and tightly bound again within his sarcophagus!

Even as he reflexively struggled anew, Danny could hear Hotep-Ra's hideous yet muffled laugh from outside of his tomb. "Fool! You did this to yourself! Now, I will leave you until I have the urge to be entertained by you again!"

"NOOOOO!" Danny was finally able to cry, even if the word was stifled by the mummy-cloth gagging him….

* * *

><p>Vlad was enthralled with the scene unfolding in front of him. He had never seen that much power coming from Daniel until now. He unwittingly coughed again on the fumes made by the overloaded circuits and wires connected to his control board.<p>

He had, of course, ordered his computer to enhance and quicken the program shortly after he had first caught a whiff of the acrid smell.

Vlad finally relaxed now that he was satisfied that Daniel had been successfully returned to _delta_ sleep. He knew that Maddie would have a lot of data to analyze from this encounter. In fact, he had a feeling that it would unlock even more of the secret of Daniel's powers.

Suddenly encouraged and pleased at the thought, he slightly chuckled, "My, Maddie, don't you think that the mummy outfit suited Daniel?! I was growing quite fond of it on him."

The computer generated image of the love of his life emotionlessly replied, "The test subject's attire was precisely fitted with the specifications of Program 289-5 _Beta _as calculated, sir. I do not compute the relevance of your comment to the proper execution and the significant results of Program 289-5 _Beta, _sir."

Even as the man grew more sober with his computer's comment, he still smirked as he said, "As always, your logic is flawless, Maddie."

"You did design me to be as perfect as you, sir," the hologram uttered with a slight gush. "And you programmed me to keep Program 289-5 _Beta_ in sync with the master plan's timeline."

Vlad studied her more intently as she continued, "Protocol dictates to check the test subject's mental health according to standard parameters. The monitors indicate that the readings of the emotional center of his brain, which you know is called his Amygdala, have not only been high, but have become more unstable as a result of this program, and that would support the hypothesis that…."

"That we may be finally breaking Daniel!" Vlad excitedly finished the sentence for her.

"Strong correlation for that, sir," Maddie confirmed.

Vlad smiled a bit before he paused in thought again. He still had to maintain a methodical frame of mind in all of this, even if it seemed his plan was finally coming to fruition.

He finally said, "But I think we still need to be sure before we conclude that your hypothesis is valid and before we have to use Program 289-9 _Zeta _again. After all, I want to push the boy _over_ his limit."

"That would be a logical procedure, sir."

"Okay, then, Maddie, go ahead and activate Program 289-6 _Epsilon,_" he casually replied.

"Executed sir," she simply replied after she had placed the commands in the queue.

* * *

><p><strong>LEVEL 1 GHOSTS<strong>

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, TrueHeart**

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**Well, dear readers, you can see from the countdown that we're already through with the Level 5 ghosts. Why? Well, because, honestly, from here on out, it will be harder and harder to put the stronger ghosts into a particular category. But, my illustrious panel and I still managed to do that because, well, that was our goal! So, if you haven't seen your fav ghost yet, don't fret. You will see them sooner or later!**

**I sure hope you liked this chapter. It was another try at writing horror for me, though I know it wasn't in the same league as the really gory stuff other writers have done. But that's okay. I can only handle so much horror anyways! And speaking of 'anyways', hope you throw your thoughts my way. I would love to hear them. And, as always, thank you so much for your support!**

**truephan**


	27. Chap 27 Lev SIX Ghosts--Wishful Thinking

**A/N: How are y'all doing? Ah-huh. Hmmm...Good to hear! And I want to thank y'all for all your reviews and support. They are better than chocolate—honest! Are you ready for Chapter 27? I sure am. Don't forget that annoying IDOAC thing. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 27—Level Six Ghosts—Wishful Thinking<p>

Danny gasped in slight panic at first when he saw only blackness again after opening his eyes and recalling being terrorized in what seemed like only moments before. But in the next instant, he suddenly let out a huge sigh of relief. He knew in that single breath that the air wasn't stifling and he wasn't gagged! He was alright, well, except for that constant headache. But at this point, he really didn't care because he really had to make sure he still wasn't Hotep-Ra's mummified puppet.

He moved his arms and legs and sighed in slight relief again. He wasn't bound…His nightmarish encounter with Hotep-Ra was just another one of those lame Observants' tests, that's all**—**_way_ over the top for sure this time. But it hadn't been….real...had it?

"Of course not!" he chuckled out loud, though nervously, "Or else I would still be a _walking and talking canned tuna_!"

But then he startled at how stifled the words he had just said sounded. It seemed as if he _were_…back in that Egyptian tomb!

Now gripped in panic, the boy thrashed within his receptacle. But wait! This wasn't the sarcophagus! It was a bit….roomier…but not by much. And he _wasn't_ lying on something _hard_. He was lying on what he felt was a bunch of large, plush pillows.

The young hybrid turned a bit to each of his sides and felt along the curved boundaries of his solid cell, which abutted the bed of pillows. He then pulled himself to a sit and glanced around where he was. He could easily tell that this 'tomb' was totally rounded in shape.

"Ouch!" he muttered when he had pulled himself upward to try to stand, only to bump his head against the top part of where he was.

When he had reached to rub the top of his head, however, his hand slipped into a large hole just up and beyond where he had bumped his head.

His ghostly vision finally clearing enough, Danny searched all around that hole. It wasn't just a simple hole, though. It had a circular wall that drifted upward and just beyond his reach as if he was actually looking up into a circular-shaped chimney. Still, it was wide enough for his whole body to fit in—that is, if he wanted to go up it.

He carefully squatted upon his pillow bed; and then pulled himself into a full stand within the hole and reached up higher into the cavity. But he couldn't reach the top. He floated upward—silently thankful once more that he still had his powers— while keeping his hands ready above his head. Finally, he felt something hard, which he could only call the 'ceiling' of this part of the receptacle, and instinctively pushed upward on it.

It began to give almost right away!

Encouraged that the top wasn't fused solid, Danny pushed even harder on the 'ceiling'.

Suddenly, what had felt like an arrow of light hit his eyes squarely and he squinted at the small, harmless beam.

But then, he jolted when a couple of things happened all at once: a partially muffled female voice laughed before saying: "Thank you, Danny Phantom!" And the lid he had been pushing on slammed down shut, shoved down hard by a counter-force to the teen's upward movement.

Danny grunted when he tried to push the lid back up. But this time, it wouldn't budge!

Now a bit peeved, the boy charged up a ball of his emerald ectoplasmic energy. But when he looked at his hand that was being illuminated by the green light, he gasped.

There was a wide skin-hugging purplish-pink bracelet encircling his right wrist! He glanced over to his other hand and saw an identical wide flat purplish-pink bracelet hugging his left wrist!

What were those things doing there?

He inspected the rest of his arms, which were bare except for the wrist bracelets…and another wide flat purplish-pink bracelet-like piece of jewelry which was encircling his right upper arm. Though he didn't like that, he felt a little relieved because at least his arms were whole and their skin was flesh-colored again! That must have also meant that the 'Hotep-Ra' affair was officially over.

Nevertheless, he then pulled the ball of ectoplasmic light downward to inspect the rest of himself and gasped again.

"W-Where is my costume?" he blurted out. "And for that matter, then, where are my jeans, and….well, where are **my clothes**?"

Not that he didn't have any clothes on. He did. They just were….well…._way wrong_!

Besides the bracelets, only a dark green sleeveless vest that seemed too small for him adorned his upper torso. It was definitely too short and it was currently open. It also didn't help that it had no buttons or fasteners on it, except for two thin dark green silky-like strings, which he immediately tied together so that his bare chest was covered as much as that short vest could allow. After all, one thing he hadn't changed about was keeping his modesty.

But then he groaned when he suddenly realized that his abdomen was still bare.

He reached down to pull his pants up higher when his eyes widen at the sight of them. His pants…they were worse than that tiny vest! _Balloons_ was a better description of what these things covering his legs were. They had two 'pants legs', well, sort of. But they were very baggy and all puffed out!

He sighed a bit. At least they were _black_ balloons! Well, except for the dark green wide belt that rested just above his hips and then….

His eyes widened. What were _those shoes_ about? He immediately kicked them off.

The boy reflexively ran one of his hands through his bangs in frustration, and felt some kind of string on the side of his head. He was sure it hadn't been there when he had first bumped his head. Still, he reached upward and pulled off a small, short round box-like dark green hat. He immediately dropped it to the ground below him. But he gasped when as his hand came down, it brushed against his ear and there was a looped earring in it!

"Oh, no, not that!" he growled before looking up into the slightly illuminated 'ceiling' of this cell. "I don't think this is a _bit_ funny, Justeco! And just _how_ is this a 'test'? To see if I can play being a fashion critic? Because if it is, then it's 'two thumbs and two large toes down' for this way lame…outfit! Now, I don't care if you mind or not, but I'm through with this test! This is just too much, do you hear?! Haven't you gotten enough stuff about me already, especially things that I don't even want to know about?"

Danny paused. But hearing nothing, he snorted, "Okay, so that's the way it's going to be?"

Again, silence abounded, which peeved the boy more. He didn't even care how they would react to what he was about to say. "And while I'm at it and all in the mood to criticize you, aren't you overdoing the 'costume change and stuffy cramped spaces' thing? I mean, c'mon. What's with this outfit and all this black scenery bit? And then giving me your lame tests in tiny sorry spaces? Aren't you more creative than that?"

Having nearly said his piece, the young hybrid concentrated and two bluish-white rings formed at his bare waist. He ignored the slightly cold tickle it gave him as he continued his transformation. Less than a heartbeat later, he charged up another ectoplasmic ball of light and smiled in triumph. He was back in his familiar black-and-white costume!

"Now, that's more like it!" the boy beamed. "Now to find out what this thing I'm in is and, more importantly, how to get _out_ of it!"

He floated downward as he enlarged his green ball of ghostly light and scanned the small, one room area.

One of his eyebrows hitched in surprise at the first things he saw. "Hello. What's that?" he mumbled out loud when he saw that there were several of those things dotting the walls of the small receptacle.

Acting on a hunch, he maintained the ball of light in his right hand while closing his left hand except for his extended index finger and thumb. Then as if he was pointing at the object with a 'human-hand-made' gun, he 'cocked' his hand back a bit before rocking it forward like he was firing his 'hand gun' and a small precise burst of green energy shot out of his index finger.

That small green glowing 'bullet' precisely hit the first mark dotting the wall and the torch ignited with his green ectoplasmic spark. He smirked in triumph just as he continued to light the other torches in like manner until the 'room' was adequately illuminated.

And now that he got a better view of where he was, the less he liked it.

He could now see that the walls between the torches weren't bare. There were either sheer wall-length curtains or rugs decorating the walls. And they were all—pink! With pink frilly things all over them. There was a lone picture hanging from the ceiling on the far curved corner to his right. At least it looked like a picture, but he wasn't interested in it at the moment. He looked down and confirmed that he had been lying upon but was now hovering over a bed made of huge plushy pillows.

He landed in the middle of this small circular room and walked around it. In one curved corner of the room, a small table and chair both made of wicker sat. A small Tiffany lamp with tassels lining the bottom of its shade was on the table. Finally, the walls or the ceiling had long strings of pearls or rhinestones hanging down either from them—and once again, everything in here was pink!

"Yech!" the boy said with distaste in his mouth. "I'm no interior decorator, but I'm definitely not hiring the one who created this nightmare!"

"Nightmare!" he repeated, stunned by the word. "I've definitely had more than my share of them lately and maybe this is just one big nightmare again!"

But then, he jolted with his next thought.

"But how would I know that I'm in my own nightmare?" he gulped even as he reached over to one of his arms and pinched himself.

"Uh, didn't have to pinch that hard, dude!" he chided himself even as he winced at the slight pain. "So, okay, I'm not in a nightmare…I think…Well, I really hope that I am! I mean…never mind! Let's see if that picture over there gives me a clue to just where the heck I am!"

He began to float over to the picture; but before he could get a good look at it, he had to cover his ears suddenly when an ear-piercing screeching noise was resounding throughout his little room. It sounded as if someone was rubbing rough metal with sandpaper—only one hundred times louder! And then there was a loud pop right after that.

But that wasn't the end of it.

All of the sudden Danny felt a strong force pulling on him. Even though he couldn't quite explain it, it felt as if the pull was coming from his very central core! And it was somehow urging…no, _commanding_ that he bring forth his transformation rings!

He reflexively resisted that 'insistence' even though it not only didn't cease, but _intensified!_

But there was more!

The 'pull' seemed to change tactics even as it increased its demand that the young hybrid morph. Now it was commanding that the boy float over to the part of the room just below that chimney-like part that jutted up from the bed full of pillows—immediately!

Not only that, but a thought drilled in the young hybrid's mind almost at the same time as the other pressing forces….a most upsetting thought.

He increased his efforts to resist that demanding thought as well, but now he was trying to fight three strong sets of forces that were pressing back at once and were proving harder for Danny to resist.

"NOO!" the boy screamed in protest, still trying to resist; and even as he felt his transformation rings appear and finally morph him, that commanding, upsetting thought pounded in his ears.

A moment later, his body unwittingly dissolved into dark green smoke which was then quickly sucked up and out of the opening in the chimney-like receptacle that had demanded him to draw nearer to it moments ago and right after that screeching sound had first begun.

Before Danny knew it, he was on the outside of the chimney-like receptacle and had formed again. He squinted his eyes from the sudden light and felt slightly dazed by the event. Maybe that was the reason why he felt he was floating.

He glanced around and saw that he was in a room he had never before been in. It was decorated with lots of models of cars, trucks and the like. Various sports equipment was strewed carelessly about and posters of famous sports figures hung all along the walls.

The teen finally glanced down at his feet to check to see if he was indeed floating or just dizzy and standing. He jolted in shock. His spectral tail! It wasn't grey anymore. It was now dark _green_; but more than that, it looked like green _smoke_ and though overall he was his full size, a very small part of his spectral tail was still bellowing out of the top of whatever he had come out!

Danny spread his arms up to his sides and muttered out loud in confusion, "What gives?"

"What gives?" A high nasal, lisping voice squealed out in annoyance. "That's not what a genie is supposed to say!"

"Genie?" Danny gasped out loud in even more shock as he twisted to his back to face the voice.

A red-haired freckled-face stout boy was standing on the ground just under him holding the slender neck of a gold bottle inlayed with red stones in one of his hands and a small gold stopper in his other hand. He was about nine-or ten-years-old and was dressed in a red t-shirt, brown shorts and a slightly askew green-and-yellow baseball cap. And he was popping pink bubble gum.

The bottle the red-headed boy was holding had a very long slender neck that widened into a fat, rounded bottom supported on a much smaller and shorter base. And the gold stopper also had an inlay of red stones. But more important than that, the top of that bottle had a trail of dark green smoke coming out of it….and it was connected to his dark green spectral tail!

"Oooohhh, no!" Danny began, drawing out his words in both defiance and disbelief just as he crossed his arms over his chest**—**only to startle again. He felt something hard and cold push against his bare chest! He glanced down at himself and saw that the two thick wrist bracelets he had seen earlier on him were now against his bare chest. Not only that, he was in that _same outfit_ that he had on when he first woke up inside that….bottle!

"Oh, no!" he uttered in more chagrin this time as he quickly tied up his vest again. "This can't be right!"

"Nothin's wrong!" The red-haired boy insisted. "You're my very own genie!"

Danny looked down at the boy and crossed his arms again and said with irritation, "I don't know what you're talking about, kid. But I'm _nobody's_ genie!"

"That's not fair!" the nine-year-old protested with a pout. "I wished for a boy genie but I didn't wanna have a boy genie with _attitude_!"

Danny then frowned even more and fisting his hands, angrily said, "So, you're the one responsible for getting me into this mess, kid?"

The younger boy uttered a small, frightened yelp before frowning in irritation and replying, "My name isn't 'kid'. I'm nine-years-old and my name is Ferris Waldo Anderson the Third! **And** I wish you wouldn't talk mean to me like that!"

Danny was about to chuckle at the kid's name when he suddenly gasped. "What the…?" he blurted out, frantically examining himself as a green aura formed around him before it darkened. Then, he felt that very same strong compulsion he had tried to resist earlier. It commanded him …_to obey_!

Ferris Waldo Anderson the Third then chuckled and clapped his hands in glee when he saw the green aura re-form around his genie. Something was going to happen!

"Yes…s-sir," Danny found himself unwittingly blurting out even as he felt his mouth contort in protest.

The chubby boy chortled, "Yay! That's more like it! The nice lady said you would have to obey me if I wished it!"

Suddenly wanting to know, Danny asked, "Lady? What 'nice lady'?"

"Oh, just some lady," the younger boy said, now sounding bored. "Though she wasn't the same when I first saw her."

Danny tried to think that over a moment. But, man, that headache had suddenly worsened and he was having a hard time concentrating! Still, he forced himself to focus. This had to be, of course, one of those lame tests and there was only one ghost he could think of that could have been involved in this. But how?

But his thoughts were interrupted...

"So, Aladdin,…" the red-headed boy began.

Danny frowned. "The name's Danny, pipsqueak!" he growled back, cutting the boy off.

But then Danny suddenly realized that the boy's previous wish must have some sort of time limit on it. What a relief!

"Danny? I don't like that! My genie's name is 'Aladdin'!" Ferris whined with another pout. "I wish you would call yourself 'Aladdin', Aladdin!"

Once more, a green aura surrounded the young hybrid and then darkened. Once again, Danny felt compelled to…_obey_!

But Danny was determined to resist the compulsion even more this time and he managed to blurt out with a mischievous smile, "Aladdin Aladdin at your service, sir!"

"NO!" the freckled face boy yelled, obviously not pleased. "Your name isn't 'Aladdin Aladdin'! It's just plain 'Aladdin'! I wish you would call yourself only 'Aladdin'!"

Danny scowled when that same dark aura surrounded him. He gritted his teeth, determined not to be called such a stupid name that had not been a genie's name in the first place. Still, he felt the command to obey strengthen. But he decided to jump the gun before he would be made to say it. "Okay, kid. I'm Aladdin."

The green aura disappeared and Danny definitely wasn't at all pleased at his 'triumph'. After all, he was still stuck in this ridiculous Observant test.

The nine-year-old laughed again as he clapped in glee. "Good, Aladdin! Now it's time for my _real_ wishes!"

A sudden idea then hit Danny. He smiled mischievously and slyly said, "You mean your _**three**_ wishes?"

"NO!" the younger boy yelled with a pout and a stomp of his foot. "The nice lady said I could wish all I want. And I want a million wishes!"

Danny rolled his eyes. There was that 'nice lady' thing again!

"What 'nice lady'?" Danny asked once more.

The boy's face reddened and scrunched up before he fired back, "I wish you would forget about that 'nice lady'!"

All of the sudden Danny felt the squeeze of obedience surround him as the dark green glowing aura appeared yet again. The next thing he remembered was…he didn't know! His mind was blank for a moment. But then he remembered something about 'a million wishes'. Somehow, that certainly irritated him!

Noticing the blank stare and immediate silence of his 'genie', Ferris Waldo Anderson the Third blew and popped a big bubble before he said with glee, "Good! Now I'm going to wish my first wish!"

A green aura was already forming and darkening around Danny, as if it were anticipating that it would have to force the half-ghost within it to obey in the end.

And, indeed, it would have to force him, because Danny wasn't going to do what the boy commanded.

"I wish…" the boy began.

But Danny cut him off.

"What is this? Do you think this is _Ferris Bueller's Day Off_ or something and you can order me around?" Danny sarcastically said, trying to ignore that strange sensation that had started when the boy had said 'I wish', but had quickly waned when he had cut the boy off.

"I'm not that lame Ferris Bueller! And I don't like when people tease me like that! I'm **Ferris Waldo Anderson the Third**, and I want you to give me my wish! And I wish I had a gigantic cherry lollipop!" the spoiled boy screamed, his face now as red as his hair.

Danny closed his eyes, dreading that the wish had finally been uttered. He tried to concentrate in order to try to stop the intense feeling welling up within his central core again. Against his will, he felt his arms unwittingly rise up like a conductor readying his orchestra to strike the first chord.

He poured his strength into resisting that feeling and movement only to startle in the next moment when Ferris loudly complained, "Quit it and give me my wish!"

Danny felt the compulsion to obey intensify. Try as he might, he could not resist the urge welling up in him and screaming to come out. Nevertheless, he still managed to slightly mutter the words through his gritted teeth rather than clearly say, "So do you wish it, so shall it be!"

Danny rolled his eyes even as a mystical green cloud formed in front of his raised hands. He couldn't help but think, "_How cheesy and even more than that, how humiliating!"_

In the next instant, however, at the flick of Danny's wrist, a huge red cherry lollipop appeared in the nine-year-old's hand!

"Yipee!" Ferris squealed just before he popped the huge sucker into his mouth.

Danny's eyes arched in surprise at having been able to conjure up something right out of thin air! He thought, "_I don't believe it! And, uhm, that's kinda neat!"_

However, he frowned and fisted his hands with the reality. Not if it meant having to obey this brat!

But his thoughts were interrupted at the ring of Ferris Waldo Anderson the Third's next wish.

"I wish I had a BB gun!"

"Hey, kid, don't you know you'll shoot your eye out with that?" Danny couldn't resist saying with a chuckle at a sudden memory even when that creepy prodding 'obey thing' was starting again.

"Why is everyone telling me that?" the red-headed boy grumbled before saying in irritation. "You're supposed to do what I want. I'm your master now!"

Danny felt the back of his neck reflexively bristle when he heard that last sentence and he frowned in defiance. Yet, he still felt the strong tug of the command for him to obey.

And then he concentrated even more to resist when another thought riveted his mind: this must be what the Observants wanted him to do: obey without question!

He dug within himself, trying to reach his inner strength. He knew he could do this very easily now that he had learned to do that upon command the last time he was the Observants' prisoner and especially when he was resisting King Duulaman's sacred scepter. But instead of feeling the familiar cold rush of his energy boost racing outward from his central core, he heard a terrible ringing in his left ear followed by a knife-like electricity shoot up and down his spine!

Even more determined not to give into that sensation that always ended with a drain of his powers, Danny concentrated harder. In fact, he was concentrating so intensely, he wasn't aware that he had inadvertently tapped into his telepathic powers.

And much to his encouragement, a heartbeat later Danny was enveloped in green smoke and the green cloud shot back into the silent bottle and the top popped tightly back on so intensely that the entire bottle rattled a bit at the sudden attack.

But then, once Danny was inside the bottle, he felt as if someone had just stabbed him just behind his left ear. He fell to the floor while yelling from the pain and reflexively cupping the left side of his head. However, a moment later, he lost consciousness, and never heard the yelling outside of his bottle.

"Hey! No fair!" Ferris yelled in disapproval. "You didn't give me my BB gun!"

Suddenly, however, the young boy completely stopped as if frozen in time—which, really, his image was.

* * *

><p>"Not again, Maddie!" Vlad yelled over the scream of alarms going off.<p>

The computer ignored the man as she tried to gain control over the monitors.

But when she finally did gain control, her computer generated face scrunched up a bit at the results. "The monitors shot off of the scale again before the test subject transported back into the simulated bottle, sir. But the monitors have returned to near normal. Test subject is registering in the _alpha_ brain wave spectrum, sir," she coolly said.

Vlad was still looking at the boy within his simulated bottle on the simulated bed of plush pillows. Daniel wasn't moving in the least; and according to the monitors, his breathing was very shallow. The man turned back, his face now lined in worry, as he said, "Then he should be awake, only be relaxed a bit, Maddie."

"That is not the same kind of _alpha_ brain wave to which I am referring, sir. As you know, _alpha_ brain waves also occur during coma states. And it seems as if the test subject is in a coma state, but fortunately, it is a mild one," the hologram reported without emotion.

"WHAT?" Vlad blurted out in disbelief. Obviously, he hadn't planned this. "How in the world did that happen?"

"Checking for a conclusive report," Maddie casually said as her nimble computer generated fingers pushed command buttons.

Meanwhile…

Sam's face scrunched up in pain as her mind tried to wrestle her back to consciousness. She had actually _felt prodded_ to awaken….

She slowly opened her eyes, struggling to clear her hazy vision. She reached for the side of her head and groaned. She had a massive headache!

She tried to get up, and lost her balance with the effort.

Suddenly, she felt another painful blow to the head; but even then, she worriedly whispered out her next thought, "Danny! Something is…"

But she didn't finish her thought, even though she could somehow feel that something was controlling her boyfriend.

She searched her very dizzy brain, trying to make her telepathic powers work in reaching her boyfriend. She had to help him! The pain intensified but she still concentrated. Suddenly, she felt a buzzing in her left ear. It was faint, but definitely there. And somehow, she felt this was the focal point for what was wrong with Danny.

She concentrated harder, when suddenly, a knife-like electrical sensation shot through her head before she felt a loss of energy. And then her left ear began to throb. She reflexively cradled the left side of her jaw even as she tried to push the pain back, only to yell when the pain intensified.

Another pain shot through her mind before it sent her head into a whirl. A moment later, she fell unconscious and lay still, unaware that she had indeed contacted her boyfriend before her mind fell into an _alpha_ brainwave pattern…

* * *

><p>Vlad paced the floor while intermittently stopping to glance at the monitors, his computer holograph's programming more commands, or the unconscious boy lying on his cot in the middle of the simulation room.<p>

The minutes could not tick by fast enough as far as the man was concerned, since the monitors still did not look good. Not to mention that Maddie was still pounding out commands to the boy's microchip without success because Daniel was still in that unexplained coma.

No longer able to be quiet, Vlad blurted out, though his voice sounded irritated and fearful at the same time, "Well, Maddie? What's going on?"

"Inconclusive evidence."

"How can you say that? People don't go into comas for just any reason!"

Still concentrating on checking the monitors or keying in commands, the hologram didn't even look up as she calmly replied, "Precisely, sir, which it is only logical to conclude that there is a reason for the test subject's current state….In fact, I have just located a plausible hypothesis for that."

Vlad's eyes widened. He hoped this was good news but also dreaded that it was bad.

Maddie suddenly fell quiet as she pushed a few more buttons, which didn't make Vlad feel any better.

And just when Vlad thought he couldn't stand any more silence screaming at him, Maddie finally spoke. "This is just a hypothesis, sir, and it is the most valid one I have, given the circumstances."

"Yes, yes, Maddie," the man responded impatiently. "What's wrong with Daniel?"

"Technically, nothing permanent is awry with the test subject. He has not suffered any brain damage. In fact, his brain is functioning normally," she began.

Vlad felt a sharp pang of relief in his bosom just as he glanced at Daniel through the control room window. And yet, he was still worried; all of this had been absolutely unexpected. Still, he waited for his computer to continue, which, thankfully, she did right away.

"It seems that the test subject was exerting so much resistance to the urges for him to obey that the microchip embedded behind his ear short-circuited and gave him quite a jolt in the end. But I also need to report that the phenomenon noted during one of the more recent programs—specifically, 289-level 4-_Delta__**—**_showed up again.

"Which phenomenon?" Vlad instantly inquired.

"Unknown properties. But it does cause a high flux in all of the readings, sending them to an uncalculating degree. Right now, I am still compiling a hypothesis in relationship to the intermittent and very brief data I have been able to collect in the various situations. The amount of data is just beginning to be statistically significant but I have been unable to construct a hypothesis yet, sir."

The man paused a moment, trying to think what this could mean. He turned back to Daniel and reflexively crossed his arms in front of his chest before cupping his chin with one of his hands and tapping his index finger against his short beard.

"Can you wake Daniel up, Maddie? We can't afford to give him any rest, even if at the moment it is a coma's worth!"

"Yes, sir, I can slowly wake him. But I cannot guarantee whether he will do the same thing to the microchip and then fall into a deeper coma."

Vlad then finally jolted when what Maddie said reminded him about it. "The microchip! Is it damaged?" he said a bit too frantically.

"No, sir. I have scanned the microchip for damage but found none more than it already absorbed earlier. It has not been permanently damaged. And it has almost completed the process of re-booting as well…"

"I see. Good. But why did that happen?" he asked again.

"Unknown," came the simple reply.

Vlad paused in thought again. This was way outside any complications he had anticipated. First the Subliminal Helmet and now the microchip…Even so, he thought he could still carry on with his plans.

He finally said, "Thank you, Maddie. And go ahead and wake Daniel. But let's adjust the program he's in right now so that he will not remember why he had ended up back in that simulated bottle. And be sure to monitor the microchip closer and put Daniel back into _delta _sleep immediately if it looks like he's somehow able to affect it again."

"As you command, sir," the hologram said while slowly and carefully turning the dial currently under her fingertips….

* * *

><p>Danny groaned as he gradually stirred. He was suddenly aware that he was lying on something very soft. And soft, flickering light greeted his eyes as he slowly opened them.<p>

He reflexively reached up and rubbed the back of his left ear, not having gathered his senses enough yet to notice the small bump that shouldn't be there. All he knew was that his ear still hurt.

"W-What happened?" he was finally able to ask himself, though he hadn't realized that he was slurring his words.

But before he could clear his head, that same loud sound— like sandpaper scratching metal—rang throughout his small abode and, really, through his still achy head.

"Gee, I've heard stories…But if this is how people feel with hangovers, then I don't ever want to drink!" he moaned, cupping his ears.

But then, his mind began to clear at an irritatingly familiar initial pull that he felt right after he last heard that scraping sound—which, in fact, was the top of his bottle being twisted before it would be loose enough to pop off.

Then the teen heard that pop. But since he was still very groggy and somewhat dizzy, he wasn't able to resist the urge to obey this time.

Before he knew it, Danny was enveloped in a dark green cloud of smoke and being piped though the long slender shaft of his red-and-gold bottle.

He rematerialized outside and hovered on top of a spectral tail made up of that same green smoke that was still partially within the red-and-gold bottle.

His mind and memory now fully cleared—except for what Vlad had his computer erase— he looked around and could see that he was now what looked like a section of Amity's Central Park. He frowned when he looked down and could also see that he was still dressed like a clown…well, okay, a genie.

And now he was bound and determined to lay it straight to the little brat that must have summoned him. After all, the Observants said to cooperate with any _ghost_ in each these lame 'tests'. They said nothing about _humans. _And now, what was the kid's name? Oh, yeah.

Not seeing the kid, Danny grumbled out loud, "Okay, so where's Waldo?"

Danny heard the nearby bushes violently move before the nine-year-old jumped out of his hiding place. He had intended to surprise his genie before he heard Danny's comment.

"I'm **Ferris** Waldo Anderson the Third!" the boy protested. "And I'm 'Master' to you!"

"Look, Ferris…Waldo…whatever you name is," Danny tersely began, only to be cut off by the spoiled boy.

"Master!" Ferris Waldo Anderson the Third whined with a pout.

"Whatever!" Danny then said in exasperation. "Just listen to me! I'm not a genie…"

"Yes, you are!" the boy interrupted him once more.

"No, I'm not!" Danny insisted more firmly. "I'm a boy like you…er, I mean, I'm a _guy_ who was somehow tricked or forced into acting like a genie. And I think I know who did this to me." But then he added his next thought, "And, in, fact, I think _you_ know who did this to me!"

The boy's face fell into another pout and he began to squirm. He then mumbled, "No, I don't," before he looked down at the ground.

Immediately noticing that the boy was obviously lying, Danny countered, "Oh, I think you _d_o! In fact, I bet it was that 'nice lady' you were talking about who did this to me! And her name is Desiree!"

"I don't know what her name is!" Ferris protested before he slapped his hands over his mouth for blurting out what was an admission to his guilt.

Danny crossed his arms and when he felt and heard the pinkish-purple bracelets around his wrists scrape together, he shrugged off that irritation for another. He glared before intensely flashing his ghostly eyes at the freckled face boy just below him.

Ferris' face twisted into terror, and he shivered.

Nevertheless, Danny continued, though he kept his voice steadier—but still with a slight edge of threat to it. "Did this 'nice lady' have very long black hair and green skin? And was she wearing, uh, pants like mine, only they were blue? And did she have a, uh, well, a very short shirt on that was also blue? And purplish-pink stuff on her arms like I have? He raised his arms up to emphasize the point.

"Well, yes," the freckled-face boy admitted, throwing his hands behind his back while shifting the sand with one of his feet.

"I thought so," Danny smirked with a little bit of triumph. "Well then, her name is Desiree and she's not only a genie…."

Ferris' eyes widened and Danny gave into his next little dark thought.

There was a touch of wickedness in that mischievous grin as he let his ghostly eyes flash intensely again. He said, "But she's scarier than that. She's a _ghost_ genie!"

But instead of scaring the nine-year-old as he had hoped, Danny cringed at the boy's reaction.

The boy's eyes lit up in excitement and he gushed, "Neat! Does that mean that you're a ghost genie, too? I own a ghost genie! Cool!"

Danny sighed, grabbed his face and pulled down on it in exasperation. Now he had had enough!

"I told you that I'm not a genie!" Danny growled.

This time Ferris did jump in fear at Danny's tone of voice—and the fact that his ghostly eyes flared menacingly—but then, the nine-year-old puckered his face with annoyance.

"Yes, you are!" he challenged. "In fact, I wish you to be a _ghost_ genie, too!"

Danny felt that squeeze of insistence to obey surround him again.

But before that force could make him show the boy that he was a ghost, Danny hurriedly said, "Okay! So I'm a ghost genie!" He privately sighed when that green aura dissipated. "But before you make any more wishes, will you please tell me now how I became a…" He stopped a moment before gritting his teeth and practically choking out, "how I became a… uhm, genie?"

"First, prove that you're really a ghost genie!" the boy countered.

Danny rolled his eyes and the turn intangible and then invisible before he crossed his arms in indignation and reappeared. "Okay, satisfied?" he grumbled.

"For now," Ferris quipped with a very mischievous smirk.

There was a pause between the two boys before Danny said with a bit of impatience, "Well? Weren't you going to tell me how I became a…genie?"

"Oh, yeah! I forgot!" the nine-year-old said. "But I'm going to make it short because I have a whole long list of wishes for you to give me!"

Danny resisted the urge to roll his eyes and grumble an insult.

But then, Ferris began to tell Danny what had happened….

"Well, the carnival was in town a few days ago. And I really, really wanted to go to it and I really, really bugged my mother to take me…"

"_Oh, I bet you __**did**__!"_ Danny thought, slightly hitching one of his eyebrows as Ferris continued.

"She did take me finally and it was a lot of fun! It had _all_ of my favorite rides this time!" He then giggled, "I went on them so many times that my mother said she got all dizzy just watching me!"

"But then, she wanted to leave! And I didn't want to…."

"_Don't doubt that,"_ Danny thought once more, as he shifted a little.

"But then she told me she would buy me the first thing I saw if I agreed to go. And the first thing I saw was a really pretty bottle. I usually don't like junk like that, but it really shined a lot and got shinier when I got near it! Then, I wanted it!"

"_Of course!"_ Danny thought, still only to himself.

"I took it home and then I didn't like it any more. It didn't do anything but look pretty and I couldn't use it for nothing. So, I wanted to throw it away. But I didn't want my mother to find out about it because she always got mad at me when she found out I did stuff like that."

"_Oh, I bet she gets mad at you a lot!"_ Danny silently harrumphed though he was still listening.

"So, I decided to throw it at the lake near my house like all that other junk my mother bought me that I didn't like no more. But before I could get to the edge of the lake, I tripped and the bottle fell out of my hands and the top popped off!" The nine-year-old began before getting excited with the memory, "And then the nice lady came out in some green smoke just like you did!"

"Her name is Desiree, and you had to know that she was a genie, then," Danny then said out loud.

Crossing his arms and grunting, Ferris said, "You weren't there, so quit butting in! And she never said she was a genie. She said she was a ghost who had been captured and put into that bottle by another ghost!"

"_That's new,"_ Danny thought as one of his eyebrows rose up in surprise at Desiree's ruse. But then he thought, _"Well, technically, she's right, since I'm the one who last put her back into her bottle."_

"But she told me that because I helped her escape, she would give me one wish!"

Suddenly doubting the boy's story, Danny narrowed his eyes and said, "Oh, she said, that, did she?"

The red-headed boy frowned when he could tell that Aladdin didn't believe him. "Yes, she did! At first, I didn't know what to wish for because there were billions of things I wanted. But then she said that I should wish for a _real_ genie who would give me as many wishes as I wanted…and real genies were always boys."

Danny straightened up and could now guess how he had ended up as that 'boy genie'.

Ferris continued, "That was such a neat idea because I really wanted a friend. But before I could wish for my new genie friend, the nice lady said that the wish would not work unless I had a picture of the genie in my mind when I wished it…." He paused a moment before his face fell as he admitted, "The only boys I know hate me, especially the ones at school."

Danny pursed his lips together, feeling a little bit guilty about being mean to the kid. After all, he could relate. Still, it didn't give the kid the right to…

But the young hybrid's thoughts were interrupted when Ferris spoke again.

"So, the nice lady said she had a picture of a genie she knew and said he could be my genie and so…"

"So, she showed you a picture of _me_," Danny dryly said, interrupting him.

"Yeah, that's right! How did you know?"

Danny frowned at the boy and Ferris then chuckled a bit and said, "Of course it was you or else you wouldn't be my genie!"

"Well, I already told you I'm not a genie," Danny retorted.

"I know! You're a _ghost_ genie," Ferris quipped just as he popped his gum.

Danny rolled his eyes and said, "I'm not a _real_ ghost genie!"

"Huh?" the nine-year-old replied.

"I'm a half-ghost! I'm part-human and part-ghost. So, you see, you don't have a real ghost genie!" Danny said.

Ferris blinked his eyes in disbelief. Having a genie like this one was sure getting way too complicated. Popping another gummy bubble, he shrugged and lazily replied, "Oh, so what? I don't care. You can still give me my wishes no matter what!"

Danny gritted his teeth in exasperation and said, "Don't you get it? I don't want to be you or anyone else's genie. And you had no right to wish me to be your genie in the first place. That's called kidnapping, kid!"

"Not if you were a genie to begin with!" Ferris countered. "Genies are supposed to obey their masters!"

"But I'm not a genie!" Danny protested again. But then he smiled at his next sudden idea. "I can prove to you I'm not a genie. You know that genie in 'Aladdin'? Didn't he have blue skin?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Well, I don't have blue skin and so that means I'm not a genie. So, you have to let me go!"

The freckled face boy pouted and replied, "I'm not going to let you go!"

"You have to let me go!" Danny insisted. "It's wrong to force someone to do something they don't want to do! And, besides, Desiree was a ghost genie all along and she tricked you!"

"Not the nice lady!"

"She's not a 'nice' lady, kid! And she did trick you!"

"She did not and I'll prove it!" Ferris said defiantly. "I wish that you bring that nice lady Desiree to me right now!"

"Gladly!" Danny quipped back as he raised his arms up and then swooped them down in front of him and grasped at nothing but air when he fisted his hands during the movement.

A green glow surrounded Danny just before Desiree suddenly popped out of thin air and was deposited right in front of Ferris Waldo Anderson the Third.

Though Desiree had her back to him, Danny could see that the former ghost mage looked very different. She was wearing a woman's blue business suit with a frilly white shirt under the blue jacket. Her long black hair was up in a bun and she had blue high heel shoes on. But her skin tone was still green.

Of course Desiree gasped since she hadn't expected to be brought here without warning and placed right in front of the nine-year-old.

"There she is!" Ferris said with triumph just before he addressed the female ghost, "Aladdin says you tricked me, nice lady Desiree. Tell him he's lying!"

Wondering what the younger boy was talking about, Desiree frowned; but then, she looked all about her and jolted a bit when she caught a glimpse of Danny, who had floated close enough to her on purpose.

Her red eyes widened a bit before she laughed out loud when she saw the Ghost Boy. Now she finally understood why Ferris had said that name.

"Aladdin?" she chuckled, barely containing herself. "How cute! And, my, don't you also look cute in that outfit."

"It's not funny, Desiree!" Danny protested. "And I think this 'joke' is way old! I want you to change me back!"

"I cannot," she said, still chuckling a bit. "And I will not!" she added with a dark smirk.

"What do you mean by that?" Danny growled. "You can't do this to me!"

Ferris suddenly cowered at the two bickering ghosts, er, ghost and half-ghost genie.

Desiree retorted, "I did nothing to you, young halfa." She turned and pointed to Ferris and said, "He wished it, and so it was!"

"But you tricked him…and me!" Danny objected with his hands fisting to his sides. "You know that this is _so_ wrong!"

"The boy got his genie, and I am free to be a normal ghost," she replied flippantly before darkly grinning and adding, "So, Danny, how does it feel to be in my domain—all six round inches of it?"

"You change me back!" Danny demanded, and this time his fisted hands shook with his anger.

"Once again, I cannot—and will not even if I could. You, Danny Phantom—or should I say, 'Aladdin'? —will be a ghost genie for at least the next two-thousand years!"

Shocked and suddenly having a very bad feeling about what she had just said, Danny stammered, "W-What do you mean?"

"Every two thousand years, a genie has a chance to be set free. That is if his—or her—master wishes it and if the genie can find a substitute genie for the master. It was that time for me and since you and I have not been on the best of terms—and I got wind that I could take advantage of all of this—you were naturally readily available for the exchange."

"By trickery, you mean," Danny sneered.

"If that is what you call it. I would call it an opportunity. But it cannot be undone. So, let us see how you feel about being made to grant every wish you hear!" She darkly said. "And now, it is finally time for me to have an after-life!"

As she started to leave, Danny protested, "NO! Change me back, Desiree!"

But Ferris interrupted him. "Hey!"

Frowning, Danny turned to him and the red-headed boy continued, "Like she said, you are my genie now, Aladdin. So now I wish you would go back into your bottle until I think of another wish!"

"NOOO!" Danny erupted in both anger and fear, even as he felt the familiar pull of obedience along with the green smoke surround him. The Observants wouldn't do this to him, would they? They were only supposed to be testing him, not making him into somebody's slave!

Nevertheless, Danny tried to resist the urge even more while his mind was still wrestling with why the Observants were doing this when they were supposed to be just testing him. They hadn't even granted him any lousy second trial and now they were condemning him to this kind of life?

That thought was discouraging enough to interfere with his ability to resist the other force upon him. But suddenly realizing that he was being pulled from where he was, the young half-ghost tried to counter it.

But his efforts came too late. The golden bottle decorated with red stones had sucked him back in even as he could hear Desiree's triumphant laughter echoing throughout his spinning head….

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yep, I'm down here waiting for y'all! And I'm sure y'all guessed who the ghost was right away. Heh-heh, clever readers. But in any case, as I told y'all in the beginning, I wanted to experience with all the genres for this story. And I thought it would be funny and very cute to see Danny as a genie!**

**Ms. Hyde: Now you're talking, dearie! You've finally come over to the dark side!**

**Truephan: *gasps* Wait a minute. Are you saying that just because I thought Danny would make a cute genie that that would me evil?**

**Ms. Hyde: You said it, dearie, not I. Remember that the young half-ghost doesn't want to be forced to be a genie! So, to force him to be a genie—just because it's cute—is evil. And I should know!**

**Truephan: Okay, then, I take it all back!**

**Ms. Hyde: *sing-songingly* Too late! All your readers already heard it!**

**Truephan: *gulps* Uh, that's right! But…but! You don't really believe Ms. Hyde, do you? I mean, I was trying to help Danny. I made sure that Sam connected with Danny and has a notion that something is happening with her boyfriend…**

**Ms. Hyde: *interrupting* Only to have her fall into a coma along with her boyfriend.**

**Truephan: *eyes widened* But that's only because…well, I can't say right now!**

**Ms. Hyde: *smugly* Oh, sure, dearie. You keep talking!**

**Truephan: *places hands over mouth***

**Ms. Hyde: *smiles in triumph* Need I say more, except that, the Fantomos Ecto-Scale continues? Meh-heh. Until next time, dear readers. (And now that I finally got truephan to shut up, how about telling me what you think about this chapter?)**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, TrueHeart**

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**


	28. Chapter 28 Level Six Ghosts--Bad Move

**A/N: Well, looks like I have to update sooner than I wanted because I'm going to be going out-of-town on a retreat for the weekend; and—gasp—there will be no internet available to me! But at least I could update with special thanks to my awesome beta for getting it to me on time. You rock, pearl! So, here is Chapter 28. IDNOAC and enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 28—Level Six Ghosts—Bad Move<p>

Vlad laughed heartily at seeing Daniel in such a ridiculous situation. _Poor boy!_ Believing he was stuck as a genie and being forced to obey some snot-nosed kid for all eternity had to be a hard kick to the young hybrid's pride. Served him right, though. Perhaps, then, it would teach his soon-to-be-son some humility and take his teenage arrogance down a few notches!

Vlad smirked in satisfaction at the thought; but he then suddenly squelched a yawn. He hadn't realized until now that he was tired. He glanced at his watch. One of his eyebrows rose in slight surprise...And he was getting tired much earlier than usual? That was new. But now that he thought about it, he had previously been sleeping less in order to keep his plans with Daniel on time…among other things. Maybe the lack of rest was finally catching up to him?

But, wait. Aside from being tired, Vlad realized that he was hungry. It was well into the late afternoon and, obviously, he had inadvertently skipped his lunch in the process. How ironical. Daniel had to be even more tired and hungrier than him right now. Still, the man dismissed that thought. After all, Vlad had a lot of things on his mind as well as dealing with Daniel, but he thought he was handling it all quite well until this moment.

Nevertheless, the man unconsciously rubbed his forehead before he remarked to his computer, "That was another brilliant program, Maddie. Perhaps it was enough to break Daniel, especially all that humiliation he had to endure in those last two programs."

Turning briefly from the controls, the computer-generated hologram merely replied without emotion, "I cannot compute why the test subject would be so pliable when he wakes from his _delta_ sleep once he sees he is no longer in those programs. Perhaps a better option would be to continue with the latest program where the boy thinks he is a magical, yet eternal, slave with no way to resolve the situation."

Vlad paused briefly before saying, "Well, yes, Maddie, you do have a point—which, by the way, is deliciously wicked... But remember that our prime objective is to break Daniel by using what he thinks are not only real ghosts each time in some of these programs, but also ghosts who are naturally getting harder and harder to defeat because their power levels are getting higher. If we keep him within the same program, he might actually get adjusted to the situation even if he hates it. And that would mean he wouldn't stay in a 'survivalist' mode during this entire time, which would alternately defeat our purpose."

But when Vlad saw that his computer wasn't quite following his logic, he continued, "In other words, if Daniel thought that all he had to do was go through the motions while thinking that none of this was indeed 'real', it wouldn't affect him at all. But if we keep Daniel guessing on whether all that we throw at him is or isn't permanent; if we keep the danger and suspense of what is happening to him as intense as it would be if he were lost within a hostile jungle, then we will get what we want in the end."

"Though your argument is logical, the test subject remains resilient. You saw what happened to the Subliminal Helmet and microchip when he tried to resist the objective, sir," she pointed out. "You did not have alternate strategies in place to prevent it. Nor do you have any data to support it will not happen again when you have your test subject deal with future fabricated or real ghosts of higher powers."

The man knew she was referring to the boy's falling into a coma after nearly destroying the microchip. Nevertheless he countered, "Another good point, my dear. But as you also know, we do have those strategies in place now. And I am sure you will monitor those conditions with your regular astuteness since you know that I do not want him to experience anything life-threatening. Still, I know there is a risk in getting Daniel to mentally break. But I think that it has more to do with my being able to counter his going completely mad over being crushed enough to give me control over him."

She nodded before she added, "You have programmed me to weigh those risks; and the statistics continue to support a high degree of probability of success with your original plan, sir."

"Precisely, my dear; which is why we will continue to make it more and more difficult for the boy—subtly, of course. I want that balance to win that success."

The man paused to glance at the instruments monitoring the boy's stress hormones. He frowned when he had to briefly rub his tired eyes before re-reading them. He smirked at the results and continued, "You see, Maddie, you cannot comprehend all the emotional stress Daniel has been enduring this entire time not only from being defeated by much more inferior ghosts than he, but also from our withholding proper sleep and nutrition from him... And it looks like all of that stress is finally coming to a head since the monitors clearly show that the boy's emotional state is becoming more and more unstable."

The female hologram scanned the same monitors and remarked, "But that is not outside the parameters of other human teens that are of the same age as your test subject. Many of his peers have fluxes in their emotional states and some of them never outgrow them."

"True enough, my dear, but I think that the amount of change is more unstable even for Daniel's particular and absurdly erratic and immature emotions," the man quipped back.

The hologram blinked her eyes, clearly not following the man. And although her circuits were in a bit of an electrical knot, she automatically shifted to another circuit and said, "But what the monitors indicate has to be substantiated with hard physical evidence."

The man paused. He was now aware that he was getting a slight headache. But he knew his computer was right. Unless he woke the boy and checked, he could not be sure whether the last program did the job in finally getting Daniel to give up.

Vlad stopped to glanced at which program was in the queue. After pondering a decision over for a few moments more, he finally replied, "Point taken, my dear. Though I'm tempted to just push on since I think the next program will be very entertaining on many levels, I don't want to have to activate it unless we know for sure how Daniel is holding out mentally—which, of course, we hope he isn't. So, let's let our moronic twins check for us."

But as soon as he had said this, his stomach growled again. It was time to address that need. He walked over to the intercom and pushed its button.

"_Yes, sir?"_ the voice asked.

In the meantime, Maddie's holographic face frowned when one of her memory chips was triggered. She immediately yet gently protested, "But sir, I have been programmed to remind you of errors. And the last time you used Program 289-9-_zetas, _the results were not satisfactory."

The man, however, had only partially heard her, since he was still talking to the ghost on the other end of the intercom.

"Will you have Derek bring up an early dinner as soon as you can, George? I would like to retire earlier than usual as well," Vlad said, squelching another yawn.

"_Right away, sir_," George's friendly voice replied.

"Thank you, George. That will be all," Vlad concluded before pushing the 'off' button.

The man turned around and said, "Alright, Maddie, I'm ready for you to activate the next phase of Program 289-9-_zetas_."

The computer blinked with slight non-comprehension once more, yet she still pushed a button before replying, "As you command, sir."

* * *

><p><em>Groan.<em>

Only silence followed that groan.

Konsilisto whacked the young hybrid a little harder a second time with a rubber baton before the solid hologram pulled quickly away from the boy and flew to his brother's side.

"W-W-What?" Danny stammered out with a start after finally being prodded from _delta_ to _alpha _sleep in quick order.

The boy frantically looked only to his immediate surroundings as his memory slowly came into sharper focus. But since his vision hadn't quite cleared yet, he had only noticed the first detail of where he was. And he could see that he was alone. Part of him was relieved that he was lying on hard ground and was looking up into the ceiling of this ugly, dully-lit Observant Dimensional Room. But most of him was still upset with having come close to being a prisoner forever—especially if he was a genie forever. But then again, wasn't he _still _a prisoner? The emotions surrounding that thought suddenly strengthened, which only confused his still slightly hazy mind more.

In fact, now that his disjointed thoughts had control over him, it didn't even occur to him to move from his current position. Instead, he remained still on the ground and closed his eyes with the mental turmoil…

Danny didn't get this whole thing. In fact, at this point, he didn't _care_ to get this whole thing. He just wanted it to stop. Even the thought of giving up was tempting at this point. Maybe that's what the Observants wanted. And all he had to do was to agree with whatever their suspicions were and let them do whatever they probably were going to do with him in the end anyways. At least all of this madness would end if he did.

Madness.

For the first time since this whole thing began, the word resonated within the boy. Somehow, he could feel its hungry tentacles reaching out to him, eager to devour him. It was frightening because deep down he knew he was slowly losing it. He knew that, even now, he just didn't know what was real and what was not. Everything was just blending together, turning into some dark reality that was slowly pulling him under its mire… And he was losing the will to fight to stay afloat. In fact, he wasn't even sure if fighting would only make him sink faster. He just didn't know anything anymore…

Feeling his throat clench in despair, he concentrated on throwing the thought away and, even if it was not that much better, another thought came to his rescue. Just what _did_ the Observants want to do with him in the end? What did they know about his future? Was he going to turn out to be as evil as his alternate self had been after all? That thought sent shudders up his spine. Was this what all of these tests trying to determine?

Suddenly, the teen didn't want to think about that anymore. He just wanted to go home. He suddenly groaned at _that_ thought. He couldn't go home…And then he jolted at the very next thought: he _wouldn't_ go home without his mother. He had to think about his mom in all of this mess. And somehow, that thought pulled him through his other confusing ones.

He could feel the spark of determination return as he clung to that thought. Perhaps, even… he could find a way to escape and search for his mother. Then, he could find a way to get them both out of here. Yes. He had escaped from the Observants before, so he could it again! He just needed to keep focused and wait for some kind of opportunity to get out of here!

But suddenly, all his thoughts were interrupted by another hard whack on his shoulder.

"OWW!" he yelled.

Now suddenly quite peeved, Danny pulled himself up to a sitting position in the same direction as the shoulder that had been hit. He twisted around and searched more diligently than he had the first time. He gritted his teeth when he spied and then locked onto Justeco's large green uni-eye staring right back at him. Just how long had they been there? Never mind! His doubt was now gone...And all he could think at this point was that it was about time that they showed themselves!

Now heavily frowning, the boy pulled himself into the air and flew over until he was in front of the Observants, face-to-face—er, face-to-eyes.

Danny immediately— and grumpily—addressed both of the spirit brothers, "So, you finally forced yourselves to come, huh?...Oh, I get it. You've come to gloat over that little joke you played on me just now, right? And the one just before that? I have you know, though, that I don't get the Observant sense of humor. It so lacks timing!"

Danny slightly smirked at his pun even when he hadn't meant to say it. Nevertheless, he was still angry. He quickly grew more sober and pressed on since he didn't want to give the two evil spirits an inch. "You two are really messed up, you know that? And, really, what was the point of all that? If you want me to relate to ghosts who are trapped in very small places, then you definitely did your job! But I didn't need those last 'lessons' because you should know from all those times you were watching me—which, by the way, I still think is really creepy—that I have already been held prisoner by plenty of my ghostly enemies. Heck, at this point, I've probably been held captive more times than any other ghost I know, except for…"

The boy's throat choked up. He was about to say 'Wulf' but all of the sudden couldn't. He felt his eyes well up. But he quickly gritted his teeth again, forcing himself to cling to his determination and defiance. No, these jerks were not going to get what they wanted so easily—even if he still didn't know what the heck they wanted!

Narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms in front of him, he radically changed the subject and asked angrily, "So what happened with _your_ end of this totally one-sided bargain? You get to put me through all of these lame tests and yet you haven't let me have something to eat and see how my mom's doing for what seems like eons—which might have actually flown by for all I know!"

Danny paused a moment before he frowned in slight confusion—and familiarity— at his next sudden thought: it _hadn't_ been eons…How odd. For the first time since he had been here, he had a sense of…time. In fact, it felt as if he had been here several days and that it was now nearly evening.

He shook his head. Maybe he was imagining that? No. He knew he had a good internal sense of time and he knew he was right! But…how could that be possible when he was here in the Realm Beyond Time and was sure he was losing his powers?

Suddenly, Danny had to know! Without another word, he bolted upward heading toward the ceiling. He hadn't seen anything else but the door at the entrance and the door to the bathroom that had hinted that he was in a room. But then again, he hadn't been able to search for anything else, either. There had to be something that would confirm whether he was in the Realm Beyond Time…or not.

But the teen hadn't even gotten close to the ceiling when he was suddenly surrounded in mid-air by the same cylindrical containment device the Observants had used on Vortex and now a few times on him. He rammed into one of its glass walls just before a powerful bluish-green bolt surged through him.

Danny screamed in pain even as his mind blurred. Before he knew it, he had fallen to the bottom of the cylindrical-shape Spectral Neutralizer. And then the container was entirely engulfed in a blue beam before it was brought back down to the ground and set in a hover in front of Justeco and Konsilisto.

Still, Danny managed to glare at them even from where he had fallen and forced out the words through his painful pants, "O-Of course. This is all you jerks can do, isn't… it? P-Punish others because they don't conform to your… twisted sense of propriety! Fine, whatever! J-Just tell me what the heck you want!"

"It is about time you allowed us to speak with you, youngling," Justeco casually replied, though his eye conveyed annoyance. "And if we had to punish you now, it was because we had to remind you of your manners. Turning away from our presence without allowing us to speak was quite rude."

"Yes, very rude. After all, we came because we need to clarify our instructions to you," Konsilisto added with a just as serious expression in his eye.

Danny suddenly had a bad feeling about this. Nevertheless, he continued with his defiant bravado even as he was still panting a bit from the jolt he had gotten. "W-What d-do…you need to…'clarify'?

Justeco gravely answered, "We have not been able to extrapolate anything satisfactory from your encounters thus far, which only makes us conclude that you do not seem to be taking these matters seriously. These are not just simple juvenile tests, Danny Phantom. You must understand that you must put more effort into dealing with any ghost we present to you because we do not control their outcome—or your own."

Danny immediately objected, "Yeah, right! You're seriously going to stand here and tell me you two are not totally rigging these stupid tests—and clearly towards your favor, which generally means that I lose to my enemies!"

"Do not blame us for your inability to succeed on your given tests!" Justeco angrily replied. "As we said, we do not interfere in the outcome; so let me stress once more that it is in your best interest to take these tests with severe gravity—your existence and that of your opponent might be hanging in the balance!"

"Wait a minute!" Danny interjected, though he was having a hard time ignoring the dread that was suddenly gripping his spine. "You never mentioned that I was taking finals! Are you saying that… I could _die_ in these tests?"

He suddenly paused as he remembered his ghostly friends that had perished in his previous tests… If the Observants were saying the truth, then that meant that… they were really gone!

But instead of being crushed by sorrow, he felt his anger swell and he quickly glared furiously at the two spirits. "Just who the heck do you creeps think you are?! My life and the lives of all these ghosts you have been using for your twisted tests are not _things_ you can toy with! I won't let—!"

Suddenly, Danny screamed as he was jolted again with bluish-green electricity from the Spectral Neutralizer. It was enough of a jolt to knock the wind out of him and defuse his anger.

"We will have no more discussion, youngling! But if you must know, the Council has to be unanimous in our proceedings. That means, we might not intervene on the outcome of these tests—but **we** decide if we allow the outcomes to be permanent or not! As long as we need more data, we will proceed to further testing. However, that does not mean we will always 'save' you from your failed trials."

Danny just stared at them with wide eyes. He couldn't believe it! The Observants were willing to _waste_ him to get whatever they wanted! That meant… he could have easily met his demise in any of his previous tests—or worse, be stuck in them forever! And if he had not so far, it was only because the Observants needed 'further data'!

"T-That's not fair," Danny whispered, his despair threatening to grip at his heart. But then he barely yelled, "Y-You can't do this!"

"You have no say in the matter," Justeco replied back coldly.

Konsilisto then said with a tone that conveyed how serious he was with his warning, "You will do what you were instructed to do from now on!"

At first, Danny couldn't answer. But then, he finally caught his breath, gritted his teeth in defiance and managed to wheeze out, "I-I h-have been doing what you told me to do!"

"Not exactly," Justeco countered without emotion. "You did not fight the last ghost as instructed."

This time Danny's mouth dropped open with shock and he stammered, "S-Seriously, dude?...And just how was I supposed to do that when you _clearly_ rigged the test so that I would be virtually powerless to fight anybody—not even that nine-year-old brat you threw in there for 'good measure'? So, stop denying it, because I don't believe at all that you two are not setting me up to fail!"

Konsilisto frowned and remarked, "Our patience is growing thin, youngling! As we have already emphasized, there is nothing 'good' about our results of your tests so far, so we warn you not to joke in this matter."

Danny didn't care that Konsilisto had misinterpreted his play-on-words. He was still upset on how unfair all of this was and wasn't going to give in. He dryly replied, "Oh, that's right. How can I forget that _you're_ the only ones who get to pull all the rotten jokes? Well, I'm not laughing."

"We do not expect you to, Danny Phantom. We expect you to take our tests very seriously from now on. After all, you know that your mother would expect that as well," Justeco insisted.

Danny jolted at the spirit's threat. And even though that made him angrier, especially when his headache had worsen from getting zapped, he said with as much control in his voice as he could, "I almost forgot how low you could stoop, Justeco. And you know I don't want you to go there…But I don't see why you need to test me any longer. What is it that you're looking for? Maybe I can just tell you, er, something."

"Interrogating you is out of the question, youngling," Konsilisto piped in. "You would only be as argumentative as you are at this very moment—and have in the past, as you well know."

Danny didn't answer back. He wasn't about to admit to them that they were right. Still, he didn't know what else they wanted. And he didn't know what he could do about it, either.

However, before the boy could think of what else to say, Justeco seriously said, "Our data must be conclusive before we can reveal any of our purpose, Danny Phantom. You must cooperate or else we will 'stoop to that low' as you call it."

Danny frowned at their threat. Part of him wanted to just drop it for the sake of his mother. But the other part had to have his say. After all, this whole thing was still unfair to him _and_ his mom. And, somehow, he could guess that his mom would want him to point that out in spite of their threat. Still, he knew he wouldn't put his mom in jeopardy over it, either.

Still able to suppress his indignation, the boy finally replied, "Like I said, Justeco, I don't want you to go there. I get your point. But I'm still gonna tell you that I've been cooperating ever since your first warning. If the results have been disappointing, all I can say is what Clockwork has told you about me: the future isn't set in stone. But I really don't see how it has been disappointing, anyways. I've been fighting the ghosts to the best of my ability except for one thing…"

He paused for the effect and both of the Observants' lone eyes—and really, Vlad's own pair —widened in anticipation.

But before Danny answered, he straightened to his full height and squared his chin in determination. "I will fight whatever ghosts you want me to fight. But I won't try to destroy them. So, if that's what you're really waiting for me to do, then you'll just be getting more disappointed. And if you condemn me for that, then I'm sure you're going to have to answer to the Ancients."

Once again, the Observants were stunned by the boy's answer; but not as much as the man in the control room just beyond the group. In fact, the man hadn't even swallowed the bite of food he had just taken because of it.

Quite a few moments passed in the stalemate among all the parties.

Danny finally broke the silence. "So, now what?"

In the next moment, he got his unexpected answer.

The Spectral Neutralizer was activated and drove its punishing beams into the boy enough to knock him out before the Observants phased out of existence.

* * *

><p>"Blast it!" Vlad growled while slamming his fist on top of a nearby counter. The half-eaten plate of food shook under the force. He walked over to his computer and glanced at the monitors again. They had indicated that just before the boy had been knocked out, his stress levels and other factors monitoring his mental state had actually <em>improved<em>. True, they were still above normal, but they were definitely out of the critical range when they were closer to that range at the beginning of the program.

"Confounded it all!" the man growled out again. "How does Daniel do that? I was sure that he was at the tipping point."

"Though it does make my circuits dim to say it, I did tell you, sir, that activating Program 289-9-_zetas_ had the same counter-productive results the last time you had me activate it," Maddie replied as she fully closed that program.

"You did? When?" the man began, only to cut her off before she could answer. "Never mind. I must be more tired than I thought. In any case, I can see that you have won all the points in this entire round, my dear. So, perhaps we should wait until the morning to pursue the next phase."

Maddie frowned slightly at the lack of logic and replied, "But it is only five forty-eight point thirty-two and counting, sir."

Vlad slightly rubbed his forehead again before saying with a half-smirk, "True, my dear. But I'm definitely going to retire early. "

The computer nodded as she concurred. "As you wish, sir. And as you have programmed me to do, I have been monitoring your abode for the whereabouts of all of its occupants. And I did notice that you have spent more time away from your dormitory in the past few days than normal, sir. Perhaps I should monitor your vitals to see if you are for some unexplainable reason becoming ill."

Quick as a wink, a small laser-like beam engulfed the man; and before Vlad could so much as object, it was off.

Maddie reviewed the results and remarked, "Your stress levels are higher than normal, too, sir. Perhaps the best option would indeed be to retire as soon as possible."

Vlad paused. She sounded almost truly concerned about him. But maybe he did need to get to bed right away. He finally replied, "Indeed, my dear. In the meantime, however, keep Daniel in _delta_ sleep until I return."

"As you command, sir," she simply said as she pushed the appropriate buttons.

* * *

><p>Vlad awoke feeling refreshed. But he still had a slight headache.<p>

He walked over to the intercom; and as soon as he heard the ghost on the other end, he said, "Make sure you brew some chamomile tea for me this morning, George."

"_Right away, sir,"_ George replied. _"And will you have the usual with that, sir?"_

"Yes," the man simply said. "And I'll have breakfast in the control room."

"_I will tell Derek, sir_," George acknowledged.

"Thank you, George," Vlad answered before turning the intercom off.

As the man headed to attend to his morning routine, his mind continued to mull over what had happened with Daniel yesterday. _When_ was the boy going to break? Most people would have caved in long before now, so….He smirked, effectively ceasing any further thought. Of course. Daniel was definitely _extra_ordinary, which meant that he would have to take extraordinary measures from now on if he was going to accomplish his goal.

Finally, he was finished and headed downstairs.

He reached the control room and stepped in. As usual, Maddie was stationed at the controls.

She turned her head slightly in his direction before returning her attention to the monitors.

She then asked, "Rest well, sir?"

"Yes, my dear. And I see that Derek has brought breakfast," he replied, walking over to the covered food tray.

"Speaking of nourishment, sir, my time sequence program indicates—"

Vlad quickly interrupted her, "Yes, Maddie. You are right. Daniel is long overdue for nourishment. But not just yet. And I was thinking about how we can finally ramp up his stress level to the point that he will break. We had two scenarios planned for Program 289-6-_delta_, didn't we?"

"Yes," she concurred.

"Would it be possible to meld them together?" he asked before sitting down to his morning meal.

When the female hologram nodded, the male continued, "After all, you know the ghost in this program is such an unpleasant sight to me, so what better way is there than to kill two birds with one stone?"

Before the computer could open her mouth to comment, however, Vlad quickly added, "Don't worry yourself about analyzing what I just said, my dear. What I mean is that the end result of this program may very well finally push Daniel into the critical range as far as stress while dealing with that annoying brat at the same time."

He downed the full cup of chamomile tea, grabbed the tea carafe and poured out some more. He lifted the tray off of his food and promptly began buttering his toast. As soon as he did, he cut into his eggs. After taking a bite, he said with delight, "Alright, Maddie dear, showtime!"

"Showtime?" the computer asked in complete non-computation.

Vlad smiled weakly and said, "I mean, activate the program, Maddie."

"As you command," she simply replied before she turned back to the console and pushed the final sequence of buttons.

* * *

><p>Danny slowly stirred, unconsciously frowning at first on how he felt before sighing a little in relief. Except for that headache, he only ached a little bit after getting jolted by the Spectral Neutralizer that second time.<p>

He opened his eyes and gingerly sat up from what had been a side-lying position. But to his relief again, it actually felt _better_ to move. He carefully stretched his arms overhead and yawned before he winced at another sensation. He was very hungry!

But when young hybrid finally scanned his surroundings, he gasped in shock. He was on a black shelf floating in the Ghost Zone—free!

Wait. What about…

Danny frowned just as he yelled into the atmosphere with a voice that was laden with anger and sarcasm, "Just what's your game now, Justeco? I know this is just has to be another of your lame tests! Otherwise, where is my mom? You can't claim that you're being 'proper' with all of this. We had a bargain and you're not owning up to your end! So, what makes you think that I should hold up my side of it all knowing that?"

The boy then fisted his hands to his sides and continued, "Oh, wait! You haven't changed at all like you led me to believe after Vlad and I rescued your worthless butts from Iluzisto! You really don't know how to treat anyone fairly, whether they're human, ghost or whatever! So, if you think I'm just going to go home without my mom, you're _dead_ wrong—and you bet I meant that literally!"

He growled under his breath when he heard that infamous silence of theirs.

Fully giving into his stubborn side, Danny hovered in place, folded his arms over his chest and frowned even more before he growled, "Okay, then. I'm just going to stay right here until you let my mom go!"

Several seconds later, however, his face fell and his arms dropped to their sides as he gasped at the next distressing sound.

"Danny, help!"

The teen instantly recognized the voice, though when he frantically scanned the area that he was sure from whence it had come, he saw nothing.

"Danielle?" he anxiously called out, not only for her to know that he had heard her but also so as to assure himself that he hadn't imagined it. "Where are you?"

"I'm here!" the voice-out-of-nowhere called back.

Once more Danny's ghostly eyes peered through the ghostly atmosphere in search of the girl. But he saw nothing. Now exasperated, he said, "Where? I can't see you!"

"I-I know! I-I'm sorry!" Danielle's voice replied. "I can't materialize anymore!"

Trying to ignore the sudden 'got-a-very-bad-feeling-about-all-of-this' in his gut, Danny still asked, "You can't? Why not?"

Not a moment later and Danny felt that cold lightning surge from within and down his spine before he felt something grip his right forearm. He jolted a bit from the unexpected touch but then he heard Danielle, who was now literally right next to him.

"Sorry, cuz! I should have warned you that I finally was able to reach you just now!" she said apologetically.

But this time the young hybrid noticed something very odd about that nagging pain that always seemed to shoot out from what he felt was his central core at the most inopportune moments. It stopped very soon after it started on this round— and for the first time, he didn't feel weakened from it, either. But right now, he really didn't have time to think about it since he could tell from the tone of her voice that Danielle was obviously in trouble.

"That's okay, Danielle," Danny finally replied to the, er, pressure on his arm.

He asked, "So, why can't you become visible anymore?"

"I don't know!" the invisible girl replied, her voice quavering with anxiety and discouragement. "I-I was feeling great after you fixed me up over two years ago. But lately, I've been losing control over my powers again."

Really not knowing what to say and trying to be encouraging, Danny supposed, "Maybe it's just a passing thing, Danielle. Or maybe you just caught a virus or something."

But Danielle insisted, "No. I think this is serious because it's been happening for a few months!"

Danny frowned in worry. That sounded awfully like what he was…But then, his eyes widened at his next sudden thought.

He had been _talking to the Observants_ before Danielle called out to him. And all they wanted him to do was fight ghosts! And now Danielle was here! So that could only mean that they were expecting him to fight her!

The boy bit his lower lip to hitch in his gasp. Of course, he didn't want to do that. She was his friend. And if she was losing her powers like she said, he would not only be able to easily defeat her, but he could probably…._hurt_ her—or worse!

And he knew he refused to do that.

Now what? This didn't help…His mind suddenly interrupted him and his face relaxed with his next thought. Okay. If the Observants expected him to fight the ghost girl, he was going to do his best to _delay_ it!

"I really don't understand what you mean, Danielle. And if it's as bad as you say, then you're at risk for getting hurt here. Maybe I can take you to see a doctor," he finally said.

"You know I can't do that, Danny!" Danielle's voice insisted. "I think I need more of that stuff you gave me the last time. I'd get it myself but you never did tell me what the name of it was. Besides, I know your mom and dad would just zap me as soon as I got to your house with all of those ghost detectors all over the place."

Danny frowned. He was sure that his parents had fixed it so that her ectoplasmic signature was now marked as 'friend'. And that stuff she was talking about must be the 'ecto-deflecto' he had used to stabilize her core.

He quickly replied, "It's called the 'ecto-deflecto' but I'm not even sure if my parents have any more."

"Oh, that's right, that's the name of the stuff. Sorry, I couldn't remember. But you have to go get me some more right away!" the girl's voice desperately pleaded.

Now Danny didn't know what else to say to delay the inevitable. After all, he was sure the Observants knew she was very vulnerable at the moment. So, did they just expect him to _start_ a fight right now? No, he wasn't going to do that; and he wasn't going to give up finding some way out of this mess.

He hesitantly answered, "I don't know, Danielle. You see, I'm expected to do…something else right now and I don't think that includes me being able to go home and get some more."

The young hybrid mentally rolled his eyes. That was lame. Yet, he couldn't tell her the truth as long as the Observants had his mom. He couldn't tell her that the Observants were behind this whole set-up, which, of course, he didn't like one bit. And he didn't want to fight Danielle yet he knew he also wouldn't put his mom at risk for refusing to fight.

Danny felt his forearm being squeezed harder before Danielle's voice almost wept, "Please, Danny! I don't know how long I can last! I'm even having a hard time keeping myself together even when I'm here in the Ghost Zone!"

Danny bit his lower lip. That was bad news. Ghosts always recovered from their injuries and such in the Ghost Zone since it was their natural habitat and they could easily and directly absorb the energy emanating from it. That also applied to half-ghosts—as long as they were in their ghost form, that is. So, if Danielle could not get enough energy here to help her get or keep strong, then that would be a huge problem…

He wanted to help her, but….Wait! Maybe the 'test' this time was to see whether or not he _would_ help the ghost girl because if he didn't, then she could be in real danger. And the Observants wouldn't expect him to _not _help her, would they? But then again, would they let him actually _go_ to his house? It was a possibility, especially when they knew he wouldn't leave his mom in the Realm Before Time…He paused at his next thought. Maybe they _had_ let his mom go and now they were letting him go! But why didn't they tell him…

Suddenly, he didn't care what those jerks thought or had planned. He just wanted to help Danielle and complete what he hoped would be his last 'test' so he and his mom could go home for good—that is, if the Observants _were_ going to let this be his last test. His heart dropped with the uncertainty of all of this. He just didn't get the point. But right now, it didn't matter. Danielle was one of his loved ones, too, and he couldn't just ignore her cry for help, and he knew that his mother would not want him to, either!

"Okay, Danielle," Danny began, speaking in the direction that Danielle had to be. He then quickly scanned the atmosphere, and making a mental note of it, he pointed in a certain direction and continued, "Could you go stay on that green floating shelf over there until I can get back? It shouldn't take me very long to get some of that ecto-dejecto."

"Thank you, Danny! I knew you wouldn't let me down!" Danielle said, her voice sounding calmer.

Danny gasped slightly after feeling a slight pressure around his neck and upper back before feeling one of his cheeks being depressed inward a moment. He knew that Danielle had just hugged him and kissed his cheek.

He smiled crookedly and promised, "I'll be back as soon as I can!"

The boy turned and bolted toward his right. But he had just gotten out of eyesight of the green shelf on which he left his cousin when he slowed down. He frowned in confusion. Just where the heck was he going? He had no idea! And that worried him because he had an excellent sense of direction and yet he felt…totally lost right now. He groaned. Maybe he _was_ losing his powers. Nevertheless, he pressed on, scanning the atmosphere for any landmark that could give him a clue as to where he was and where to go.

But after a few more minutes, his anxiety grew. He still didn't know where he was going.

"Talk about 'the blind leading the blind'," he grumbled when he again thought about Danielle and her saying that she was losing her powers.

Still, he knew he couldn't give up and pressed on.

The teen had continued on for at least half a mile when he finally spied something in the distance that looked familiar. His heart leapt in hope. There! He knew that ghostly rock formation. Now he was sure of where he was…

A smile crept back onto his face as Danny poured on more speed toward that landmark. His smile broadened as he drew closer. This definitely was the right place!

And without any more hesitation, Danny willed out his wulf claws and plunged them into the atmosphere….

* * *

><p>"Quick, Maddie, activate the patch program to File 289-FW-L!" Vlad blurted out. Though he suspected that Daniel would use those silly claws to get to his home the quickest way, he couldn't be sure exactly when the boy would use them, so he had to have that patch program ready to activate immediately.<p>

"On it!" Maddie cheerfully replied just as she deftly pushed the appropriate command keys down.

The patch program kicked in at the exact same time that Danny had pulled at the Ghost Zone atmosphere to wrench open a portal. The inside of the Fenton Works' lab was peeking through the jagged-edge portal.

The boy didn't hesitate to dive right into his makeshift entryway into his home.

He quickly searched the lab for the 'ecto-dejecto', grabbed it, and then shoved it into one of his pants pockets. He was glad that his parents had more of the stuff after all.

However, once Danny had breathed in all of the emotions of being back in his home, his mind switch gears. He turned intangible and darted right through the ceiling and into the kitchen before he yelled, "Dad?" But when he got no answer, he hesitated before he hopefully called out instead, "Mom?"

But there was still no answer.

Danny's stomach tightened when he rematerialized into the empty kitchen. He frantically searched the kitchen for any kind of note—which they always made a habit to leave when they were planning to be out of the house—and found none.

A sudden frightening thought seized the boy. Maybe the Observants _still_ had his mom after all! But what about his father? What did they do to him?

"C'mon, Fenton!" he mumbled under his breath, trying to calm himself. "Maybe they're home and just not in _here_!"

"Mom? Dad?" he repeated a little more loudly.

Hearing nothing again, the boy turned intangible and phased straight up through the kitchen ceiling this time and rematerialized right in front of his parents' bedroom.

He hesitated only briefly before he knocked on the door and called from outside of it.

"Dad? Mom?"

Danny began to panic when he didn't hear a response.

He grabbed the door knob and hesitated a bit before he turned it.

"Dad? Mom?" he called out again as he slowly opened the door.

But they weren't in there!

"_Where are they?"_ he asked himself, fearing the worst.

He knew the possibility of his mother still being imprisoned by the Observants was now highly probable, but what about his father? He hadn't really had much time to think about him since he had been captured by the Observants for their lame tests. But now Danny's heart was pounding! What if they had done something terrible to his dad? After all, his dad wouldn't just let some ghosts take his mom!

Now more alarmed than ever, he turned intangible and shot through each room of the house looking for them.

"Dad!" he screamed with desperation now clearly in his voice.

But he came up empty-handed.

"_They must still have Mom after all! But where's Dad?"_ he mused with worry before guessing, _"Wait. Maybe he's out looking for us! He has stepped up to the plate when we've been in trouble before…"_

Danny bit his lip and forced himself to calm down and think. His father was stronger than many gave him credit for. No, he had to fine. He could hold his own. And it was very possible he was just out looking for him and his mother…

"_I really hope he's okay. But right now, I know Danielle is not. And she also needs me!"_

He darted back to the lab and then quickly found the place through which he need to claw his way back into the Ghost Zone. In a heartbeat, he pulled out his wulf claws.

But before he could use them, he unexpectedly felt his mind violently spin. Oh, no! Was he having another bout with that 'losing power' thing? But before he could even give it another thought, he collapsed to the floor…

* * *

><p>Danny's eyes fluttered open and he could see that way too familiar black ceiling looming over him.<p>

He pulled himself up to a sitting position and frowned when his ghostly green eyes met the lone eyes of Justeco and Konsilisto again. And he immediately knew by their cold glares that they weren't happy with him and he didn't have to guess why.

Immediately glaring back, Danny stood up, folded his arms over his chest and dryly said, 'Well, what did you expect? You should have known I would help Danielle, and that I would _never_ hurt her! And just to point things out, you two were the ones who suddenly dropped me off in the middle of the Ghost Zone with no instructions! I had hoped that you had let my mom and me go, but _obviously_, I was wrong. So, how is she? And what did you do to my dad? If—!"

But Justeco quickly interrupted him.

"We have not harmed either one, but what is more important is that you have failed this test, young half-ghost," Justeco gravely said.

"I already figured I failed this stupid test as soon as I saw that I ended up back here," Danny tersely replied, "But that's not the point. I didn't see my dad at my house and now I don't believe you when you said you haven't hurt him. But if you have, I swear..."

"What you think is not relevant, young…" Konsilisto butted in, only to also be interrupted.

"It _**should**_ matter what I think, feel and say!" Danny hotly protested just as he tightened his hands into fists and jerked his arms to his sides. "I'm not just some guinea pig for your sick experiments! What else could you possibly want with me? Haven't you had enough creepy fun with all of this?"

"We do not think of this as 'fun'," Konsilisto somberly said. "As we told you, we have not directly interfered with the events thus far."

"Tell me something I don't know!" Danny grumbled back, folding his arms over his chest again.

The Observants were silent for a moment before Justeco said, "What you do not know, Danny Phantom, is that your actions just now were very grave."

Danny frowned in irritation and angrily replied, "Why? Because I was worried about my parents and wanted to help Danielle?"

"No, because your actions of delay in returning to the Ghost Zone just now resulted in the demise of the half-ghost named Danielle Masters," Justeco seriously said.

Danny's eyes widened in disbelief even as he gasped, "W-What did you say?"

Both of the Observants' eyes narrowed and Konsilisto gravely answered, "You are now responsible for yet another ghost's destruction. Danielle Masters no longer exists."

Once the words finally sunk in, Danny could feel the tears press against his eyes as his heart rate and respiration rate increased. But his gripping grief quickly evolved into anger. How _dare _they do this to yet another of his friends and then blame him?! In the next instant, his hands were glowing green with his ire and remorse.

"**You putrid jerks!** I know you're lying! And I've _**had it**_ with your twisted games!"

However, before the young hybrid could send a hard message to these jerks, Justeco had already pulled out his blue orb and aimed it at the boy. A powerful blue beam immediately poured out of it and quickly enveloped Danny.

Danny immediately resisted the energy even as it countered his strength and held him steady for the moment.

"**Darn you! Let me go! Let go!" **he yelled furiously.

"Silence!" Justeco demanded harshly. "We will not allow you to question our word! It is true! The girl is gone! Your weakness has caused her demise!"

"Indeed!" Konsilisto agreed a bit calmer. "We had expected you to save her. She was human, after all. But instead, we found you asleep at your home and we were forced to bring you back here."

Danny began to shake, but he still replied angrily, "I-I wasn't asleep… I…" But he trailed off, realizing that they were right all the same. He had not fallen asleep, but rather passed out. But… it _was_ his fault because he was weak and losing his powers. He had been losing to all those low-level ghosts. He failed to save his friends… and now… he could not even get to his own cousin on time!

But the thought of his Danielle's demise was more than he could bear. He couldn't accept it, because if he did…

"No," Danny whimpered. "No, it can't be true! No!"

"Fine," Justeco said soberly. "We had wanted to spare you the sight, but if you will not take our word for it…."

The boy's eyes widened when a portal opened up in front of him. Before he could pour more of his strength into resisting the beam holding him, he was thrust through the portal.

But much to his surprise —and confusion —the boy saw that he had been released into the Ghost Zone again! Why? At the moment, he really didn't care because he was still wrapped in his grief.

He glanced at his surroundings and his heart sank lower when he spied what he was sure was the floating shelf upon which he had left his cousin not more than fifty feet in front of him.

But, wait, he could see something moving on it!

Danny's breath hitched as he bolted toward the rock.

"Danielle!" he yelled out; but when he got close enough he cried in alarm when he saw his cousin. Or, at least it sounded like her. She was crying in pain and sadness as her barely-formed body melted into green goo. Only her eyes were formed at this point.

"NO!" Danny screamed as he dropped to his knees next to her dissolving form.

"Da…nny…" she gurgled with a haunting voice. "Why… didn't y-you… co..me b-back?"

The boy was shaking violently as he groped his pockets for the 'Ecto-Delfecto'.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to take so long! I….H-Hang on! I got it! I do!" he whimpered.

He finally found it, but just as he raised his hand to inject it, he knew he was too late.

He watched as the last of his cousin's eyes, shrouded in disappointment and pain, melted away along with her body.

"Oh, no… no," Danny whispered. He gasped and quickly plunged the syringe's contents into the goo, now spreading across the rock.

But it did nothing.

"Danielle! No!" he cried in anguish as he leaned forward and buried his face in his hands.

But even as he felt his heart shatter, Justeco's voice rang in his ears, speaking the cold truth to him…

"_Your weakness has caused her demise!"_

At that moment, he felt his resolve collapse and he wept right next to the green puddle that had once been his cousin.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ms. Hyde here, dearies. I have never been fond of Danielle, so seeing her get bumped off her just warms the rotten cockles of my heart! So, let me know what you think. In the meantime, I'll leave you all crying before we continue with the Fantomos Ecto-Scale:**

**LEVEL 1 GHOSTS**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, TrueHeart**

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**


	29. Ch29 Lev 6 The Death of the Ghost Boy

**A/N: Well, dear readers, I have to say that things are going to just get darker and darker for Danny. I really don't know how much longer he can hold out….But you know I hope he does! Don't forget the 'I don't own any Danny Phantom characters, but I totally own this story! And I know that everything is...Wait, Ms. Hyde, give me back my computer!**

***Ms. Hyde cackles sinisterly as she begins to type.**

**Ms. Hyde: Here is Chapter 29. Meh-heh!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 29—Level Six Ghosts—<em>The Death of the Ghost Boy<em>

"_Your weakness has caused her demise!"_

The hollow words echoed in Danny's semi-conscious mind.

"_NO!" _Danny mentally argued.

"_Your weakness has caused her demise!" _they repeated with more insistence.

"_NO!_" Danny yelled back, though his mouth had not uttered it.

But the words continued, though they twisted themselves around so that their message was now more accusatory, _"Your...your…you're weak!"_

"No! NO! NOOO!" Danny screamed as he riveted himself fully awake from that transitional state between sleep and waking once he was allowed to come out of his dreamless, _delta_ sleep.

He was still trembling from all the emotion he was just feeling.

The boy threw his hands up and buried his face in them when the first thing he thought about was what had happened to Danielle. And now that his mind was suddenly gripped in sorrow, he didn't care that he was back in the Dimensional Room and lying on its cold floor. Still, he quickly turned to his side and curled himself into a ball in anguish.

That last 'test'…He groaned and scrunched his eyes even tighter in a vain attempt to squeeze the memory out of his tired, distressed mind. Reality and all these nightmares were blurring further and further into each other. He suddenly felt so overwhelmed with….despair and helplessness.

On the verge of tears, Danny pulled his hands away from his face and asked himself in a voice as shaky as his nerves right now, "How could this have happened? _Why_ did it happen?"

He still couldn't believe it! Danielle couldn't be…gone…But she was…He saw her die right before his eyes…And he was responsible for it! If he hadn't—

Danny finally felt the tears come and he didn't try to stop them as his mind continued to torment him...If he hadn't stopped to check on his parents…if he had only gotten the ecto-dejecto back to his cousin in time…if he wasn't…wasn't so weak!

"I'm s-so sorry, Danielle," he choked out, curling tighter into himself as if to hide from his guilt.

He had failed again! He was supposed to protect her! He was supposed to protect _all_ his loved ones, and instead, he had let another one of them… die… And…and…what about his mother? He couldn't even rescue her, either! He couldn't even help _himself_!

More tears spilled down his face. _He was weak!_ He should have stayed focused on saving Danielle. He should have used his supersonic flight…But he couldn't because he had fainted. And if he just hadn't given into that painful electrical sensation, the one that always came when he felt a loss in his powers…if…

The boy startled slightly at his next thought. Wait. He _didn't remember_ having any electrical pain shoot up-and-down his spine before he lost consciousness the last time. He had just…gotten dizzy…or something.

He frowned in thought as he harshly wiped his tears away.

So what if he hadn't felt that sensation? It didn't make him feel better…

_He had still_ _failed!_

And one of his friends paid the price of his weakness—just like the others!

The thought crushed the teen even more…and he lay there a few moments in semi-stupor.

_He had failed!_

So, what was he supposed to do now? Fight on? He knew that the Observants were expecting that. But why didn't he just give up? So what if it meant he was a…loser?

He took in a shaky breath. He couldn't decide on what to do.

Danny jerked up into a sitting position and raked his hands nervously through his white hair as he took in another shaky breath.

He was so…tired…so tired of all of this. Why didn't the Observants just leave him alone? Hadn't they gotten _enough_ of their 'precious' data by now? And _why_ was it taking _so long_ for them to get it?

Those thoughts pressed down upon him even when he wanted to just chuck it all away. And suddenly, he felt the weight of sleep pulling at him along with his anguish…Still, he knew he had to be getting some kind of sleep because he always _woke up_ after each of these tests. At least, he _thought_ he woke up. Now…he just didn't know anymore.

Still, if he was getting sleep, for some reason it didn't feel like it was the _right_ kind of sleep. He always felt tired each time he woke—and it was only getting worse. How could that be? Was he getting enough sleep? Or for that matter, why wouldn't the Observants let him get his rest?

He frowned. He didn't get it; and really, he didn't have time to think about this…All he cared about was to get all of these tests over with…

His mind inadvertently wandered some more….

Just how many ghosts had he encountered so far anyways? He mentally counted them up….He had suspected it before, but now that he thought about it again, there _was_ a definite pattern to all of this…Each ghost he faced in all those situations _was_ stronger than the one before it…or some weaker ghost or ghosts had been paired with a stronger one who was controlling that weaker one.

Suddenly, he didn't care if there was or wasn't any kind of order to all of this. He just knew that the Observants' plan was evil and unjust. And that made he feel more than tired. He felt…defeated…So, what was the use of fighting any longer? How was he going to face any of the even stronger ghosts when he couldn't even defeat the weaker ones—when… he was feeling so drained, and—now that his thoughts had come full circle— was losing his powers?

Poor rest and weakening ghost powers stirred with depression did not make a good mix when it came to fighting ghosts.

Another disjointed thought jolted the young hybrid. Was that it? Did the Observants _want_ him to be at some sort of disadvantage while fighting all those ghosts? But why? Why would they set him up like that….well, okay, they already had set him up in the first place by bringing him here and making him do all these trials. But why make it harder than it normally would be? _Then, he was certain to fail!_

Maybe he was wrong. Maybe they didn't want him to keep fighting… Maybe they _wanted_ him to _fail_!

The boy frowned again as a jolt of pain shattered his train of thought. That headache flared up again and now he felt his head was splitting right in two. He groaned with the assault. He rubbed the back of his head, trying to ease the throb when another random thought spilled out of that imaginary crack the headache had made. Maybe he had this headache for an entirely different reason than for being tired.

Standing and looking up while rotating around with the chance that he might see the spirits, Danny called up into the air, "Justeco!" He felt his voice waver as he almost desperately yelled, "I-I want to talk to my mom! At least give me that!"

Suddenly at his next turn, Danny rammed right into a table that had not been there moments before. He grunted as the air was slightly knocked out of him. But a moment later, he caught his breath.

Irritated, he shoved the table away from him and straightened back up, only to have a small swirling green portal practically shoved into his nose. He reflexively stepped back from it and waited for it to clear.

And when it did, he saw…an empty room! He knew it was the exact same one that he had seen his mother in at other times. But she wasn't there now….He started to panic when he thought about his empty home when he last went there…Wait!…He finally saw his mother coming through a door to the right of where he had first been looking. Once he saw her, however, he wasn't just relieved, but he also could barely hide his sudden smile.

He knew that look of hers…She only looked like that when she was busy…_busy_ _figuring something out_, that is. And he had a strong hunch that she was trying to find a way to escape…

"_You go, __M__om!_" he thought; and the zing of hope, focus and his determination clutched at his heart again.

However, as abruptly as the portal had come, it just as abruptly disappeared.

Danny's eyes fell in disappointment at such a brief glimpse he got of his mother. But then, he saw that the table just before him was now heavy with food!

The boy blinked at suddenly remembering how hungry he was. In fact, he felt relieved to finally get something to eat. Maybe some food would even help him feel less tired.

Not caring to even acknowledge how 'generous' the Observants were suddenly being, he walked over to the food without a word.

But as soon as he reached for the food, it all disappeared and he was shrouded in blackness again.

Danny's eyes flashed a brighter green in anger as he glared up at his surroundings. But then he scoffed in disgust and turned away from the empty table.

"Yeah, I should have known you one-eye jerks weren't this generous…," he muttered bitterly.

He then sighed, yet it was an odd mixture of disappointment and a mounting resolve. True, he was hungry and wasn't at all happy at seeing the food only for the Observants to take it away. But that kind of continuing injustice—and the fact that his mom was not only alright, but was also determined to try to figure a way out of this mess as well—swept his mind of any confusing and depressing thoughts and replaced them with his stubborn determination once again..

His eyes narrowed as he thought more clearly of all that had happened. And now he was sure the Observants were really trying to make him fail. He didn't know why, but it was definitely their intention. And he **couldn't** let them win. If his mother could fight, so could he! And… And he wouldn't let Danielle's death be in vain! Though it still stung that he had failed her, he was determine not to fail any of his loved ones again! He had to keep going and see this to the end—or until he found a way out of this!

**He wouldn't give up!**

But then, he startled slightly when a spotlight suddenly turned on. And the spotlight was illuminating a small table that was not too far from him and had some kind of small, flat black object on top of it.

Danny scowled. No doubt that this was the next act of his way too many tests. He was tempted to not cooperate at all this time. But then, he thought about his mom. Well, okay then, he was just going to give the Observants a harder time about this one more than usual.

He folded his arms, frowned more and said in a challenging tone of voice, "Oh, no you don't jerks! You haven't given me any hint on how many more of these stupid tests I have to take! Not to mention the fact that you're starving me! And just how long do you all plan on keeping my mom prisoner, huh? You better start talking, Justeco, or I'm done! Do you hear me?!"

But when there was no answer except for another spotlight aiming at that same table in the nearby distance, the intense furrow of Danny's eyebrows deepened as he tersely said, "Fine! I just won't agree to any more—!"

He gasped when a large purple energy beam suddenly shot out for that flat object on the table and rapidly— and entirely—enveloped him!

Danny instantly resisted. He grunted in irritation and defiance as he arched backwards. But as if it were lassoing a wild, bucking young bull, the purple energy beam was still able to pull Danny toward the flat object on the table.

Putting more effort into his struggle, Danny said through gritted teeth, "Not this time, you demented Cyclops!"

He charged up his own green energy. His arms shook as he aimed his energized fists at the purple energy still attached to and yanking at him.

But before Danny could fire into the purple energy beam, he silently screamed, _"No! No! No!"_ when that unwanted pain shot up-and-down his spine and drained him of his strength.

Though becoming overcome by his dizziness, Danny struggled to counter the pain lighting up his spine and the purple energy that was still dragging him toward the spotlighted table.

In the end, however, Danny knew that the beam was winning. His head was still swimming so much that before he knew it, he was now right next to the table while still within the clutches of the purple energy beam.

His blurry vision could now see that the black thing on the table was a book! His eyes widened and he gasped to a more alert state when he read the title of the book: _The Death of the Ghost Boy_!

This was not funny!

But as soon as he read the author's name that was also printed on the book, Danny heard a wicked laugh echo all around him just as the book's covers flew open. An instant later, the beam sucked the boy right into the open book!

"Aargh!" Danny screamed at the wild ride as the atmosphere around him churned and twisted in blended shades of white, black and purple as it sucked him deeper into the book just like a painter's pouring his paints down a sink.

Finally, Danny knew he had stopped and he slowly opened his eyes.

He was in a quiet, entirely white and glowing rectangular room.

But then, the boy heard a very loud 'click'; and he reflexively covered his ears when the booming sound ricocheted off of the walls, ceiling and floor several times before it died.

Once the deafening 'click' had ebbed away, Danny scanned the room. He jolted when he saw a black mark on the furthest wall from him which he was sure was not there when he first got here.

"Is that a…?" Danny began to say when more clicking started up. The echoing sounds pounded the boy's ears again and he instantly cupped his hands over them once more as he frantically searched all around him for the sounds' source.

But when the noise finally stopped, he jolted. Those sounds _did_ do something to the wall just ahead of him! There were even more black marks on it. He walked closer to it and was awed in disbelief at what he saw.

There was _writing_ on the wall!

And he could clearly see what it said:

"Without tarry I will be right there  
>For you to worry, distress and scare<br>By creating and embracing the joy  
>The story of the Death of the Ghost Boy!"<p>

Danny frowned in recognition once he read the words and crossing his arms in annoyance, he said, "Okay, Has-Been. Show yourself!"

To which the Ghost Writer quipped via the typed print on the wall,

"As quick as an elf,  
>Behold myself!"<p>

In that instant, the Ghost Writer appeared and was floating upon a glistening purple cloud above the boy. But instead of being surrounded by that huge purple keyboard that Danny remembered from the last time he had the displeasure of meeting the ghost, the writer ghost was grasping a small, new rectangular black keyboard.

Danny harrumphed. He didn't care that the Ghost Writer's new keyboard was an ergonomic one. The outer left rim of half of the board was slanted downward and the other half was slanted to the right and each of the ghost's hands sat snuggly within the curves of the board. A large empty space separated the two sets of letter and number keys.

Nevertheless, Danny glared at the ghost. But before he could throw a barb out at the bespectacled ghost, the Ghost Writer said:

"Welcome to my place  
>Of letters and words.<br>But not as you would embrace  
>Or expect, but of true hazards."<p>

"Our last encounter was such a blunder  
>You really did spoil my fun<br>But this time your life I will plunder  
>Since there will be nowhere to run!"<p>

And did you notice my new board?  
>It's a nifty Glider USB<br>Indeed, the pen's mightier than the sword  
>As you soon will very well see."<p>

Danny rolled his eyes and said, "Am I supposed to be impressed?"

"No, more like distressed," the Ghost Writer growled back.

"Why should I be upset? After all, I'm definitely not impressed yet." Danny said, only to stop and sigh right afterward.

It was already bad enough that Ghost Writer was here and doing that rhyming crud again. But did _he_ have to be caught up with pentameters and rhyme schemes again?! He thought he was way done with Mr. Lancer's poetry! But no! He was being forced to rhyme just like in his first encounter with this loser ghost!

Rolling his eyes in resignation and irritation, Danny still made himself say:

"Not again with the sing-song?  
>All of this is so lame!<br>In fact it's so wrong  
>To do the same ol'-same ol' game!"<p>

This time, however, Ghost Writer smiled, actually pleased with what Danny had said before replying in slight excitement:

"Oooh, you made internal rhyme there—but so can I  
>And too bad it is all a waste<br>Since you're 'bout to be a dead guy  
>So let me not waste haste!"<p>

Danny frowned and retorted:

And all that you say is for the birds  
>You know that I'm again just going to spoil your fun.<br>Because, jerk, actions speak louder than words  
>And yeah, by the way, I meant the pun!"<p>

The Ghost Writer retorted with a frown, "What you said was an idiom, fool!"

"Wow, I came up with one? Cool!" Danny excitedly interrupted him.

But Ghost Writer growled and continued in a huff:

"My powers are much stronger  
>Within the pages of a book<br>While my diction will be longer  
>In fact, have a look!"<p>

Right away, the Ghost Writer started typing on his new Glider USB keyboard. The words jutted out from another white wall, but the clicking noise of the keyboard's tapping keys was no longer deafening.

Danny could clearly see the words from where he was, but instead of beginning to read them right away, he gritted his teeth, crossed his arms and tapped his foot in irritation before he said, "Is this going to take long?"

"About as fast as a song," came the terse reply as the bespectacled ghost continued to tap on the keys.

Finally, the clicking stopped and Danny finally began to read the writing on the wall; though, of course, he definitely had the feeling that they would not spell out good news.

"The mind is the wickedest weapon  
>And given proof there will be<br>When with my words I will spawn  
>Great harm at the touch of a key."<p>

Indeed, no sooner had Danny read the passage when the Ghost Writer further typed:

"Provide me a rope  
>One that is strong, one that is new<br>Made of coarse angry sinew  
>To snuff out that boy's dwindling hope!"<p>

Instantly, a rope made of some sort of entwined black sinew oozed right out the black typed word, 'rope'! In fact, it looked as if the word 'rope' had unraveled itself before it had turned into a real piece of rope! And sure enough, once the twisted ebony rope pulled itself entirely from the wall, all of the writing from when it had come disappeared.

Ghost Writer instantly typed up a command and the rope twisted itself into a loop before forming a knot on itself and flying over to the bespectacled ghost's hands. And like a cowboy swinging his lasso, the Ghost Writer twirled and then threw the rope at the Ghost Boy.

Danny immediately reacted to move away from it. But the lasso seemed to have a mind of its own and suddenly torqued enough to snag Danny's left foot.

The boy gasped when it did more than grab his foot. It split into several strands which wrapped around his ankle as deftly as the tentacles of a jellyfish did— and actually did sting him like a jellyfish!

Danny jerked around and zapped the black bindings around his stinging ankle and successfully released it.

The Ghost Writer grunted in irritation but feverishly typed and practically spewed out a newly tweaked version of the same verse he had just written:

"Many that are strong, many that are new  
>Provide me with more rope, rope, rope<br>Still made of angry coarse sinew  
>More quickly snuffing out the boy's hope, hope, hope!"<p>

Several more of those dark chords of rope instantly pulled themselves from each of the new typed 'rope' words and jutted forward toward the young hybrid. And as before, all the words disappeared once the ropes had left the wall.

Danny gasped, knowing that more stinging pain was to come. He willed out his wulf claws; and just before the sinew attacked him, he quickly twisted himself into a tight spin. As he whirled within that tight axis, he jutted his wulf claws forward. And then like a weed whacker, his claws soundly and rapidly sliced through all of the ropes before they could entangle him.

When Danny stopped spinning, nothing but shredded black ribbons of rope remained at his feet.

The boy smirked and was more than willing to rhyme:

"Looks like your words are still lame.  
>Just like all your threats fail all the same."<p>

Before he pounded on his keyboard again, the Ghost Writer angrily cried:

"Curse you, Ghost Boy!  
>"Poisonous rope I had deployed.<br>So you should be dead, you see..."

But Danny quickly interrupted him:

"Yes, I know and still see  
>That I breathe and I'm glad I do<br>You've lost, I'm quite alive, so are you through?"

Ghost Writer frowned and threateningly said more to himself than Danny:

"No! I will not be thwarted  
>Pitting my might with the brat's<br>How painfully he will be extorted  
>By a houseful of rabid ghost rats!<p>

And once again, just as Ghost Writer finished writing the word 'rats', a least a hundred of the angry black rodents spewed out like vomit from out of the word 'rats'. Their blood red eyes glowed with malice; and when they bared their large sinister scarlet fangs, each set dripped of thick crimson liquid. Banshee-like screams of protest and threat bellowed out from them right afterward.

Though Danny was really a bit nervous at being surrounded by the hostile creatures, he glowered at the rodents and Ghost Writer before sarcastically saying:

"I'm never surprised, jerk, about how you are  
>You never have an honest and fair game plan<br>Using others for your dirty deeds is not for you bizarre  
>Especially when you can't fight fairly or man-to-man!"<p>

Though the Ghost Writer scowled at the insult, he said nothing. Instead, he jerked his arm forward in a silent command for the horde of rats to attack the Ghost Boy.

Danny certainly didn't want to get bit by any of those gross rodents especially when there was no doubt of that from their sheer numbers. He floated backward and upward before bracing himself and taking in a long, deep breath.

Hardly a moment afterward, Danny exhaled, sending the powerful, destructive waves of his Ghostly Wail squarely into the lines of the attacking rats.

The instant the outermost bands of the boy's Ghostly Wail slammed into the horde, the creatures yelped in fear as they were swept away as easily as if Danny had used a broom.

But then, Danny noticed that whenever a rat's body slammed into the white wall, the typed black word 'rat' appeared in its stead. And soon, the wall bled black as newly-painted graffiti when hundreds of the word 'rat' bombarded it. Not only that, but each time a word 'attacked' the wall, it shook and bowed in-and-out like a...kite fighting the wind! But then, the teen noticed that the elongated 'rat' words began to slowly ebb away before leaving those walls white again.

Danny's eyes lit up with his hunch. Could it be? He looked smugly up at his foe—who was still hovering on his purple cloud— and chuckled under his breath at the Ghost Writer's red, angry face. Nevertheless, he was going to test that wild idea right now before the Ghost Writer could compose himself.

The young hybrid darted straight toward one of the walls while willing out his wulf claws at the same time.

But once the Ghost Writer saw what the boy was up to, he started to type furiously as he shouted:

"You can do nothing about your fate  
>Here I have all the power to slay.<br>Anything you do is too late  
>To keep your death away!"<p>

Danny ignored the ghost; however, just before he was going to strike the wall with his claws, another verse suddenly glared right at him from that same wall:

No one can score  
>In the Ghost Writer's burrow<br>Time to take out your ghostly core  
>With a wicked bow and arrow.<p>

But before the bow could fully form and shoot its arrow out from the words and into the chest of the attacking Ghost Boy, five of Danny's claws finally made contact and sliced though the wall as easily as scissors sliced through paper. In fact, to Danny, the wall did feel like paper! The words immediately disappeared.

Danny gasped in surprise and delight, though he hesitated a bit when he could see the black Dimensional Room right beyond the torn pages of the Ghost Writer's enchanted book! But then he gasped again when the paper magically repaired itself and became whole again!

That was enough of a distraction for the literary ghost to feverishly type:

Once again I command  
>Upon lots of good strong rope, rope, rope, rope.<br>I most diligently demand  
>Not to have the Ghost Boy elope, elope, elope, elope!<p>

Suddenly, a strand of thick brown rope sprung out of each of the words 'rope' that had appeared on two of the walls catty-corner to the one that the boy was slicing. The four chords thrust themselves upon the Ghost Boy; and yet each chord stayed anchored to the wall they had first appeared.

At the moment Danny couldn't see that since he was concentrating on rending even more of the self-repairing paper wall for his escape. But just as he rose up his left hand and wulf claws over his head in another ready strike, one of the Ghost Writer's ropes wrapped itself around that outstretched and poised hand.

Instantly, the rope became taut and jerked Danny completely around and away from the wall he was attacking.

"NO!...Let go!" Danny yelled in protest.

But before Danny could cut that rope off with his free set of wulf claws, that hand was quickly entangled as well. The two other rope strands just as deftly entwined each of his ankles. A moment later, all four points of ropes pulled outward, forcing Danny into a 'spread eagle' poise in the corner of the room.

Danny reflexively resisted and pulled at his bindings.

The ropes shook in protest at his strength; and it looked as if the Ghost Boy would break free when each of the ropes suddenly snapped away from the walls to which they had been anchored.

But in reality, the ropes had merely 'obeyed' the command of the Ghost Writer to disconnect from the wall at that precise moment. The newly-freed ends then threw themselves on and around the boy. The two leading ends of the chords that had ensnared his hands quickly wrapped around Danny's torso, effectively pinning his arms to his sides; while the other two ropes that had entwined his ankles wrapped even more around his legs before yanking him down and anchoring his feet to the ground.

The literary ghost chuckled in triumph before effusing:

"You're not so tough  
>That was too easy<br>But it's not as rough  
>As what's next up my sleevey!"<p>

Danny ignored the bad rhyme scheme and continued to struggle with his bindings. His wulf claws almost...had...contact...But then, he jolted to attention what his foe said:

"You say my fighting is full of unfairness  
>But with that, I give you hope<br>Here's a challenge with apprehensiveness  
>But first of all, I need much more rope!"<p>

But the Ghost Writer also typed up the phrase, 'much more rope' when he said it. A slew of strong strands of rope immediately poured out of the phrase, binding Danny even more firmly.

Nevertheless, Danny grunted and struggled harder. Finally, he could hear some of the rope rending underneath the edge of a few of his wulf claws! His heart leap in hope and he pulled harder against his bindings.

Suddenly, he jolted when more ropes wrapped around him, and this time, they successfully thwarted his efforts. And then he gasped at what happened next.

Other straps flew out of the wall, and all the while they twisted and turned with purpose until they knotted tightly with each other. More and more pieces of rope were added to the originals with the same frenzied purpose until the layers of knots intertwined with strands began to move upward and behind Danny. But oddly, none of the web-like structure was touching the boy.

Still it didn't end. Other chords joined to different parts of the impenetrable lattice-shaped assembly as if it were being weaved on a mechanized yet invisible loom. They changed direction and plunged downward this time.

Finally, the ends of the two ropes keeping Danny's bound feet anchored to the ground unhinged themselves and quickly joined the feverish macramé project. They pushed the unwitting boy slightly upward as they formed a tightly tied, strong platform of rope beneath him. But before Danny could yank his feet away from that rope-made floor, the ropes that had never untangled his ankles re-anchored themselves into the final platform.

In the meanwhile, Danny was as fascinated as he was dismayed by the rabid macramé project forming under, behind and above him. But no matter how much he struggled, he was held fast by his bindings.

Finally, the mania slowed to a near crawl; but not before one final piece of thick rope practically smacked the boy in his face as it twisted itself in front of him.

As Danny watched the phenomenon, his eyes widened in near panic just as it was finishing its purpose.

What the rope had formed was a noose! And not a moment later, it was slipping its loop around Danny's neck and securing its other straight end upon the macramé beam hanging directly above him.

And it was then that the teen realized that he was standing on and under a hangman's scaffold made entirely of rope!

Danny grunted, trying even harder now to free himself from the tight layer of chords keeping his arms pinned at his sides. He struggled to use his wulf claws once more, but he could not get the leverage he needed to cut through the rope. He tried to garner up some of his ectoplasmic and ice energies; but, for some reason, he couldn't. He then groaned in frustration when he again thought about his losing his powers.

All the while that Danny was struggling, the Ghost Writer had floated down from his purple cloud until he was at eye-level with the teen.

The bespectacled ghost was still smiling in triumph as he said,

"Those ropes negate you powers  
>So you cannot break free<br>The scaffold over you towers  
>Keeps you prisoner to me!"<p>

Instead of panicking at the ghost's words, Danny sighed a bit in relief when he no longer had any reason to believe that he had lost his powers. Nevertheless, the Ghost Writer continued:

"Fairness you demand  
>Fairness you will get<br>Stave off the pressure of your strand  
>With this little bet."<p>

"What do you mean?" Danny asked, still grunting with his efforts to free himself.

"Quiet this scene!" came his harsh reply.

But then, the older ghost added,

"Just for the sport of letters  
>Let us both see<br>Who with rhyme betters  
>You….or me?"<p>

Danny rolled his eyes and groaned to himself, _"Not another lame game?"_

He then gulped when he realized that he was even _thinking_ in sing-song. He gulped again when he thought '_So wrong'_ immediately after he thought 'sing-song'.

"_Gee, see?"_ he commented to himself, only to groan as his rhyming thoughts continued. _"Whoa! No!"_

He groaned again, but then sort of thankfully, his thoughts were interrupted by the Ghost Writer.

"But of course I make the rules  
>Since in here I am king<br>So listen well to this school's  
>Ways of doing the correct thing."<p>

"My new keyboard has a special tab  
>That produces random words.<br>We take turns rhyming at first stab  
>But must also add second words or thirds."<p>

Danny frowned at his itchy neck and with trying to figure out what the ghost meant, even as Ghost Writer continued:

"With your turn if you're the first to shout out another  
>Perfectly rhyming word before the next<br>Then I will stay the tightening other  
>Rope around your neck and delay the hex."<p>

"But if I on your turn rhyme first and prevail  
>And name words at least three<br>Then the binding rope 'round your neck will hail  
>To tightening and giving you the third degree!"<p>

"And what if I refuse to play your lame game?" Danny managed to say defiantly.

"You will die all the same!" Ghost Writer said through gritted teeth just as the noose around Danny's neck tightened and the boy hitched in a gasp.

But then Ghost Writer smiled darkly and added:

"However, _to be fair_, there is one small chance  
>You could indefinitely hold off the noose's stance…<p>

Danny stiffened in attention as Ghost Writer continued:

"If you play the 'lame game' as plotted  
>And add up any possible wins allotted."<p>

The older ghost paused and waited for the boy to respond.

But Danny was momentarily lost in his thoughts— irritatingly all in rhyme— trying to figure out what this game was all about. It seemed to be like a tennis game of sorts, only using words instead of a ball. A word would be thrown at him when it was his turn, and then he would have to give three rhyme words to whatever word 'popped' out of the Ghost Writer's keyboard. But he wasn't sure how he was going to 'win' a round, especially since his mind was so sluggish right now that he didn't even think he could 'follow the rules'. True, he was somehow able to rhyme what he was thinking and even saying, but this wasn't his doing! He usually stunk with poetry! He knew he was only able to rhyme now because he was under Ghost Writer's spell—which, of course, _was controlled_ by the older ghost! So, who was to say that Ghost Writer wouldn't momentary release him from his spell after a word was given? And what if being released from that spell would make him dizzy or something? Then he would be doomed to think up three rhyming words on the quick! And especially if he was competing with an expert like Ghost Writer. So, right now, he didn't think he could win.

Suddenly, the teen began to panic with his next thought—which, darn it, was still in rhyme: would the Observants allow the Ghost Writer to waste him like this? Why? And without a trial? But wait. They had said that if they decided that they had enough 'information', they could make these tests have _permanent_ consequences if they wished it. So, he _could_ die! He suddenly thought of Danielle. The Observants said he had been responsible for her death. He gulped at his next thought in rhyme...

Maybe all these other 'tests' _really were his trial_ and since he was being blamed for his friends' deaths, maybe _this_ test was a good way that the Observants could execute him 'fairly'!

But then the boy gasped when he was pulled from his thoughts. He looked up when he felt and saw that a purple aura had formed around him. Then, he had a sudden urge to play Ghost Writer's lame game. And when he glanced up at the wall in front of him, he now realized why.

Now impatient, the Ghost Writer had typed the word 'obey' and that purple aura was emanating from that typed word and Danny was, of course, feeling the effects.

But then, Danny panicked even more! He still didn't understand how to play that game!

He frowned in anxiety and suddenly and quite honestly uttered:

"Sorry, but I really don't get it  
>This lame game you want me to try<br>Could you again please explain it  
>Or right away you'll see me fry!"<p>

The older ghost smirked with amusement before answering:

"Very well. I will give you some sport  
>To let you know what to do<br>So I'll give you another hint of sort.  
>But you must play or you're through!"<p>

Danny nodded and sighed:

"Looks like I'm wasted  
>Whether silent or lambasted."<p>

Ghost Writer chuckled:

"Good one, Ghost Boy!  
>But here is an example:<br>The word is 'cloy'  
>And answers must be ample."<p>

The older ghost paused a moment before typing the word up, which appeared on the wall. He then explained:

"You see here the word 'cloy'  
>I hurriedly answer, 'boy', 'joy'<br>But if you answer 'joy' or even 'ahoy' before I do  
>Then that noose around your neck will undo."<p>

"However, if I get to rhyme three  
>Before you can even utter<br>Then the rope hanging from your makeshift tree  
>Will tighten fast until you shudder."<p>

Danny rolled his eyes. But at least now he thought that he understood how to play this stupid game. Once Ghost Writer's keyboard randomly typed out a word, whoever's turn it was had to be quick in yelling out three words in a row that rhymed with that typed word. If he was the first one to do that, then the rope would loosen from around his neck. But if his foe was the first to get out those words before he did, then Danny would definitely feel the noose tighten.

Danny looked back up when he heard the older ghost say:

"And like you rightly said  
>You're doomed whether silent or not<br>But a chance if you use your head  
>To permanently unloosen the rope's knot."<p>

This time Danny sighed. What else could he do? He was literally tied up! And it sure looked as if the Observants were bent on making him fight all of these ghosts on their own turf and on their own terms…He tried to stave off the temptation to give up that was beginning to creep back….still…maybe he could beat them at their own game.

He finally said:

"Okay, jerk, bring it on  
>I guess I'm game<br>And the line has been drawn  
>Even if it's all still lame!"<p>

The Ghost Writer smirked in triumph as he pushed a button on his black ergonomic keyboard. Less than a moment later, the keyboard was tapping on the keys on its own and the word 'bird'' appeared on the same wall just opposite of Danny's makeshift scaffold.

Suddenly, Danny panicked. Why didn't Ghost Writer say who was going to go first or even call out 'start' or something?

But he got his immediate answer when he heard the other ghost quickly uttering, 'word' and then 'nerd' before the noose around his neck tightened—_a lot_!

"Hey!" Danny barely choked out.  
>"This isn't fair!<br>You didn't even say  
>When to start this lame 'truth or dare'!"<p>

Ghost Writer smugly answered:

"I certainly did so  
>You certainly heard.<br>I will not say 'go'  
>Just type out the word!"<p>

Now perturbed, Danny put more effort into attempting to try to break his bonds. But all of the sudden, he felt that very unwelcomed white lightning shoot up-and- down his spine with his struggles. He swallowed his painful grunt and tried to clear his suddenly more muddled head.

Meanwhile, the literary ghost smiled wickedly just as he pushed that same button on his keyboard.

This time, the word 'closet' appeared on the wall in front of Danny.

That was enough to clear Danny's head. He quickly yelled out in near panic, 'set, jet, met'!

And at that moment, Danny breathed in relief in both senses of the word, especially when the noose around his neck loosened a lot.

Ghost Writer, however, frowned. The boy's words weren't perfect rhymes, but he had to admit that it did sound similar to one of the word's syllables. Still, he didn't hesitate any longer and pushed the button on his keyboard before the word, 'proud' appeared.

Ghost Writer immediately called out, 'cloud, loud, crowd' before Danny could get any word out.

Once again, Danny felt the pressure around his neck. He struggled even more with his bonds, only to feel that electricity rake up-and-down his spine again. And this time, the pain was enough to make his head spin. He wasn't even aware that sweat had formed at his brow with the pain and was dripping down. And he especially hadn't noticed that the older ghost had already pushed the next button on his keyboard and the word 'report' typed itself on the white wall.

Before Danny could even comprehend that the next round had already started, Ghost Writer had yelled out in triumph, 'retort, cohort, sport'!

And as before, the noose yanked a bit harder and Danny coughed with the tightness. It was even harder for him to breathe. In fact, he was getting even dizzier. Still, he struggled to concentrate, barely seeing the next typed word…

'Mayhem'.

"Ahem! Gem, hem!" Danny desperately shouted with what breath he could muster.

The Ghost Writer frowned. That didn't seem right. Still, they _did_ rhyme.

Danny felt the noose loosen, but he could tell that his breathing was still impeded. He was about to protest that the rope hadn't loosened as much as it had the first time, when the next round started.

The tapping stopped and the word 'Platform' appeared on the wall.

Ghost Writer shouted, "Sandstorm…"

"Transform!" Danny interjected with a harsh voice before the older ghost could say anymore.

But this time, the noose didn't unloosen a bit!

The literary ghost growled and immediately pressed his special keyboard button again.

'Concen—'

"Berate, complicate, hate!" the Ghost Writer yelled out even before the word 'concentrate' had been completely typed out.

Danny's eyes widened even as he felt the constriction around his neck more. The ghost _was_ cheating! He knew he had better break out of these bonds before the next round would certainly be his last…

The young hybrid concentrated as he tried to dig for his inner strength. But since he was still dizzy from the lack of oxygen, he was having a hard time doing that. And now that he was getting woozier by the second, he knew he was running out of time….

But then, he saw the next word on the wall through his blurry vision:

'Phantom,…'

"Nothing rhymes with Phantom!" Danny barely choked out.

"True, Phantom—to the untrained in the arts of rhyming fandom. But I wasn't finished; so you best see the clue for you're really turning blue!" Ghost Writer wickedly laughed, even though the spell was nearly broken by his poor poetry.

And Danny's rapidly failing vision read the rest as soon as the last words appeared, "Phantom,… you're definitely through!"

Danny's vision totally blacked out with the final forceful yank around the rope around his neck!

And then the Ghost Writer triumphantly closed his book entitled, _The Death of the Ghost Boy_….

* * *

><p><strong>AN: truephan :*standing wide-eyed with disbelief* Y-You, you didn't just…**

**Ms. Hyde: Of course I did, dearie! What did you expect?**

**truephan: I still don't believe it! This can't be happening! It's all a trick by Vlad!**

**Ms. Hyde: Who says **_**he's**_** in charge of this chapter, huh?**

**truephan: NO! You can't do that to Danny!**

**Ms. Hyde: *cackling wickedly* Go on, dearie, panic all you want! It just makes more beauty warts appear on my face!**

**truephan: Don't worry, everyone, I won't let her get away with this!**

**Ms. Hyde: *smugly* I think I just did!**

***truephan's eyes widen more***

**Ms. Hyde: While truephan's feeble mind tries to think of something witty to banter back—which will take an awfully long time—do you mind telling me YOUR thoughts about this chapter? I certainly need more beauty warts, you know, dearies. But before you write your reviews, don't forget to check on the Fantomos Ecto-Scale countdown!**

**Until next time, dearies! OOH! Another wart!**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, TrueHeart**

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**289-level 6-Gamma—Ghost Writer**


	30. Chap 30 Level 6 Ghosts-- On the Inside

**A/N: *Knock-knock***

**Who's there?**

**Wander.**

**Wander, who?**

**Wander where I've been?**

***permission to groan***

**So, okay, I'll just crawl back under that big rock I've been under lately, then! But just so you know, I've missed y'all but I have had some personal issues that delayed my posting. But, hopefully, that is all behind me (rather being on top of me like that stinkin' rock!) So, thank you for your patience in waiting for this update. Remember that I don't own Danny Phantom, but I own this plot—but I blame Ms. Hyde for this chapter. In fact, I just might be sucked right back under that rock because she's had my computer during that whole time when I was…indisposed! *Shudders***

**I just realized, too, that with the addition of this ,uhm, **_**very long**_** chapter, this will end up being my longest story yet. Wow...**

**In the meantime, I hope you find that your wait was worthwhile…Here is Chapter 30. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 30—Level Six Ghosts-On the Inside<p>

_Gasp!_

Danny jolted awake with that loud breath. The boy reflexively drew up his hands to his throat and gasped again. _He was breathing_! In fact, he was now panting over the ordeal. And he was sweating. But, he was alright! Yet, he was still shook up…He could have…died!

He swallowed thickly and winced. His neck was still tender and he guessed he might have a bruise from what had just happened.

Trying to ignore the sweat still streaming down his sore neck, the teen draped his left arm over his eyes in both relief and trepidation. When was this nightmare going to end? That last encounter was…too much. It really unnerved him.

Suddenly, his mind began to slip into non-related yet vague thoughts. But all of them were clothed in dread. He could even feel all of his old fears creeping back into his mind; and that only made him feel even more upset! And at this moment, he felt as trapped by them as he had been being here this entire time. In fact, all of those random, anxiety-producing thoughts bombarding him were enough to disarm his mental defenses. He was so numb at this point that it didn't even occur to him to move…

* * *

><p>Vlad rubbed his temples as he reviewed the monitors. The chamomile tea must have been wearing off because his headache was beginning to worsen again. But he didn't let that bother him too much because he was pleased with what the data was telling him at the moment: Daniel's mental state was reaching the critical range again. Having the boy think he was being choked to death—when the man knew that wasn't his intent— might have been enough to do the trick!<p>

"Maddie, please recheck these readings. I want to make sure that Daniel's mental condition is spiraling downward before there's any change in plans," he finally said.

After a few moments, his computer reported, "The data is showing some promise that your test subject's mental stability is eroding. However, as I have reported many times before—and what has refuted these readings many times already—the definitive proof is to have your test subject react to a situation. If he fails to respond within the parameters of his nature, then we shall know that he has…"

"…been broken," Vlad completed for her.

"That is your term, sir. But technically, it conveys the desired meaning and result for your master plan," she replied.

"So, shall we push on to the next program for that definite proof?" he asked.

"That is your decision, sir. But I cannot ignore my internal clock. If your test subject has been 'broken' as you say, he will be not serve his purpose for you if you do not give him sustenance soon. In addition, my memory banks do report that the next ghost in the queue evokes strong emotions from your test subject each time the boy had encountered that ghost in the past. Then again, many ghosts and spirits have been able to do that, including the 289-9 _zetas_.

"You mean the Observants?" The man asked before he suddenly effused, "Maddie, you're brilliant!" But then a pain shot through his head again. He instantly rubbed his forehead yet nevertheless added, "Why don't we use those morons again to see if Daniel has indeed been broken?"

"But so far, each time you have activated program 289-9-_zetas,_ your test subject's readings stabilized," she pointed out.

"Precisely, my dear," he agreed. "As you correctly reported, Daniel needs to eat. And since he's not 'required' to fight the Observants, then we can have him conserve his energy while testing his mental state. If he doesn't react with those petty teen emotions when he sees the Observants again, then we will know he is defeated. But if he does react to them, then we will push forward with the next ghost. In fact, I'm liking this even more since we both know that the next ghost insisted to do things his way—but only because I let him think he was doing things his way; that is, as long as he stayed within my demands."

Maddie was silent a few seconds while her logic chip analyzed the man's statement. She finally replied, "This is a feasible tangent. But even when the statistical risks involved are minute, your test subject must be given sustenance or else your master plan's risk for failure will be statistically certain."

"Very well, Maddie, feed the boy. And while he's eating, be sure to program a scene with the Observants that will determine whether Daniel has been broken or not."

"As you command, sir," she replied even as she was executing his orders.

* * *

><p>After several minutes whereby Danny was unable to think clearly or move, the boy had another disturbing—yet strangely insightful—thought. He was already convinced that he was hanging onto sanity by a thread. How much more could he take? Though he knew he had awakened from all of these tests and must then have been asleep for some kind of rest, he still felt as if he had never rested. And he was famished!<p>

He let his arm drop from his eyes and fall to the floor. As soon as he felt it, however, he knew where he was. But that didn't mean he wanted to move from where he was lying—or open his eyes…Nevertheless, somehow, that slight nudge from reality was enough to refocus his thoughts on the two creatures who were responsible for all of this: the Observants. Never mind how much more he could take. How much more were they going to _throw_ at him? Were they actually trying to make him go mad? But why? What purpose would that serve? He paused. Maybe they just wanted him to utterly fail in all aspects of his being…Or maybe they somehow knew enough of his future that they wanted to speed things up. But how could they do that and not be accused of interfering or actually altering the flow of Time and Existence?

His headache unexpectedly flared up with that thought, which only discouraged him again. Why wouldn't they let him get some more rest?….All he wanted to do was go to sleep. And why weren't they feeding him?

He blinked in sudden understanding at his next thought. Was it because he was failing all of these tests? They had said they would punish him if he failed….heck, just the fact that they put him into these tests in the first place was punishment enough!

Suddenly, he startled slightly when he heard what sounded like something heavy slamming onto the ground very close to him! He opened his eyes and turned his head toward the sound. As he pulled himself up off of the floor of the Dimensional  
>Room, his nose confirmed what his eyes saw: a table laden with food and drink and a chair were right next to him!<p>

_Food!_

The thought pushed all others away as the boy practically attacked the food. He grabbed one of the thick ham and cheese sandwiches and began to chow down.

However, Danny didn't sit at the table as he ate because he suspected that those lame Observants would just whisk his chair from right under him whenever they felt like it—like all those other times.

Still, he was glad to get something to eat and drink; and, in a way, get some more rest while eating. But, of course, he wasn't about to let his captors have the pleasure of knowing that.

Once the young hybrid was finished, he was unaware that he had rubbed his forehead. That headache had never gone away, of course. He knew that if he could just get a good night's sleep, it would. But the headache wasn't as bad now that he had gotten something to eat and drink. In fact, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off of him and he felt a bit sleepier. He yawned.

All of the sudden, the table that had the food on it disappeared along with the chair.

Danny smirked slightly at not having fallen for the Observants' trick again. He yawned again as his mind drifted once more. But these new thoughts weren't torturing him. He felt more relaxed. Not really thinking clearly because he was growing more tired, he searched for a bed. But then he frowned when he realized what he was doing; which only lead to another thought: he was still _here _and the Observants had almost allowed him to be killed not too long ago! Now he was just plain angry. After all, he didn't want them to think that they had him where they wanted him, er, even if he wasn't at all certain where that 'where' was.

He needed to keep strong. He needed to stay focused. If not for his own mental and physical health, then for his trapped mother and… his dead cousin. He promised them he wouldn't give up! Besides, he had been in near-death situations before. He wasn't going to let the Observants see him quiver in his boots because of that last 'test'.

No, he would not let them win—and he would not let them get away with this, either!

He looked upward and crankily growled up into the darkness, "Hey, Justeco! About freakin' time you remember to feed me! And I don't know what you're trying to prove, but that whole thing with Ghost Writer was messed up! I'm so sick of you jerking me around like you are—especially with that noose!" He then added more sarcastically, "But then again, what can I expect when the ones doing the jerking are a couple of one-eyed freaks?

Again, however, there was no answer to the boy's rants.

But just before Danny was going to lambast the Observants even more, Justeco and Konsilisto suddenly appeared.

Danny jolted a bit before he scowled in anger and said, "Good, now I can get right to the point while being right in your faces, er, eyes! If you want me to lose, then let's just get it over with! Obviously, everything is set up for me to fail anyways."

But in reality, Danny didn't think he was losing because of any covert Observant plan, but because he feared he was losing his powers. But, he didn't want to let on to that fact right now.

Konsilisto replied, "I can assure you, young half-ghost, that we are merely presenting each test. How it ends up is what we are observing. But until we get the results for which we are searching, we are burdened with continuing…"

"_You're_ burdened?" Danny snapped back. "Just let me…"

But Justeco quickly cut him off, "We can see that you are not putting enough _effort _into trying to defeat your test subjects."

Danny's mouth dropped in disbelief before he protested, "I'm definitely having a major déjà vu moment here and I don't like it. So, what do you mean by that? I'm doing my best each and every time! I can't help it if you make it harder by not feeding me or letting me sleep!"

"That is what we are to determine," Justeco piped in as his eye narrowed with seriousness. "The data continues to be inconclusive and we therefore must conclude that more tests are needed. But if you do not put forth more effort, then we will be forced to extreme measures…."

Before Danny could utter another protest, a swirling green portal appeared out of nowhere and quickly cleared. His mother was sitting in a chair in that room she was always in since this whole mess started. She was also busy scribbling something in a notebook and her face was etched in deep concentration. Otherwise, she looked well in her blue velvet gown.

Danny secretly smiled. "_Alright, mom_!" he thought, still having a hunch from that look on her face that his mother hadn't stopped trying to figure out some way to escape.

But then realizing that these putrid Cyclops were also threatening him with his mother's welfare, Danny firmly said, "Look. I don't know what 'data' you're looking for, but I _am_ doing my best. And…"

Justeco just as firmly interrupted him. "Then explain all those failures, young half-ghost! All the preliminary data we obtained from all of the ghosts you have encountered since you have been here contradict each other. We want you to give us an explanation of that!"

Danny frowned at the spirit's demanding tone, but paused in thought nevertheless. The only explanation he could offer was that he thought he was losing his powers….

And then he brightened at his next thought. If he told them just that— that he thought that he was losing his powers—then maybe they would be satisfied with whatever lame data they got and let his mom and him go. After all, they might have heard anyways when he accidentally blurted it out when he was fighting the circus ghosts… It was worth a shot.

"All right. I'll come clean," Danny finally began. But he suddenly paused at his second thoughts. Now he wondered if he should he really tell them.

Meanwhile, Vlad had straightened to attention when he heard what the boy had just muttered…

But then, Danny swallowed hard and honestly said, "I-I think that I'm losing my powers! So then, don't you see? I can't possibly be any threat to Time and Existence if that is what's happening. Maybe that's why your data is so 'inconclusive'. Maybe you can't get any more data about me because I might be losing my powers. So, in that case, can't you just let me and my mom go home?"

Justeco and Konsilisto paused. But that really was because Vlad had ordered Maddie to pause the program, yet make it appear that the two realistic holographs were thinking while still floating in mid-air.

Vlad hurriedly asked his computer, "Some of the data we have obtained does suggest what Daniel had admitted earlier. It is possible that Daniel maybe losing his powers, but it's definitely not clear because of all the fluxes in the readings. But could that explain the boy's erratic mental state, Maddie?"

"That is one hypothesis that has not been analyzed yet, sir. It is a possibility; but it is also entirely possible that his erratic mental state is within the norms of his biological age," the computer replied.

Vlad frowned. He had not thought of that. But before he could mull that over, his computer added, "I can work on correlations to that newest theory if you wish, sir. But I also need to inform you that your test subject's mental state has stabilized again."

Vlad's face scowled even more as he checked the data. It was true! Still, it was better that he found out now rather than begin the next phase of his master plan prematurely. So, then, that would only mean that they would have to go through with having the boy continue with his fight with the next ghost. It would be tricky because that ghost was not trustworthy. But then again, Vlad trusted that the ghost would heed his 'methods of persuasion' all the same, especially when he had made plans to guarantee that.

Finally, the billionaire replied, "Let's finish with this particular scene and begin the next before Daniel suspects anything, Maddie. Obviously, then, our work is not done."

"As you command, sir," the holograph said before pushing the next command button…

And as Danny continued to argue his case that the Observants should let him and his mother go, there was a knock on the simulation control room's door.

"Come in," Vlad said without moving his eyes off of the conversation between Daniel and his programmed pawns. After all, he was expecting the visit.

"You sent for me?" the very familiar voice asked.

"Yes, I did. I'm hoping that the next program will be the one that will finally make Daniel come under my control. I'm sure you have prepared everything the way we planned for this next program. But if it does not do the trick, are you ready for what would be next?"

"As always," the other male replied, a bit irritated by the question.

"Good," Vlad replied with a satisfied smile before adding, "Hopefully, it will not come to that. But in the meantime, I am looking forward to seeing how Daniel reacts to this… new pawn."

The male ghost nodded. "She is an interesting specimen indeed. If only she wasn't… so weak…" He paused briefly before adding, "Still, she should serve your purpose well."

"I should hope so…," Vlad answered, narrowing his eyes bit. Glancing at the other ghost briefly before turning to his computer, he said, "Let's get on with it, shall we, Maddie?"

"On it, sir!" she replied as she pushed a new series of command keys.

* * *

><p>"….Nevertheless, young half-ghost, it is never proper to stop our examination before we have conclusive evidence," Konsilisto casually replied to Danny's last comment.<p>

Now quite upset at how this conversation was running in circles, Danny demanded, "What more stuff do you need? Can't you get it through you thick eyeballs that I've failed almost all your stupid tests?!"

"Though this is true, there is still more we need to know before we make any decisions about your fate," Justeco piped in, only to have his thoughts completed by his twin brother.

"For instance, we need to see how you react to a possible sample of your fate."

"What do you mean by _that_?" Danny asked, now having a creepy feeling.

And rightfully so.

The ground under the boy began to rumble with a familiar sensation and a moment later, Danny felt the atmosphere around him begin to reel just as the two Observants disappeared.

"Whoa!" Danny erupted as he felt himself tumble out of control within the myriad of colors.

Even as he was spinning, he suddenly felt as if his spine was momentarily on fire which quickly ebbed to a slightly burning sensation. But no sooner had that feeling lulled when he was momentarily surrounded and then blinded by a burst of red and pink colors followed almost simultaneously by a force pressing all around him to the point that he felt as if all the air in his lungs had been leached out.

With a hard gasp of air, he abruptly stopped a few seconds later. But his head was still spinning! A split second later, however, he barely saw a flash of bright green light slam right into him before he was jolted _backwards _by the blow. Now he felt even dizzier when he finally stopped at the end of yet another unwanted ride.

But when he tried to put his hand up to his still whirling head this time, he couldn't!

And when he looked down, his clearing vision could see that his arms were pinned to his sides by a large ring of glowing green energy which also surrounded his abdomen. And though his hands were in front of him, each of them was also encircled by similar but smaller glowing green bands which connected to each other so as to keep his hands securely together. But his feet were unbound and somehow he was able to stand in spite of his dizziness.

When he looked up to scan where he was, he felt a harsh shove from behind coupled with a harsh voice which demanded, "Keep moving, freak!"

Danny turned his head just enough to see what creep had said that and then he grunted under his breath in recognition, "Oh, no, not here!"

He was shoved forward once more and he continued to be prodded down the now familiar hallway.

Finally, he and his unwanted 'escort' stopped at an all-too-familiar door.

"Step aside," Danny's 'escort' growled as he pointed his weapon at him.

Danny begrudgingly obeyed as he thought, "_Just wait until my head is fully cleared, jerk!"_

Once the boy had entered the room, however, his rude companion slammed the door behind him.

Danny was left still bound and standing in the room—alone.

Glancing briefly around the room while taking this opportunity to pull against the glowing bands, Danny grumbled under his breath, "Figures it would be exactly the same!"

He grumbled again when his bonds wouldn't budge.

"_One day I'm going to find out exactly what these things are made of and ask Mom and Dad…"_ he began to muse, only to stop when his heart jumped at his realization. _"Mom! Dad!"_ he repeated to only himself before he immediately resigned himself to keep playing along with this test— at least for his mother's sake. He was now also hoping that his dad was all right, too.

The hybrid stopped struggling, and frowned when he looked around the room again. He recognized this office, but just why was he left alone here? What was the point? Sooner or later…

His thoughts were interrupted at the slightly muffled sound of a door opening and boots pounding on the floor. But it wasn't the door behind him that was opening. He turned his heard toward what must be a secret entrance into this room.

"That would be 'sooner'," Danny muttered under his breath with annoyance as he kept his eyes on the area where the sound had originated.

And sure enough, another narrow yet heavy pocket-style door slid open and the ghost whom Danny expected walked in.

Danny kept a steel gaze on his target as the ghost came closer. Even though Danny couldn't currently see them under that black fedora, how he wished he could zap the bone-head right between his sunken beady green eyes!

"Walker!" Danny growled out with defiance as he straightened to his full height to face the ghost dressed in a white coat and white pin-striped pants.

"Punk!" the Warden countered, though he was almost polite in his tone. However, he did notice something…different. "Looks like you haven't gained any manners with your obvious height gain—though I'm still amazed that you have even survived long enough to get any taller!"

"Get to the point, jerk! At least I'm not here to talk about lost time—or say how much I love being here again—_when I don't_!"

"Funny choice of words, punk," Walker coolly said as he drew even closer. "Because that's exactly what we're going to talk about: lost time and love."

Danny's brow furrowed in confusion. What the heck did that mean? But he quickly narrowed his eyes in defiance once more and firmly said, "I don't care to talk to you about anything—except about what kind of trumped up charge you came up with this time to get me here."

Picking up a green-and-white glowing book that had been on top of his desk, Walker opened it to a random page. And then pointing to a random law on that page, he smugly replied, "I can take my pick of the charges; but all that matters is that you were conveniently hand-delivered to me as expected."

Danny jolted a bit about the warden's last words and his mind raced. The Observants had been the ones who had sent him here! So, had they decided to send him to prison after all? So how was this a test if he was bound and couldn't fight Walker—even when he certainly wanted to do that to this creep? What was the Observants' point, then? It made no sense. And why would they have told Walker what they had in mind? How did that pan out with their always wanting to be 'proper' and 'not involved'? He frowned, irritated with himself for trying to figure out those two insane Cyclops. Never mind! Still, this didn't make sense. Heck! _All_ of these stupid tests made no sense! Even so, he wanted to know what Walker knew about all of this. And there was only one way to find out…

Danny finally said, "And what equally rotten ghost as you would stoop so low to give me to you as if I were some kind of sack of flour?"

Walker floated right up to the boy and grew tall enough to loom over Danny like a large vulture hovering over its dying prey. Then after grabbing the bound boy by his collar and yanking him upward, the warden glared right into Danny's eyes and jeered, "I ask the questions here, punk! But you'll find out soon enough, since it'll be his turn."

Danny glared back, though underneath he was worried about what the older ghost had said. Just what the heck did he mean by _that_ now? Who was this 'he' in '_his_ turn'? Did he mean Justeco? Still, he threw that thought away. He really didn't care one way or the other; he just wanted to get out of here as fast as possible!

Before Danny could think of any sort of plan, Walker suddenly lifted him up a bit higher and tossed him into a nearby seat.

Ignoring the Ghost Boy's protesting grunts at the rough treatment, Walker pushed a button on a small device. Danny's glowing green bands around his arms and hands disappeared and were simultaneously replaced by several glowing green metal bands, which had shot out from within the chair and curved themselves around his wrists before yanking them to the arm of the chair and securing them there. Likewise, several other metal bands curved around his arms, legs, ankles, and upper and mid-torso.

Now satisfied that he had the boy right where he wanted him, Walker smugly moved even closer to the bound boy and continued, "Now like I was saying, punk. Having you back at my prison is long overdue, especially since you hold the record for breaking the most rules."

"I'm quite honored, actually," Danny quipped back with a mischievous smirk.

Suddenly, the warden back-handed Danny on the face before growling through angry skeletal teeth, "I plan to make you eat those words, punk!"

Danny gritted his own teeth in anger. Ignoring the warm ectoplasm he could feel on the corner of his mouth, he spat back, "That will be the day, creep!"

"You think you're so clever, punk? Because today _is_ the day for making up for lost time, eating your words, and as I mentioned before, love."

Danny narrowed one of his eyes. Just what was this jerk's game? What did 'love' have to do with any of this? Wait. It didn't matter! He defiantly shot back, "I didn't even think 'love' was even in your vocabulary, Walker!"

Once more, Walker gave Danny another hard slap across his face before he seethed, "Very funny. But we will see who has the last laugh!"

Quickly righting himself, Danny countered, "Easy for you to say when you don't fight fair!"

Walker's face narrowed in irritation and he said through gritted teeth, "In my prison, ghost punk, anything I decide upon is always 'fair' in my book!"

"I bet!" the boy still challenged. "Since you conveniently wrote that book!"

This time, the Warden fisted his hand and punched Danny right in the jaw.

"_Ow! That definitely hurt!"_ Danny thought as shook his head while trying to mentally brush away the stars floating in front of his eyes.

Walker chuckled at seeing the momentarily discombobulated boy, "How true, Ghost Punk! And that is my newest rule you just experienced."

But then the warden's face darkened with hate and anger as he added, "I had you brought here not just for breaking the most rules. I have 'unfinished business' with you. And it is that 'unfinished business' that will make you eat your words and more than make up for 'lost time'!"

Danny rolled his eyes and quipped, "Yeah, heard that lame line more times than I want to begin to count!"

But instead of striking the boy or answering him, Walker smiled darkly at him, which was just as bad a response to Danny.

The Warden floated over to his desk and picked up the handset of a green phone that was next to his book and dialed a few numbers.

Danny couldn't hear what Walker had said as the ghost spoke into the microphone mouth piece because Walker was speaking so low. But the boy did catch a few snippets of the one-sided conversation…

"Yes, that's right…..cell 54C…..make sure she's ready….five minutes….understood?"

Walker hung up the phone, only to pick it back up and dial a few more numbers.

Once again, Danny only caught small snatches of what the ghost was saying…

"Four will suffice…yes, that will be fine…yes!"

Right after he hung up his phone again, Walker paused and frowned as he thought about his next planned steps. He growled under his breath now that he wasn't satisfied with them. But then his beady eyes danced in their empty sockets at his next thought. That would do it and be more to his liking…

The Warden floated closer to the boy and said with more composure and assurance, "So, Ghost Punk, I guarantee that the 'unfinished business' I have with you will wipe that smugness off of your face and get exactly what I want from you."

"And exactly what do you want from me, Walker?" Danny said with even more defiance this time. "Except to keep me a captive audience for your lame attempt at humor?!"

"Oh, I assure you, punk," Walker began as he grew even larger until his fedora was brushing the ceiling. He suddenly bent over and shoved his face into Danny's and darkly said, "I am _dead_ serious about what I want. And you _will_ give it to me!"

Danny's eyes flared back in challenge as he growled, "And _what_ _makes you think_ that I will give it to you?"

The still gigantic Walker pulled away from the boy and bent over to his desk before pulling open one of its drawers and slipping something he had obviously retrieved from it into his pocket. He then bent back over to Danny and coldly replied, "Oh, I'm sure you will. And it will all be because of 'love'."

"_Love?"_ Danny furiously thought after having no clue what the jerk could mean.

But then, the teen began to get a bad feeling about it nevertheless because how Walker had said the word 'love'. The Warden had practically vomited the word out with spite and ridicule, as if it were the plague. Not only that, Danny knew quite well that the creep had no idea what 'love' meant in the least.

But Walker interrupted the boy's thoughts.

"Now, before we do anything else, I will tell you about my deal."

"Deal? What deal?" Danny gasped out in disbelief. _No way_ was he going to agree to any deal!

Suddenly, Walker lunged at the boy and grabbed under and around Danny's entire lower jaw and squeezed it with such force that the ghost was actually prying open the boy's mouth. The warden's very large hand, then, had essentially gagged the boy by not allowing Danny to _close _his mouth.

Danny tried to wrestle his jaw out of Warden's oversize black-gloved hand, but the hand held firm.

Now satisfied that he would not have any more verbal distractions from the boy until he was finished, Walker said with a small dark chuckle, "That's better, punk. You've always been bad about listening!"

Jerking Danny's opened jaw upward to force the boy to look into his narrowed eyes, Walker coldly continued, "As you know, I have enough offenses piled up against you that I could easily order your execution. And there is that other thing that I can hold over you. Heh-heh. There is an attractive paradox in all that…"

Danny frowned in confusion even as he thought, _What the heck does that mean?" _But then, his face melded into silent anger at his other thoughts. And as he tried to pull his jaw away again, he thought, "_For that matter, who cares? Just get to the point, jerk!"_

Walker grinned at the boy's obvious confusion and anger. And he actually liked the fact that the boy didn't give in easily.

This time, he let the boy's jaw go as he added, "And as you also know, Bullet and I no longer have an association. It was mutual, of course."

Danny's eyes widened slightly in surprise as he thought, _"How does he know that I know what happened?…"_ But then he silently groaned with his next sudden idea. "_Duh, the Observants did say that some of my enemies came willingly! And of course, Walker would probably be one of the first creeps in line to join that kind of crud!"_

But Danny said nothing out loud and merely glared at the ghost.

Still amused by the kid's reactions, Walker continued, "But now, I've been without a strong right-hand man—or I should say 'right-hand _ghost_'—for some time.

Danny resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

But suddenly, Walker's own eyes seemed to look right through him as the older ghost said in a tone which seemed to be a mixture of triumph and aggravation, "But then, an unplanned event happened that would actually result in two events that could work for me."

Unconsciously narrowing one of his eyes, Danny was now curious as he was perturbed with the warden. What was his enemy getting at? Still, he kept silent and listened.

"It all started when I finally captured one of my fugitives. It was an exceptional capture, as this ghost is hard to trick and has, let's say, 'influential connections'," Walker went on, studying the boy's face at every word.

Danny's mind began to race a bit. Just who could that ghost be? A few possibilities surfaced in his mind, but he had no time to narrow those guesses since the craggy-faced loser in front of him hadn't finished.

"In any case," Walker continued, though he had slowed his pace down, "this ghost was of special interest to me because of his special abilities. And I made a bargain with him, which he fulfilled."

Now Danny was even more curious but he was also getting more irritated about what Walker was babbling about. The ghost warden never ceased to be annoying to the boy.

Just then, both he and the warden turned to the knock on the main door to the office.

"Come in," Walker firmly said.

The door opened and four guards floated in, and each of them was holding a glowing green baton-like stick.

Danny immediately and dryly quipped, "Gee, you didn't tell me about the welcoming committee, Walker!"

"Very funny, punk," Walker tersely replied. "They are your escorts to the place I want to show you in a few minutes."

The warden silently motioned to the guards with a nod to his head. The four guards surrounded the boy just as Walker pulled out a small device out of his pocket. Once he had pushed the button, the metal bands melded back into the chair and all four guards quickly wrestled the boy up to a stand and successfully restrained his arms behind his back. A moment later, one of the guards aimed his weapon at the boy and fired twice. One of the two strong, stinging glowing bands wrapped itself around the boy's torso, pinning his arms to his sides and the other encircled and tightened around both of his hands that had been pinned behind him.

Though slightly dazed by the blow of the weapon, Danny still managed to resist the guards.

But when his efforts proved futile, Danny frowned and said, "Looks like they failed in the 'being polite' part at 'escort school'! But then again, what can I expect from your guards?!"

The Warden soared up to the restrained boy and quickly backhanded him in the face.

Danny saw a quick burst of stars with the blow but he still frowned in defiance even as Walker said, "Now, before we go on, I want to continue to…"

But Danny hotly interrupted him, "You seem to have a knack for cruel and unusual boredom with your lame speeches, Walker. So will you quit beating around the bush —or I should say — stop beating the bush to death and get to the point?"

"Another interesting choice of words, punk," Walker sneered as he backhanded Danny once again. This time the blow was so hard that Danny —and the guards holding him —actually fell back before the guards readjusted their hold on the teen.

"But you're right," Walker added, though his bony face never smiled in agreement. "So, let's get on with it. After all, once I'm through with you, I'll have fulfilled my end of the bargain."

"Since when…" Danny began, only to grunt in pain.

The young hybrid was about to point out that the warden never upholds his end of any bargain when Walker had come up to him once more and smacked him very hard in the face and stomach at the same time before the boy could get it all out. The force was enough to send Danny's head in another spin. Before the boy knew it, his chin had fallen to his chest and his knees had buckled enough that the guards had to hold him up.

Walker smiled evilly at the now helpless teen and said, "Like you want, I'm getting to the point and that was my _first point_: I want you nice and quiet-like until I finish. Now here's my _second point_: from now on, _you're _going to take Bullet's place!"

Danny's mind was still a bit dazed and he wasn't sure if he had heard the warden correctly. "W-What?" he finally managed to ask with a slightly slurred voice.

"You heard it. You have already been found guilty on whatever counts I picked. And your sentence is to do my bidding in this prison for all eternity!"

Now that the warden's words finally phased into his clearing brain, Danny instantly scowled in defiance and anger. He regained a firm footing and instantly pulled against the four guards.

The four ghosts struggled to control the youngest ghost as the boy spat, "I don't know and don't care where you get your lame ideas, Walker! But I'll never work for you!"

Walker slightly chuckled before nodding to the four guards, who promptly and roughly turned Danny completely around until he was facing the main door of the office. Then three of them posted themselves at his sides and behind him, while the fourth guard floated over to the door and opened it. Not a moment later and the guard in back of the teen pushed him harshly forward enough to make it clear that he wanted Danny to walk out of the office. The other guards kept their positions near the boy and Walker followed the entire group as they marched forward.

Even so, the four guards continued to struggle to get the young hybrid to comply at first, but they were finally able to plod along to where Walker had planned his next step.

Finally, the group traveled rather briskly through a few hallways before they slowed when they had entered a long hallway.

Danny glanced briefly at the numbers on the solid doors he was passing. They were moving upward. The first door he had seen had been labeled '40C', the second door across from it read '41C', then '42C' on the other side of '41C', and so on. He remembered Walker mentioning a 'cell 54C' in that one-sided phone conversation when they were in his office. So, could this mean that they were headed right to that cell?

But just as they reached the door for 'Cell 54C', Danny's ghost sense was activated.

Danny frowned as he thought, "_What's __**that**__ all about? There must be hundreds of ghosts in here!"_ But then he groaned to himself at his very next thought, _"Oh, yeah. Must be my 'I think I'm losing my powers' thing, which, of course, would mean some of them going haywire at the worst possible moment!"_

But before he could think of it any longer, he was being shoved away from in front of the door just before one of the guards unlocked and opened the door. And just as quickly, Danny was being shoved back through the doorway and into the cell.

And when his eyes met hers, he gasped, "Sam?!"

"Danny!" his girlfriend said in a panic as she pulled on the glowing chains that kept her against the wall. "I'm sorry…I tried to get away from them, but they were too strong!"

Danny pulled back against the guards still around him until he was facing Walker.

He growled in threat, "You let her go!"

Walker snickered darkly, "Not in your after-life, punk! I told you that I had unfinished business and that this all had to do with 'love', such as it is."

The warden quickly shoved his way into the cell, and made sure he shoved the still-bound Danny into the wall as he did. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the thing he had taken out of his desk. Without flinching, he placed the neck collar very much like the one he has used on Wulf on the girl, all the while ignoring her attempts to pull away.

"_Oh, no!"_ Danny thought as he felt his heart rate increase. But then he suddenly thought: hadn't the Observants told him that they would _only be taking one_ of his loved ones as hostage? But he had no time to think about that anymore. He desperately focused his thoughts and hurriedly called to his girl telepathically, _"Sam! It's me! Don't worry. I'll think of some way to get us out of here!"_

He frowned when he didn't feel any sort of connection with the girl in front of him much less any answer to his mental call….But then, he realized why. She was obviously scared and strong emotions always blocked their telepathic powers.

Still, he knew Walker was expecting him to give in. But that didn't mean he would do it willingly. He finally seethed to the Warden, "All right! Leave her alone! I'll do what you want!"

Half-grinning and half-sneering, Walker replied through the side of his mouth, "That's more like it, Ghost Punk.

Walker motioned to his guards and they immediately seized the young hybrid and pulled him from Sam's cell and re-locked the door.

"Hey!" Danny immediately protested. "I told you I would do what you want. Let her go!"

Walker grabbed Danny by the collar of his costume, pulled him up and sneered, "True, but I don't trust you, punk!"

The warden abruptly shoved the boy back down and Danny staggered back, and grunted a bit when his back slammed against the outside of the cell door. Smiling wickedly, Walker then pulled two glowing wrist bands from his pocket. He silently pointed to the boy's back; and one of the guards deactivated Danny's wrist restraints but not the bands still pinning his arms to his sides. Walker nodded his head to the two guards next to Danny and each of them grabbed one of Danny's hands from behind his back and forcefully pulled each of them forward, holding them steady for Walker. The warden then promptly placed a glowing wrist band on each of Danny's wrists.

The hybrid rolled his eyes and frowned when Walker added, "These are some more of my insurance. These bands will keep you in this prison because they make your human form unable to phase through this place unless I give you permission to leave—which means never!"

Danny frowned in more irritation as he argued the point again, "What about Sam? Aren't you going to let her go?"

Walker shoved his face into the boy's own as he growled back, "Not until I know that I've tamed that wild mustang hide of yours, punk! So how long she'll need to be in here will be up to you. And, more importantly, whether or not I'll have to use that pretty little collar on her will also be up to you."

The warden motioned to the guards still around the bound boy and they shoved Danny forward again before leading him back to his own cell. Once they were there and after unlocking the cell, they pushed Danny in with such force that he tripped and fell hard onto his face on the ground.

The guards and the warden all chuckled wickedly as Danny twisted his upper body over and sat up. The teen growled in anger and defiance before one of the guards raised his baton. Though a little alarmed at that, Danny still glared in defiance. But instead of shooting the boy, the guard deactivated the arm restraints still pinning his arms. Once free, Danny reflexively rubbed his arms and wiped the ectoplasm from under his still just-acquired aching nose.

"Enjoy your rest while you can, punk," Warden said with the same sneer that really had never left his face since Danny first saw him. "Tomorrow, we start your training."

Once Danny had heard the defining clang of the lock securing his cell, he charged up a small green ball of ectoplasmic energy to illuminate his cell. He pulled himself up off of the floor and quickly inspected the room, which took less than fifteen seconds to do. There was one small barred window and a small bed that was directly under it and against the wall.

He floated over to the bed before floating upward and looking out the window. He could see that it faced the open field-like central area of the prison. He then drifted downward until he was sitting on the bed. He scooted back a bit until his back was resting against the wall. He wiped more of the ectoplasm that had oozed out of his nose before closing his eyes with a definite reason for doing that.

He concentrated and tried to touch his girlfriend's mind. "_Sam?!_

But then he frowned. He didn't feel that he had connected with her.

Concentrating harder, he mentally called again, _"Sam! It's me, Danny! Uh, are you there?!"_

Once again, his face scrunched up in confusion. Why wasn't she answering him?

"_Sam!"_ Danny thought more desperately as he continued to try to mentally call his girlfriend.

But as if he was on a dead telephone line, all he heard was silence.

His furrowed his brow in both worry and frustration. True, it had been a while since they had used their telepathic powers, but he was sure that he was using it at least on his end. But then he jolted when a possible reason for her not answering him materialized in his mind and he didn't like it at all.

"Did Walker hurt her?" he asked himself in worry. But he frowned after thinking about how his girl looked during their brief encounter in her cell. "She didn't look hurt….she looked scared." He frowned again; that didn't seem right, either.

In fact, his mind drifted more on the subject. Sam did look…odd. And her…eyes…they weren't right. She was more than scared; she looked _terrified_. And he had never seen that look on Sam before…In fact, he didn't even think Sam would ever be terrified…Sure, that collar would intimidate anyone…but to be _terrorized_? If anything, he would think Sam would be very irked by it…..Still, he wasn't satisfied with that explanation as to why she couldn't answer him.…Then another thought struck him…That's it! The collar! Maybe it was like the collar he had to wear when he was a prisoner in the Realm Beyond Time. Maybe that collar somehow limited Sam's telepathic powers!

He shook his head after dismissing the possibility. Those kind of collars controlled _ghost powers_. And telepathic powers were not exclusive to ghosts; humans could definitely have them…Not only that, Sam's telepathic powers were technically _spirit_ powers. So, how could a _ghostly_ object control her telepathic powers? Of course, he wasn't sure. Still, the collar he had in the Realm Beyond Time was much stronger and had Timeless Magic working within it. Heck, it even looked different! No, the reason she hadn't answered his mental calls was because she was very upset—which definitely qualified as being a strong emotion.

"Maybe I can try again later when she has calmed down," he chuckled a bit. "And knowing her, that won't be too long. Heck! She might have already figured out how to pick the lock on her chains and then the door and is trying to find a way to me right now!"

He smiled. He really was very lucky to have her as his girl!

Still, he had his own work to do, too. He had to figure out a way to get to Sam as well and get them both out of this mess while still satisfying those now totally deceitful and obnoxious Observants!

But his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a bolt unlocking followed by the clang of the door of his cell opening. He quickly stood up.

"Time to orient you to your new job, kid," the guard growled, obviously not at all pleased with the task he had been given.

"Hey, Walker said it would be tomorrow!" Danny protested with a frown.

"Rules change more often than not in this prison. That's the first lesson," the guard still said with an irritated tone.

"I bet!" Danny replied back, not too happy himself. But then he smirked mischievously at his next thought. He could use this whole mess to his advantage after all. He quickly added with a smugger tone, "Wait a minute. Since I'm the new—and I should add the totally _improved_— 'Bullet', shouldn't you be saying, "Time to orient you to your new job, _sir_?"

The guard narrowed his eyes in irritation but then he suddenly smirked darkly and replied, "Yes, _sir_… Right this way if you would…"

Danny gasped when the ghost suddenly thrust his weapon at him and a jolt of electricity pushed him forward.

Danny quickly growled back, but kept up with the guard as he followed him to their destination. A couple of more guards fell in behind the two, but Danny noticed that all the guards kept a discrete distance from him. He relaxed a bit. He was sure that Walker had informed them that he was their new 'Bullet'. But he was even more certain that the guards wouldn't be jumping at pretending to accept, let alone respect him right now—at least not when Walker wasn't around. Not that he blamed them since the feeling was mutual.

"I'm ordered to give you a tour first…_sir_," the first guard who had come into his cell just moments ago said through thick sarcasm.

Danny noticed that the guard had slightly growled out the word '_sir'_. He wasn't going to let this loser down-talk to him!

Danny narrowed his eyes. "I suggest you watch your tone. I'm not gonna take crud from you, too. Walker's enough. Now, how about we start again, and you tell me you name." But there was a hint of a demand in the boy's voice.

The guard glowered back at him, though he also sized him up. But knowing he couldn't go against Walker's orders—even if he didn't agree with them—the guard reluctantly grumbled, "Ordo. Sir. I am second only to you."

"_Figures why he's so surly, then. Walker's good at messing with everyone,"_ Danny mused, but instead he said, "Okay, Ordo, let's get this over with!"

The guard stiffened uncomfortably but still turned to lead the young hybrid toward their designation.

As Danny passed other guards in the area, each of them glared slightly at him but said nothing and moved out of his way.

Finally, Ordo, his small band of guards, and Danny arrived at the central common field-like area of the prison.

Danny could see that all the ghost prisoners were already gathered there. They were obviously separated into neat rows and blocks, probably from their sections of the prison. Female and male prisoners were also separated by their respective sections of the prison.

Finally, Ordo stopped in the open area right in the middle of the gathered prisoners. Danny quickly scanned all of the ghosts and unconsciously frowned. He did not recognize any of these prisoners. In fact, the only 'prisoner' he recognized was Sam, who was at the front of one of the far rows—and, unfortunately, she still had that collar Walker had put on her.

But oddly, as the teen drew nearer to that row of female prisoners, his ghost sense fired off right before he reached his girlfriend. And he also noticed that every female prisoner was watching him—_except_ Sam. She kept her head down the entire time.

"_Sam?"_ he called out mentally.

He frowned when his girlfriend continued to look down at the ground.

"Well, I can see that you've started your orientation to my prison," a voice commented, which interrupted Danny's thoughts.

Danny turned toward the warden and frowned a bit more before replying, "Why did you bring Sam out here? She's not a ghost."

"And will continue _not_ to be as long as you cooperate. But that's beside the point. She's still my prisoner. And don't forget that she's still my ace card."

Danny gritted his teeth, since he was trying to resist the urge to throw a barb —verbal or ectoplasmic —at the Warden. But he walked up to his girl and whispered, "Sam? Are you all right?"

This time the girl looked up at him before she looked to the ground.

But then, Danny frowned with confusion. In that split second that their eyes met, Danny felt strange….He felt…doubt—but not her doubt. He wasn't sure….but he quickly dismissed the thought. Why would he doubt anything about his girl?

But before Danny could say anything more to her, his attention was reverted back to Walker when the ghost had suddenly barked out, "Alright, all prisoners back to your cells!"

When Danny turned back to Sam, she had already turned around and was being escorted along with the others back to her cell. He frowned with mixed feelings about that. She hadn't uttered even a squeak of protest about leaving. Now that he thought about it, she hadn't said much of _anything_ so far…Still, maybe she was just staying cool because of that collar _and_ until she could figure a way to get that collar off. He knew that she didn't like to practice or make a big deal about her special powers that she had discovered during their last encounter with Spectra. But right now, he sure hoped she would definitely focus on using them when they both needed them right now.

Though he was partially relieved by that thought, he still of course wasn't happy about the situation. After all, he couldn't be sure whether that collar affected her powers. And he didn't trust what could happen to her out of his eyeshot. Still, he did sigh in slight relief at his next thought. At least if she had to go back to her single cell, she would be kept safe from all the other prisoners—and from anyone knowing about her powers.

He was about to assure her via their telepathic link once again that he would think of some way out of this mess when his thoughts were interrupted by Walker.

"This way," the Warden simply said as he turned and headed to a small building on the easternmost side of the courtyard.

Danny gritted his teeth as he followed the ghost warden and his guards to that building. After all, he had to obey the jerk to keep Sam safe.

But as soon as the boy entered the building, his throat tightened. He instantly knew by the looks and _sounds_ of the place that things had already taken a very dark turn. This room was full of all sorts of hideous devices and was obviously some kind of torture chamber! And there were a lot of guards in here who were obviously getting their jollies with torturing some prisoners who were also in here!

The Prison Head sneered when he could easily read the boy's disconcerted face. Not that he cared. Still, he pushed on since he wanted to get this over with as soon as he could. He darkly smirked. But that didn't mean he couldn't have his own kind of fun while doing it. He silently nodded to one of the guards when he saw that the boy was still looking the place over for the moment.

Finally, Danny couldn't help but blurt out, "W-What are we doing here?"

Walker tersely replied, "What did you think 'doing what I want' meant? It's time to train you in your new _duties_, since most of them will be in this 're-orientation' room."

Danny swallowed hard. Yes, he had unwillingly promised to do what the warden wanted to keep Sam safe. But he had also hoped he would have had some time to think of a way to get Sam and himself out of this mess before he actually would have to do anything that went against his morals.

But now, here he was in a no-win situation. If he refused, Walker would not hesitate to hurt Sam…He mentally gasped at the reality behind his next thought. But if he _agreed_, he could very well be made to _torture_ these ghosts when they hadn't done anything to him and were definitely in no position to defend themselves! He had to stall for time!

Without really thinking of what he was saying, Danny stammered, "I-I thought that I was just doing the 'tour thing' for now! Uh, can't m-my training start tomorrow?"

Narrowing his eyes in displeasure, Walker quietly growled, "I thought you might say something like that."

Just then, the door to the 're-orientation' room creaked open and in stepped Sam and a guard escort. And Sam had glowing handcuffs on.

Danny's heart dropped in dread. Now he had no choice!

Once again, the head of the prison could guess what must be on the Ghost Boy's mind when the boy's face had paled when he saw the girl. Good. The warden silently signaled to the guard; and that guard promptly led the girl to his side.

Danny could feel every one of his muscles tense and his heart rate increase at seeing Sam dangerously close to that creep. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the warden in silent warning.

Walker, in turn, smirked in a mixture of amusement and distain. True, he had the punk where he wanted him, but it had surely been pathetically easy to get him there. He practically sneered, "I thought you might want to show my ace card how quickly you learn things!"

Sam, meanwhile, looked from the Warden to Danny before lowering her eyes to the floor.

Danny swallowed thickly as his mind whirled in indecision and apprehension. He knew that Sam would want him to fight back or even refuse to cooperate, but she should also know that he wouldn't stand by and see her hurt. Not only that, but they hadn't been able to mentally discuss any plans, or if she had tried to use her powers with that collar on…He paused at his next thought. And there was that _other_ problem. He didn't want to hurt any ghost who didn't deserve it—or use his powers to do it— much less _torture_ anyone with his powers. Nor did he want Walker to think that he would be such a willing partner to do _anything_ for him.

Trying to ignore the beads of sweat that were beginning to form on his forehead, Danny set his jaw and finally replied, "You don't need to have her see any despicable thing you'll want to have me do, Walker."

"Keeping ornery prisoners in line is part of the rules, kid. And don't forget that you agreed to follow them on my terms! We wouldn't want to see your pretty little pet become a _ghost_ prisoner for all eternity, now would we?" the Warden insisted, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the remote for the collar around his girl's neck.

Danny silently startled when he saw Sam's eyes widen; this was getting even more serious. Walker only threatened to hurt Sam before this, but now he was willing to...kill her?

"Figure you would change the rules again," Danny carefully said as he tensed even more. "That wasn't part of the deal."

"Oh, but it was. I believe that Ordo already told you that it was 'rule number one'," Walker smugly replied as he exaggerated the movement of his finger hovering over the button of the remote control as if he were a gunslinger just itching to pull the trigger.

Danny frowned and gritted his teeth. If he knew that the stakes were going to be this high…But then he paused. How could he have known? And what if he did anyways? There was nothing he could do about it since the Observants were orchestrating all of this. Just being plopped here unprepared with Walker was dangerous enough. But now that Walker was more than willing to put Sam's life in danger…He tried to control his breathing at the emotion. He didn't want to be forced to do anything wrong and he especially didn't want Sam see him do that, but what else could he do at the moment?

The teen's heart was now heavy with his decision. He was about to send a mental message of apology to his girl, when Walker interrupted his thoughts.

"Come over here, Phantom," the Warden ordered.

Danny hadn't noticed at first that the black-hatted ghost had walked over to one of the prisoners who was bound spread-eagle to some kind of table. But now that the teen did notice, he could also see that there was a guard holding onto a glowing green baton-like weapon right next to the prisoner as well. Begrudgingly, Danny walked over to the area.

Once again, Walker's beady eyes danced with evil delight. He was relishing watching the kid squirm as the minutes ticked by.

As soon as the teen was standing next to the bound ghost, the Warden said, "This ghost caused a scene while the prisoners were being served their evening meal last night." The Prison Head grabbed the green baton-like weapon from the guard and extended it to the teen before he added, "He needs to be re-oriented and taught manners."

Danny unexpectedly froze when he looked at the weapon.

Walker immediately thrust the weapon into the boy's hand, wrapped an enlarged hand over them and growled, "Here's how you do it, kid!"

The Warden activated the weapon and the bound ghost screamed in agony as the ectoplasmic beam lit into him. Ghostly green smoke erupted all over the ghost's body.

Danny gasped and his eyes widened. He was about to resist when Walker deactivated the weapon and let go of his hand. Danny bit his lower lip and tried to control his breathing even as the ghost right before him was still panting in pain.

"Once is never enough in my book, kid. And now that you know what to do, hit him again!" Warden ordered with a sneer.

"B-But what could he have possibly done that—" Danny begun, only for the Prison Head to rudely interrupt him, "My saying he needs to be re-oriented—

"You mean _punished_," Danny readily countered.

The Prison Head's skeletal teeth rattled as he barked, "My orders are enough for you to know, Phantom!" He pointed to Sam and jeered, "Now don't make me let _her_ tell you again. Show him how we treat ghosts who disobey the rules!"

Sam suddenly gasped, "Stop this, Walker!"

The white-suited ghost narrowed his eyes and angrily warned her, "Stay out of this, girl. This is between me and the kid!"

Danny felt his throat tighten, but he quickly sent her a mental response, _"Sam! I'm sorry! But you know I can't let you get hurt. You know I have to!"_

Danny was disappointed that she didn't respond. She should know that he didn't want to do what he had to do. Still, he slowly aimed the weapon at the still panting ghost lying helpless on the table. He closed his eyes and a jolt of guilt raced up his spine when he activated the weapon and heard the ghost's painful screams.

The boy felt like it had been he who had been struck—but his pain was emotional. And he could barely contain it as his body shook slightly.

"See, that wasn't too bad, was it?" The Warden sarcastically commented. "And I know it'll only get easier for you. After all, I know firsthand your _modus operandi_ when it comes to attacking ghosts—if you catch my drift."

Danny frowned at the older ghost's hint. He had to admit that Walker had a point. He was willing to attack ghosts who were causing trouble—but only if they didn't heed his warnings. But this was different. This ghost—

Once again his thoughts were rudely interrupted by the Prison Head. "Now, Phantom, there are other ghosts that also need 're-orienting'. This way…"

After several minutes of forcing Danny to torture other ghosts, the Prison Head felt almost satisfied. He had the usually cocky teen practically under his thumb. True, so far the kid didn't obey him right away each time he ordered him to inflict pain into the prisoners. But the Warden knew that he was inflicting a just as debilitating pain onto the boy each time he forced the boy to obey. He could tell by the look on the boy's face so far that he was succeeding.

He was going to do what no one had been able to do thus far, and that was to break this Phantom stallion.

Walker knew by how quiet the boy had become and how he was shaking that with just a bit more of this he would have this punk tamed!

Finally, he announced, "Okay, kid. Your training is nearly complete."

Danny looked briefly at the Warden and the older ghost wickedly smiled when it was all too obvious that the kid didn't seem happy to hear the news.

Danny quickly broke his gaze from the Prison Head and glanced over at Sam. He startled at what he saw.

She looked _angry_ at him and he felt as if his heart had stopped. He actually understood why, but he had thought she would understand what he had to do…

But before he could try to call mentally to her, all of the sudden there was a loud noise at the back of the room.

Danny looked toward the door at the back that he had noticed earlier. It burst open and two guards came stumbling in as they barely controlled a particularly uncooperative male ghost within their clutches.

"Just in time! Bring him over here!" Walker immediately called to the struggling guards and prisoner.

The guards pushed forward against the opposing movement of their prisoner. But one of the guards lost his footing and the prisoner broke free! He soared past the Warden and the others and headed toward the exit.

Walker barked, "Get him, Phantom!"

The teen hesitated until he saw the Warden laid his finger right on top of the button on that remote.

Danny soared through the door and to the courtyard outside. He could see several prisoners walking in neat rows behind their guard escorts. That is, until the fleeing prisoner slammed into one of the lines and bowled over a lot of the prisoners and a couple of guards. Still, the escapee quickly regained his footing and headed toward the prison gates.

But the young hybrid quickly caught up to the fleeing prisoner and easily apprehended him in the middle of the courtyard.

"Let me go!" the male ghost demanded as he struggled in vain with the Ghost Boy.

But when the prisoner finally looked up and saw who had so easily captured him, he gasped in both recognition and disbelief, "I thought there had to be some kind of mistake when I saw you earlier. I had always thought you were a good ghost. But it's obvious now that you're not 'cause you _are_ _helping_ Walker!"

Danny choked on the knot that instantly formed in his throat. He was barely able to whisper, "I'm sorry. I have to…"

"Sure, you do. Nobody can really win here. Walker always gets what he wants," the prisoner sadly said as he stopped resisting.

Danny felt the guilt that had been pulling at him since he had unjustly hurt that first ghost practically strangle him this time. And he felt as crestfallen as the ghost he had in his clutches. Nevertheless, he kept the ghost secured and headed back to the small building.

But much to the Ghost Boy's chagrin, Walker and several of his guards—including the one who was escorting Sam—came spilling out of the torture chamber and into the courtyard as well.

Other guards who had been escorting other prisoners to various parts of the prison corralled their charges to the courtyard when they heard the commotion.

Within moments, it seemed as if the whole prison had gathered at the courtyard.

Instead of being upset, however, the Prison Head sneered with his next thought. It would be the perfect way to crush the boy.

He hurried up to the teen and the captured escapee.

"As I said, Phantom, your training is nearly complete," the Warden began. "And now it's time to show everyone else what happens to those who dare challenge me. I want you to waste this piece of vermin!"

Danny hitched in a gasp. No! He couldn't do that! But if he didn't, then Walker would probably not only waste this ghost, but also Sam! But all of this was so wrong!

"Enough of your stalling, Phantom!" Walker jeered as he fingered the remote.

Though Danny saw what Walker was doing, he growled to himself as something within him stirred. He had enough of this! None of this was right; and if the Observants thought he was going to do something as bad as this, they were wrong. And if they let Walker kill Sam if he didn't, then it was time for him to call them on this whole thing.

Noticing the change in the boy, Walker smiled darkly and pulled out a small box before he pushed a button on it.

Sam screamed at the unexpected bolt of electricity that was being driven into her neck. Instantly gasping and writhing in pain, she fell to her knees.

All other the prisoners gathered around gulped at the sight.

"No! Walker, stop! Stop it!" Danny loudly gasped as his heart tightened at the sight, and unknowingly released the ghost he had been restraining before he reflexively lunged forward to intervene.

But then he gasped again at what happened next.

Sam….She _wasn't_ Sam anymore!

Not more than a few moments after the electricity had been pumped into her from the collar, Sam was melding into a…._ghost?_!

Oh, no!

But as the ghost pulled herself back up to a kneeling position and tried to pull the collar off, Danny's racing heart slowed a little. That ghost _wasn't_ Sam! Though she did looked like another teenager, she didn't look anything like his girl.

That ghost girl had long red hair which cascaded down her back, yet it was neatly pulled back into a French-braid. She was wearing grey jeans with lots of some kind of small black-and-white birds embroidered up one of its legs and a two-piece black long-sleeve shirt that had been pulled up at the elbows. Her skin was a ghostly green and now that he could see her eyes, they definitely were not Sam's warm amethyst eyes. That girl's eyes were red and definitely glowing with anger and pain at the moment.

Meanwhile, Walker's eyes widened at the sight as well and he quickly turned off the collar.

But the warden had no other time to respond before the girl ghost stood up and angrily yelled, "That wasn't part of the bargain, Walker! I can't hold my form under that kind of stress!"

Danny was still slightly stunned by what he had seen, but his mind whirled nevertheless, _"__**That's**__ why my telepathic powers weren't getting through to her and why my ghost sense went off whenever I got near her! And that doubt I had when we last looked at each other wasn't wrong, either! I didn't think it was Sam for that moment, but now I know __**that it wasn't**__ Sam all along!"_

Focusing back to the scene at hand, Danny narrowed his eyes in anger. He would never put it past this kind of dastardly behavior from Walker. Now more focused, he growled in protest, "I should have figured you'd still be rotten enough to pull this kind of stunt, Walker! So, of course you know that all bets are off!"

But Walker was half-listening to the boy. Instead, he growled at the ghost girl, "All you told me was that you could mimic anyone, Nightingale! You never said anything about not being able to hold onto your façade! And now you'll be sorry!"

"I did what you told me to do!" the red-headed ghost girl protested. "Wearing this collar was not part of the deal, either! But how did I know that you were going to add pain for spice? I can't hold onto any form—especially when I have to suppress my ghostly aura to mimic a human—if it includes getting zapped out of the blue! You should've warned me about it all!"

"Silence!" Walker yelled through gritted teeth. "I'll teach you more about respect right now!"

He pushed the button on the collar again.

Instantly yelling in pain once more as the electricity pummeled her, the red-haired ghost girl's green skin lit up even more and her ghostly aura paled as she fell to her knees.

"Leave her alone!" Danny angrily commanded, now resolved to setting things right again.

Before Walker or the guards could react, Danny soared over to the warden, grabbed the control box to the collar and squeezed it until it collapsed within his fist. Then with the same fist, he sent a powerful left hook into the older ghost's jaw.

Walker ricocheted off of Danny's blow and ended up bowling over several guards.

But the white-suited ghost was only momentarily stunned and he quickly barked out to the guards he was still on top of, "Stop him, you morons!"

A small group of guards pulled themselves from under the Warden, lifted their weapons and opened fire.

But all of the other prisoners who had been previously assembled panicked at the sudden activity and they scattered like a flock of startled birds. They inadvertently shoved some of the attacking guards to the ground in their haste to flee the scene.

That red-headed ghost girl, however, fell when she collided with one of the guards. That guard grunted in anger and aimed his weapon at her!

Danny, meanwhile, easily dodged the green beams fired at him and immediately returned fire. His more powerful energy rays plowed right through the guards as easily as if the teen was mowing down grass. But then he spied that scene with the red-headed ghost girl and the guard out of the corner of his eye.

He immediately swooped down and plowed into that guard and sent him clear across the open common area.

The girl Walker had called 'Nightingale' blinked in disbelief with what Danny had just done for her but still scrambled to get away.

Satisfied that he was now free to fight even harder, Danny twisted around and headed back toward the other guards, all the while charging fierce green energy into both of his hands.

He quickly fired several volleys of his energy at the foray of guards, and easily hit his mark each time.

But then all of the sudden, Danny felt that now-all-too-familiar-and-totally-unwanted feeling creep up his spine. No! He tried to steel himself as the white lightening clawed at his spine. But he couldn't. He felt overwhelmingly weak right afterward and that was enough of a distraction for the prison guards' beams to hit their target.

Danny felt his body riveted by several green beams, which had hit and stunned him. Groaning with the pain, he fell to the ground. And when his mind had cleared enough from the blows from within and outside of his body, he was aware of pressure around his windpipe, his arms pinned to his sides again and his body being lifted upward. A moment later, he could see that Walker had one oversized hand around his neck and another squeezing his torso and pinned arms before he was now face-to-face with Walker's livid, flaring green eyes.

"One thing's for certain, punk!" the Warden said with his voice filled with ire, "All bets** are** off! But before I get my turn with you, I'll make you wish that you hadn't crossed me in my own territory again!"

Before Danny could react, he was reeling from a hard blow to his jaw and he was crashing into ground before he saw total blackness….

* * *

><p>Danny's own groan woke him and he slowly opened his green eyes.<p>

"OWW!" he blurted out when he could still feel the ache in his jaw.

But when he tried to pull one of his hands up to rub his jaw, he couldn't. His arms were still bound!

_"It's official, Fenton,"_ Danny groaned to himself, trying to blink away his blurry vision. _"Lightning __does__ strike the same place __many times__, especially that awful electrical-pain-up-my-spine kind! I just wish it wasn't happening nearly every time I need my powers the most!"_

He moved again and groaned once more. Man, he was sure sore from that last fight! He pulled himself up to a sitting position and held in his urge to groan again. Finally, his vision had cleared enough to see that he was back in a cell.

"Great! I'm back in Walker's 'special suite', which definitely isn't good news," he grumbled when he recognized that this was actually the same cell in which he had first started. He stood up and tried to stretch a little. "Well, it could be worse. I could have my feet tied as well."

He struggled against his bonds and sighed when they only stretched a little against his efforts before shrinking right back and pinning his arms to his sides. He walked over to his cot and sat down on it before he scooted back as before until his back was against the wall. He closed his eyes, thinking about all that had happened so far. Of course, he shouldn't be surprised, then, that he ended up back here after attacking the head jerk and his jerky minions…

"_Well, at least Sam was never here and she's safe…at least I hope so….And just as well that I'm back in here. I deserve it after doing those awful things," _he sadly said before opening his eyes and flexing his muscles once more in the hope that he would be able to snap the green glowing bands off.

But they still wouldn't budge.

He closed his eyes again and let his thoughts drift. And the initial ones were accusatory. _"I shouldn't have agreed to any of that. I didn't get it before, but now I totally understand that 'two wrongs don't make a right' thing people talk about. I don't blame any of those ghosts that I hurt for hating me. After all, that would make me as bad as the ghosts who attack my home without any reason. I should've taken my chances and refused." _He paused before adding_, "But then again, did I really have a choice? I did think that ghost girl was Sam…And I couldn't… _He paused again with his next question. _"But speaking of that ghost girl, just what's up with her? What was in it for her to try to make me think she was Sam? What did Walker call her? Nightingale? That's right. Just what was her game?"_

Suddenly, he heard a noise to his left. He opened his eyes again and turned toward it.

He tensed a bit when it was obvious that someone was opening his cell door! He immediately jumped off of the bed.

A moment later, that same guard who had first taken him on his 'tour', whose name was Ordo, came inside.

He aimed his glowing green baton in threat at the bound teen.

Though fear threatened to stab him, Danny nevertheless held his ground even though he knew a lot of pain was about to come from that weapon at any moment.

Without another word, Ordo shot a green beam at him!

Before Danny knew it, the glowing green _bindings around him _were vibrating before they were reabsorbed into the prison weapon.

Danny's eyes widened in disbelief before he looked at the guard in confusion.

But suddenly, Ordo's body began to queerly quiver! Its shape suddenly twisted out of proportion before it quickly melded into that ghost girl Walker called 'Nightingale'.

"You!" Danny hissed with a frown. "What do you want?"

"What does any ghost want in this stinking place?" she emotionlessly replied as she walked nearer to Danny.

Danny blinked in surprise at her reply as he asked, "I-I don't understand. You tricked me and were working for…"

"I don't work for _any_ ghost, dude," she suddenly growled, her red eyes flaring a bit. "I came the same way as you—against my will….Walker had seen me many times on his 'patrols'…and unfortunately for me, I guess he took a strong liking to me…Then one day, I ended up here."

She shivered at the thought but continued, "And he told me in no uncertain terms that if I wanted to get any kind of special treatment, I had to do what he wanted."

Danny frowned at her and said, "So, you just gave in just like that?"

Once again the ghost girl's eyes flared as she answered through gritted teeth, "You should talk! As if you have a right to accuse me of anything after what I saw you do!"

Danny angrily replied, "Is that why you came, then? To get your jollies making me feel like a worm about that? I'm doing a good job myself with that already, so you're wasting your time!"

He suddenly paused before blurting out his next thought, "Wait a minute! How did you get here anyways? Did Walker send you to…"

"Don't talk about that cretin!" she growled back. "I hate him! He made me do that—and lots of other creepy things! You should know that here in the Ghost Zone you'll do anything to keep from getting into further trouble, especially if it means avoiding the Oblivion. Didn't you get a taste of that in that 're-orientation' room?"

The two fell to a brief, yet uncomfortable, silence.

Once more, the red-headed girl glared at the boy and added, "So, there's really no difference between the two of us, huh? Except that I've been doing it so long I don't really care one way or the other as long as I survive." She chuckled bitterly, "Didn't expect me to say that, huh? So what?! So what if I don't have the best afterlife?…I do what I have to!"

Danny really felt guilty all over again. He had been too harsh with her. After all, she was right. He was no better than her. He had briefly submitted to do Walker's evil bidding, too. The only difference was that this ghost girl had done so for her own sake—he had been willing to do it for Sam's sake…

Another awkward silence hung in the air.

Then it occurred to Danny. Why was she here? She had to be taking some kind of risk in coming here. Maybe there was more to her than she was willing to admit. He finally said more gently, "Hey, Nightingale…."

"**That's **_**not**_** my name**!" she seethed before she suddenly reacted. Before she knew it, she had gotten literally into his face and her hands had lit up with her red ectoplasmic energy.

"Whoah! Easy!" Danny exclaimed, raising his hands in surrender as he backed away from her. "I thought that's what Walker called you. Sorry!"

But the girl wasn't really listening. She moved closer toward him, her eyes and hands still flaring with her ire when she practically yelled, "My name is _Molly_. Molly Mockingbird! Walker decided that he didn't like my real name and so he took the liberty of calling me 'Nightingale'... Urgh! I hate it when he calls me that and I hate it when others call me that, and I especially hate it when those I don't know say it!"

She didn't give Danny the chance to respond as she raised her angry glowing finger at him and continued to rant, "And so, I don't want anybody calling me that! Understood? Just because I…compromise myself doesn't mean that I have totally lost who I am."

But then she suddenly chuckled, though it was definitely still a bitter one. "Maybe in a way, I should be glad that Walker calls me that. That way, I can say _someone else_ did everything I've had to do, and it wouldn't really be _me_…." Then she added a bit more sadly, "Though, really, it seems that I'm always a different person…That's really who I am."

She looked up; and when she saw the pity surrounding Danny's eyes, she suddenly grew angry again. With her red ectoplasmic energy flaring once more, she demanded, "Why are you looking at me like that? I don't want your sympathy! And for that matter, who the heck are you? You gotta be nothing but trouble 'cause every time Walker remembered you weren't his prisoner, he got so hot and bothered that he could bust! And when he did, he took it out on everybody, especially his _other_ prisoners!"

"Hey!" Danny suddenly objected, his green eyes flaring briefly with her insulting remark this time. "I'm not in here because I was on everyone's '_must invite'_ list! And now that I think about it, who invited _you_ here in my cell? If I want insults, I'll just wait for Walker to rub it in my face since I'm his prisoner _now_ and he can come here anytime and do just that!"

Molly's eyes widened at his sudden outburst. He was right! Of course he was a prisoner here. With her being caught up in being angry, she had forgotten why she had come here, even to the point of threatening him with her ghost energy! And when she just realized that he wasn't even countering her red energy with his own—and more powerful—green one even though she thought he could easily do that, she calmed a little, lowered her head and extinguished her red energy from her hands. Now what would he think? She had to think of a way to cool things off again….And she had a quick idea on how to do that.

Danny gasped when Molly changed back into Sam all of the sudden. But he wasn't at all amused or placated by it. However, he didn't want to fight her; and so keeping his voice steady, he said, "You shouldn't have tricked me back then. And at least _Sam _would never have given in—or let me give in, either."

The ghost girl's amethyst eyes teared up before they melded to red again when Molly returned to her true form once more. "So, that _is_ her name. The girl you like," she mumbled as she tried to steel herself.

"Yeah," Danny quietly replied.

"So, the stories about you are true," Molly added, more in control of the emotions raging inside of her, though the sadness in her eyes still showed through. "And this 'Sam' must be something special."

"She is," he simply answered.

They fell silent for several moments before Danny finally said, "Look, Molly. Just why did you come here?"

Her sad eyes looked at him before fear surrounded them when his question finally registered. She stammered, "I-I…"

But then she stopped, swallowed hard and continued, "Y-You still helped me, you know, defended me out there even when you knew I tricked you. I wanted to thank you."

Danny blinked in disbelief, confusion and some embarrassment. She risked getting caught out of her cell just to _thank _him? And she couldn't do that when she first got in here, but instead just laid right into him? He drew up his left arm and rubbed the back of his neck, all the while fishing for what he could say now to _that_. He finally shrugged and remarked, "Uh, you're welcome? Is that all? Why couldn't you've just said that when you first got in here?" He thought a moment and added with an embarrassed chuckle, "Oh, yeah. That's right. I wasn't exactly open to you when you first got here."

"That's okay," she softly said. "I didn't deserve it."

Now Danny felt even more guilty and he said, "Hey, look. I didn't mean it like that. I don't deserve you trying to understand me, either. I helped you out there because I couldn't stand by and let any of the defenseless prisoners get hurt anymore, especially after what I did—and that included you."

"Would you have acted differently if you knew I wasn't as good as your girlfriend?" Molly sadly countered.

This time Danny frowned in confusion and slight irritation. Just what was with this ghost girl? And his irritation spilled over into his voice as he replied, "Just what's that supposed to mean? I don't think all ghosts are bad, especially if they end up in Walker's prison. He's got the reputation in the Ghost Zone of locking up anyone if they so much as look cross-eyed at him. And I know that once he has you in his prison, he likes to keep you squirming under his egotistical thumb. So, I usually think that his prisoners are pretty much on the innocent side."

"But I wasn't innocent," she again countered.

Danny frowned again and tersely said, "Well, as you know, I'm not much better, but I didn't want to do anything bad anymore. So, it wouldn't have changed how I acted."

This time the ghost girl smiled weakly and replied, "Then I'm glad that you gave me the benefit of a doubt. You are different, like the stories say…And are you really half-human?"

"Yes," he simply said. "Does that matter?"

"No. I just wanted to hear from you to see if that part was true."

Another awkward pause fell between the two before Molly broke the silence. But Danny could tell that she was uneasy in getting out what she wanted to say, "I-I, uhm, I'm sorry I tricked you. I guess that's really why I came. To apologize and to thank you….And, and, I want to help you get out of here. That's the least I can do for your kindness. And I can help you get out because I'm a changeling ghost —a shape-shifter."

"I got that," Danny calmly said. "I've come across another ghost like you before. Well, actually two. One of them is named Amorpho and the other one's name is Bertrand."

"You know that **creep**?" Molly suddenly seethed.

Danny startled a little at another one of her abrupt changes in attitude. He stepped back a bit from her and asked, "Amorpho?"

"No, **Bertrand**! Do you know him?" she growled with a scowl still on her face.

"I just told you I know him!" Danny said, now more irritated, "But we're not exactly pals!"

Molly tersely replied, "All right then; that's good to know, because he's one of the reasons why I got captured! You see, there are only a few of our kind here in the Ghost Zone. In fact, we are known as the 'Mockingbird' ghosts. We are quite different from the ghosts like Amorpho. Even though we can change to different creatures and persons like that ghost, our kind was once human; and ghosts like Amorpho were not originally human. But not only that, some of us 'Mockingbirds' are so good at what we do and we can change into another person or creature so perfectly, that we can even mimic their voices, like what a mockingbird can do in the Real World. Ghosts like Amorpho can't do that."

"But I never heard Bertrand mimic voices," Danny pointed out.

"That's because he doesn't have to. He's very settled where he is. Which brings me to how he got me captured. As you probably know, most ghosts are territorial."

She paused before looking at Danny in anticipation.

"Yes," he simply replied. "Go on."

She nodded and continued, "Well, I'm not territorial at all. Like I told you, I'm my own ghost. But seems that I stepped too deep into what Bertrand thought was his turf and dropped some kind of hint to make it easy for Walker to get to me. And then, like I said, Walker was more than pleased to keep me."

She frowned and lowered her eyes to the ground as they both grew quiet again.

Danny didn't really know what to say to that as he thought about her words. However, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He always gave ghosts a break no matter where he encountered them and didn't want to fight them unless he had to—except, of course, those ghosts he already knew were never up to anything good, like his enemies… In fact, he didn't realize until now that she still had that collar on her! She was taking a big risk coming… Maybe Molly wasn't all that bad. Maybe she was one of those ghosts who never wanted trouble, but still somehow found it anyways—or the other way around. So, maybe now she was trying to do the right thing in trying to help him now. Maybe, she didn't have to pretend to be someone else for once, and somehow, could be … just be …herself. He wanted to help her do that, but could he let her take the risk?

He finally said, "Don't get me wrong, Molly. And don't think I don't appreciate what you're trying to do. But I don't want you to help me to escape because you're going to put yourself in Walker's 'I'll-get-you-for-that' sights."

She smiled weakly and replied, "Somehow, I knew you were going to say that. But like I told you, I'm a Mockingbird ghost. I can be _anyone_, so I can fool most anyone—though it didn't look like I really fooled you."

Danny jolted a bit at what she had just said. How did she know?

She smirked as she replied, "Sorry, but I could somehow tell that you had a hunch that I was a fake when I was trying to be your girlfriend. Don't know why because I usually don't get anything from the ones I fool."

Danny suddenly felt his face flush but he didn't let on to the fact that he had that hunch because of his telepathic powers, his ghost sense, and his special connection with Sam….

He bit the inside of his lower lip at his next thought. Was Molly a telepath…? But he didn't want to ask. Instead, he said, "Don't know what to say about that, but it's okay. I guess we've cleared up a few things. But I want to be sure that we can pull this off; but more than that, I want you to agree to escape with me. I really won't be able to live with myself if I didn't try to help you get out, too."

Molly suddenly chuckled, "You know, I knew you were going to say that, too."

Danny frowned a bit since he wasn't sure what she meant by that. But he mentally shrugged it off and said, "Well, then do we agree?"

"Yes."

Danny sighed to himself. For once since he began this whole gambit of tests the Observants had thrown at him, he felt he had an ally! He actually felt more encouraged again.

Pointing to the device still around the ghost girl's neck, he finally asked, "Okay, and first things first. What about that collar? I can zap it off and…"

"No!" Molly practically yelled, which startled the boy. "It actually absorbs ectoplasmic energy, which means if anybody tries to get it off, it'll only zap me more. But, if you're worried about it, don't. Once I change into someone else, it'll be hidden."

One of Danny's eyebrows rose. Wait! That's right! There was no collar when she was 'Ordo'. He said with some embarrassment, "Oh, I knew that!" He then cleared his voice and said more seriously, "All right. If you can be anybody, I have to ask you to do something you might not want to do. Can you be Walker?"

She answered him by turning into Walker.

"Creepy, but very cool," Danny said with a sly smile.

Molly smiled—which creeped the boy out a bit more when it was 'Walker' smiling—and said, "So, now that you know I can do that, do you have a plan?"

Once more, the fact that the ghost girl now _sounded_ like Walker spooked him a bit.

Still, Danny quipped, "Of course I do! We just walk out of the prison together."

Molly's 'Walker' eyebrows rose in surprise before Walker's voice asked, "That's it? That seems too easy."

"Well, what I know about Walker—and believe me, that's more than enough information—he rules the roost so much here that not only do I think he leaves when he wants to leave, but I also think he would go so far as not even telling his guards that he has left."

"You know him too well, then," Molly replied. "And you know, I think this plan of yours might work as long as the guards don't suspect anything and we don't run into Walker."

They paused once again before Danny added, "Uhm, there's still two more things I have to know before we get going."

Molly-as-Walker's eyebrow hitched in surprise as her masked voice replied, "Yes?"

"If I help you escape, will you agree to continue to try to do the right thing and stay out of trouble?"

The changeling frowned a bit before saying, "I don't have to answer that. Like I told you, I don't owe anybody anything."

"Right. Sorry, it's just—" Danny began before Molly cut him off.

"So, I can't guarantee a thing. But I will tell you that I'll try."

Danny weakly smiled.

But then Molly-as-Walker asked, "You said there were _two_ things?"

"Yeah," he replied, "Do you know how to open all the prison cells here? I think we have to give all the prisoners here a chance to escape, too!"

Molly-as-Walker mentally smiled. Somehow, she wasn't surprised by that comment, either. But this time, she didn't let on. She replied, "The control room for all of the cell doors is not too far from the prison's entrance. In fact, we would have to go there to open the main gate to prison anyways. And with the power you impressively showed not too long ago, it should be very easy for you to knock it out."

Danny smiled. Now satisfied enough to go through with their plans, he added, "Okay, then, you ready to get going?"

"Yes," Walker's voice answered just as their eyes met. But then, that unnerved _her_ a bit and she lowered her eyes to the ground at her next sudden thought.

When Danny read something strange in her eyes, he asked with concern, "Is something wrong?"

"You know that girlfriend of yours?"

Danny frowned in confusion and queried, "Sam?"

Molly-as-Walker looked back at him with sad eyes as she replied, "Yes, Sam…she's lucky. And I'll even admit that now I envy her."

Danny blushed before quietly responding, "I'm the lucky one. But thanks anyways."

She shrugged; and then smiling weakly, turned into Ordo.

Danny immediately frowned in confusion.

But Molly-as-Ordo simply stated, "I came in as Ordo and I have to leave as Ordo, remember? Then once we're clear enough, I'll turn back into Walker, okay?"

Embarrassed at having forgotten about that, Danny blushed even more and replied, "Oh, right. Yeah, I knew that!"

"Molly-as-Ordo winked before saying in Ordo's now loud voice, "Let's go, prisoner Phantom!" She then pulled out some handcuffs and said, "Don't worry. They're fake, too. But we have to make this believable."

"Right!" Danny agreed as he allowed her to slip the cuffs on, which completely covered his other wrist bands. Odd, though, these new ones felt a bit heavy—a _familiar_ kind of heavy.

Still, he brushed it off when he saw her wink back at him again. He then smirked, "After you, 'Ordo'!"

Molly-as-Ordo unlocked the door and they quickly left Danny's cell. The guard just outside his cell door didn't even flinch as they passed him and started down the hallway.

And just as they had hoped, none of the guards they passed questioned 'Ordo' escorting the bound Ghost Boy. In fact, the guards figured as much that Walker definitely wasn't through with the brat, especially after he had embarrassingly whipped them all not too long ago.

Finally, Danny and the morphed ghost girl rounded the corner before they stopped.

No one was near and Molly then quickly changed into Walker before she said through his voice, "We're only about one hundred or so yards from the main entrance."

"And the control room, too, right?" Danny reminded her.

"Oh, yeah. Right. It will be the first small gray building we come upon if we keep going in this direction."

"Good," Danny said as they continued to walk in silence, with Molly-as-Walker slightly ahead of him. All the while they both glanced all around them to make sure that the coast was clear.

But then as the minutes passed, Danny got a strange feeling. Where were all the guards? They hadn't come across even one since Molly had changed into 'Walker'. Somehow, this was too easy…Still he hoped that he was just being paranoid and they were just having a streak of good luck.

They hadn't gone much further, however, when Danny noticed some movement just ahead. Molly immediately ducked into an indentation in the wall and Danny followed right afterward. He was glad that it was big enough to hold the both of them, even with Molly's being Walker.

Danny peeked out and saw that the 'movement' was just the prisoners being marched to what could only be the courtyard, since they were headed where he figured the courtyard would be. That could be good that some of the prisoners were out of their cells. At least, he hoped that would be good.

After only a couple of minutes, the hallway was clear once more and the couple continued on their way.

Not too long afterward, the boy could see the small, one room gray building in the near distance. He quickened his pace and was a bit surprised when the changeling didn't match his speed, especially after she allowed him to pass her.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked as he slowed down enough for her to catch up.

"No. I just thought I heard something else. But I don't think it's anything. Let's keep going," she replied as she motioned for him to continue.

"Okay," he replied. He knew he had to stay focused on getting to the control room and getting out.

Finally, Danny was at the back of the gray building. He pulled himself in a slightly crouched position to make sure that he stayed under the small window that was embedded within the back wall. And when he turned to check on where Molly was so they could discuss their next move, he jolted.

She wasn't in sight!

"Molly?" he cautiously whispered while scanning the area for any signs of her.

He moved toward the corner of the building. And just as he turned the corner to search for her, he sighed in relief when he met her.

But suddenly, Walker growled, "You should have stayed put, punk!"

As soon as he said that, several guards converged upon the scene.

Danny was now worried about Molly! He sure hoped she was hiding somewhere or had disguised herself as someone else. But for now, he had to think about himself. He pulled against the bonds around his wrists. But then he gasped when the cuffs wouldn't bulge! They _weren't_ fake like Molly said!

His mind now racing with all kinds of thoughts, Danny quickly tried to materialize a ball of ectoplasmic energy around his hands and wrists with the intentions of destroying the handcuffs. But much to his chagrin, he didn't so much as form a spark of ectoplasmic energy!

In desperation the boy tried to charge up his eyes with his ice energy and also failed.

Then he gulped at the realization: not only were these handcuffs _real_, but they were real handcuffs _that negated his powers_!

His brain searched for a quick plan when, suddenly, he heard Walker laugh, "Gotcha good this time, huh, Ghost Punk, even when a bargain is a bargain!"

As soon as Danny looked up to face the Warden, he was immediately punched hard in the jaw. He quickly plunged into the ground.

Danny felt his head spin at the blow to both sides of his skull. And he was too dizzy to resist when several hands seized him, pulled him up, and dragged him forward as the group followed the head of the prison.

Once the Warden stopped at his designation, he looked down with disdain upon the helpless young hybrid. He was never happy with the arrangements of this deal he had been forced to make with…_them_! But, really, _they _couldn't complain, since he was fulfilling his side of the bargain—but, of course, in his own way! And he was almost done with it! His bony teeth flashed in triumph, especially when he saw the punk at his feet beginning to stir...

As Danny's head began to clear, he heard Walker announce, "Looks like things are just going to get interesting…"

The young hybrid struggled to look up at the Warden, which was not only difficult because he mind was still spinning, but also because he was still bound. But when he did manage to right his line of vision, what he saw jolted his mind to more clarity while his heart instantly fell at the same time. Standing next to him was Molly! But she wasn't looking at him….And…and….He couldn't believe it! Walker had his arm around her waist!

But before Danny could fully comprehend what that could mean, Walker had squatted down in front of him and shoved his face into his.

"Thought she was someone you could trust, eh, punk?" he scornfully hissed. "How could you have been so stupid to trust any ghosts, especially knowing what kind of ghosts who brought you here in the first place? She and they know that I always get my way! So, really, I'm not at all surprised how dumb you are!"

Danny's head and heart pounded at the Prison Head's words, and for once any verbal barbs he might have been able to throw back at him at any other time now escaped him. But when Walker finally pulled his ugly face away, Danny's face fell with even more anguish when he got a better look at where he was.

He was inside the 're-orientation' building! And all of the prisoners whom he had had a hand in torturing were standing in a neat line not too far from him. And all of them were glaring at him.

Suddenly, Warden barked, "As you all know, I run a tight ship here in my prison. And I will not stand for anyone who wants to rock it."

The Prison Head smirked at Danny before continuing, "So, I'm letting you give this punk a lesson that all of you have also learned the hard way: going against the rules is never a wise choice! He's all yours!"

The Warden nodded and several guards seized the boy and brought him up to his feet. They immediately tightened their hold on him even when the boy's hands were still bound because they wanted to make sure that he wouldn't resist.

But at this point, Danny was so disheartened that he had no will to fight back. He deserved everything that was coming to him. It was never right to have hurt these ghosts closing in on him, even when he had picked the lesser of two evils. They definitely had a reason to hurt him now.

But then, another spark flared inside of him. Yes, he had done wrong, but not worse than what Walker did every moment of his existence. And then there was Molly…and the Observants who put him here!

Danny suddenly pulled against his captors as Walker and the other ghosts neared him; and a few of the guards lost their balance trying to counter his movements.

Finally, Walker was so close to him that Danny could feel the ghost's cold, heartless ghostly breath assaulting him as the Warden said with a dark grin, "Glad you volunteered to be my example, Ghost Punk!"

"Looks like you have a lot of ready volunteers, Walker. I don't blame most of them." Danny defiantly spat back. But then, he glared at Molly and sarcastically added, "After all _they _didn't trick and lead me into trouble!"

Walker grew in size. The Warden's large hand harshly grabbed Danny's bangs and pulled his head back and his face upward. Ignoring the boy's first comment, Walker tightened his hold on the boy's hair and eagerly forced the boy to look at him as he jeered, "Looks like you do a great job finding trouble all by yourself, punk! You were already a blight on my records!...And if you're referring to Nightingale as being a ready volunteer, yes, it's true. She comes in very handy and she is much cleverer than you! She already knows what you can't get through your thick skull—which, by the way, is probably about to be cracked—and that is that I will always make you pay for your insolence, like this!"

The Warden pummeled his enlarged, angry fist swiftly into Danny's stomach before letting go of his hair and following that up with a hard upper cut to the boy's jaw.

Danny grunted as the air whooshed out of his stomach and saw stars at the same time. But he didn't fall to the ground because he was still being held by the guards.

Still, Danny managed to say through his painful pants, "Figures that your ego is larger than your fist right now and that you wouldn't want to get it bruised by making sure I couldn't fight back!"

"Why you…." Walker growled spitefully before he slammed his fist so hard into Danny's jaw this time that the boy was literally wrenched out of the guards holding him and was thrown several feet away.

Danny ended crumpled at the feet of some of the lined-up prisoners, who gasped in shock at Walker's brutality and disgust for the boy and actually stepped away from the young hybrid.

And as Danny struggled to get up since the handcuffs made that difficult to do, his blurry vision focused on a set of red eyes. He finally comprehended that he was looking at Molly, who hadn't moved from her original spot.

He managed to glare at her again even as he could see Walker and his guards closing in on him again.

She, in turn, angrily growled under her breath to him, "I do what I have to do! Walker always gets his way and there is no way to stay out of this stinking place!"

"Sure," Danny sarcastically replied while ignoring the warm wet feeling eking from the side of his mouth. "That's the excuse of every traitor, loser, or slave. And since you're _your own ghost_, you can take your pick of which of them you are!"

But underneath, the boy was crushed. He had trusted her and she had callously betrayed him. Not only that, he was hurting a lot besides already having been exhausted from the lack of any restful sleep. At this moment, he felt like just throwing in the towel as well since he knew that Walker wasn't through with him, especially when his words of 'not trusting any ghost' were also taunting him all of the sudden.

Still, he resisted that feeling and with an angry yet disconsolate tear escaping one of his eyes, he yelled in defiance before he actually charged at Walker and his guards. He threw up his cuffed hands over his shoulder as if he were pulling a bat to it in anticipation for a pitcher's next throw. And just as if he were hitting that baseball, he swung his bound hands swiftly downward and sideward, sweeping the first set of guard he contacted away from him.

But when he tried to upswing with his cuffed hands, his blow was blocked and he was now on the receiving end of several blows…..most of which were delivered by Walker. And Walker's blows were so full of hate and revenge that Danny suddenly felt his strength's being pounded away with each strike. He felt totally helpless in trying to hold out. And that was because the handcuffs had done their job in keeping him at a disadvantage since they negated his ghost powers.

However, as if knowing he was about to crush the boy, Walker took a step back and jeered, "Remember that all ghosts hate you and can't be trusted. If you don't get that, it's time to let _them_ 're-orient' you and drive those words through your thick skull."

He turned to the other prisoners that Danny helped to torture and motioned to them to finish the job for him and his guards.

Meanwhile, when the prisoners saw that the Warden was expecting them to continue to beat the boy, they hesitated. But only for a moment since they still were seething with their grudges from what the Ghost Boy had done to them. But they also got right away from the Warden's glare that if they didn't obey him, they would be the next ones on the ground! They glanced at each other and when each of them could read the others' same silent message, they charged forward with loud angry shouts…

Of course, the Warden was right, and the boy found himself unable to even defend himself against the revenge-filled blows of the prisoners.

Somewhere in his rapidly clouding mind, a clear thought came true, one that only weighed his heart even more.

"_I deserve this…"_

Soon after the prisoners' attack started, Danny could feel that his mind was fading fast. And it couldn't fight another kind of pain: the pang of all those disheartening thoughts he had earlier. Each word slammed into him as painfully and forcefully as every one of those hate-filled blows. But more than that, other more devastating thoughts began to take root. He began to doubt his core morals…Why should he cling to them when all they had done so far was make things hard for him and give him pain like this? In fact, why should he continue to believe in anyone who held to them as well?

Even amid the mounting pain and confused thoughts, the boy's thoughts drifted to of all things: the Observants. And suddenly, he was arguing with himself to give up. What was the use of fighting when he was going to lose anyways? What was the point of resisting when everything was stacked up against him? What was the point of holding onto things that are important _just because_ they were important, especially when so many others had easily rejected them?…Tears suddenly began to roll down his lacerated face when he suddenly understood Molly's quick decision to quit…

The young hybrid suddenly felt overwhelmed with the despair being hammered into him with each blow. All these tests…were they just meant to lead to this? To his being betrayed or beaten over and over again? To never trusting anyone? To giving up…hope?

Or was there something else that the Observants wanted? Did they want to see him give up? Was that are there was to all of this?

"_**Well. Do. It. Give up**_!" his rapidly failing senses urged. It was now too obvious to him that none of the Observants cared about his feelings, his needs, or what was important to him...

And as his mind became foggier under the evil forces surrounding him, the boy suddenly succumbed to his crushed emotions and knew no more….

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** **The Fantomos Ecto-Scale continues…**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, TrueHeart**

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**289-level 6-**_**Gamma**_**—Ghost Writer**

**289-level 6-**_**Beta**_** —Walker**


	31. Chap 31 Level 6 Ghosts--A question of

**A/N: Well, well, well, dearies, looks like things are finally going my way. Your silly little hero is just about ripe for the picking and will soon be that son that handsome devil Vlad wants. Ahhh, doesn't that just make the warts on my face swell with pride!**

**Truephan: Just ignore Ms. Hyde, readers. You know she just loves these kinds of evil things.**

**Ms. Hyde: And that's wrong because…?**

**Truephan (rolls eyes): You'll never understand. And so, since I don't want to even begin to make you understand, let's get on with the story. Here is Chapter 31. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 31—Level Six Ghosts —A question of….<p>

Vlad frowned as he glanced over several readings having to do with Daniel's last encounter. It hadn't gone totally as he had planned. It could have been worse, of course. But at least Daniel hadn't even suspected that he had quickly transported the boy to Walker's prison right after the simulation room change had begun to happen. And then he had been able to use a couple of spy bugs to keep tabs on what was happening, even though that didn't go as well as he had wanted, either…

Part of the reason was that the actual risk had been in his using Walker _for real_. That ghost was too much of a maverick; and as the live feed from one of his spy bugs had confirmed, the ghost warden had certainly proved that the entire time. True, the man had used his usual methods to safeguard the boy from too much harm. Nevertheless, he wasn't all that pleased that Walker had used more forceful physical persuasion on the boy than what had been originally planned.

Vlad scowled more at the thought before his eyes drifted over to the monitors. He then grumbled under his breath. Their readings were the other reason why things hadn't gone exactly as planned…

They were incomplete.

Not that he didn't get plenty of data during this entire encounter before the snag in collecting them developed. After all, he had made sure that the microchip and all of the other devices monitoring Daniel's mental state had had their signals boosted by the spy bug. And those preliminary readings definitely indicated that the boy's mental health was even more unstable than before he was brought to Walker's prison.

But the readings shortly after the boy had first seen his faux girlfriend at the prison both disturbed and fascinated him. They had briefly shot off the scale again for seemingly no reason and triggered the alarms.

The alarms had gone off a couple of other random times before Daniel's encounter with Walker as well. And since there didn't seem to be any reason for those incidents happening, either, Vlad was now convinced that there must be some kind of malfunction with the alarm program and questioned his computer about it.

As a result of their conversation, Maddie had reported that any malfunctioning of the alarm program could cause permanent corruption of what it was attached to. She had immediately suggested running a diagnostic program on the alarm system before they used it any further; and informed him that it would mean she would have to take it off-line. And taking it off-line meant that she would have to temporarily disable what it was attached to: that portion of the microchip connected to the monitors of Daniel's vitals.

That worried the man at first, of course, until Maddie had assured him that she could make a weaker connection to the microchip using a sub-program that would still feed in most of the data about the test subject's vitals. And she also assured him that if they had to take the alarm system off-line, it wouldn't interfere with any other program or his plans at all.

Still, the man wasn't too pleased that Maddie had also informed him that a full diagnostic examination would take twenty-four hours. But if he didn't order her to take the alarm system off-line and perform a full diagnostic on it at that time, he ran the greater risk of losing any further vital information. So, he did give her the command to do just that. But he also told her to make sure to double check what might have precipitated those gauges to trigger the alarms in the first place so that they could prevent any other interference.

Once she had confirmed her orders, all the monitors recording Daniel's vitals had instantly blacked out. But the live feed coming from the spy bugs had never had any disconnection and he could see and hear all that had happened at Walker's prison. And a few minutes later, that weaker connection they had talked about was stabilized…

But little did the man know that the reason why the alarms had been triggered all those times was because Danny had used his telepathic powers. And now—at least for the next twenty-four hours—the older hybrid would not be any closer to discovering that…

Vlad analyzed the results of the recent data. He frowned. They were not conclusive! That weak connection must have somehow skewed the data.

"Maddie?" he immediately asked.

"Yes, sir?" she responded.

"This data doesn't seem right. Before we had to take the alarm program off-line, Daniel's stress factors were at the critical stage. But they seemed to have actually stayed the same instead of rising as I would have expected. After all, I think that he would have been under tremendous stress with what I was witnessing." The man suddenly snickered with evil glee as he added, "In fact, the look on his face during all those times being forced to hurt those ghosts was priceless!"

Maddie didn't reply to the man's last comments. Instead, she said, "If you remember, sir, I did tell you that you would be receiving _most_ of the data for now. It is very possible that it would be incomplete."

"Blast it, that's right!" Vlad suddenly erupted before he unconsciously rubbed his temples.

He definitely didn't like these kinds of complications, even when there was a rare possibility that they could happen; but he was also reacting to the fact that his headache had returned.

He glanced at the clock. True, it was late; but he knew that this headache was not just because he was overdue for a good night's sleep. It also had to do with the fountain in Central Park. Not that anything really was wrong. He had calculated that he would have to spend more of his energy than normal with all the things he had to do to make sure that what he had planned for the fountain ran smoothly. A slightly irritating, albeit necessary, 'means to the end' scenario.

He smirked slightly. At least things _there_ were running without any glitches so far—except for taking more of his energy, of course. In fact, he was sure that things were still going according to his plans because not only were all of the citizens of Amity Park cooperating, but they were also completely clueless as to what was really happening…

Yet, if he wanted to keep things that way, he knew he would have to get that sleep. But it could wait a little longer because he was sure that he had the boy right where he wanted him to be. After all, having the boy in his present _compromised_ physical condition did make Daniel much more…vulnerable to blows to his psyche.

Good.

Still, Vlad had to make sure. And he was very confident that if Daniel wasn't a mental basket case, then the next ghost in the queue would definitely be the one who could finally push the boy completely over the edge…

He looked at the live feed coming from his spy bug and clearly saw that the unconscious boy was right in the midst of being transported to his next planned designation.

"_This encounter had better do the trick,"_ he mentally told himself—and the ghost who next had Daniel in his power...

* * *

><p>Danny could barely hear the arguing voices as he struggled to regain consciousness. The intense throbbing pain—and then a sudden chill— gripping his entire body sure wasn't helping, either. And since the boy wasn't even aware that he was drifting in-and-out of consciousness, he didn't know that he had frowned with trying to make out who-was-who in the slightly garbled conversation. Instead, the more he tried, the more the two different voices waned in-and-out of focus, as if someone was doing a bad job of adjusting a radio.<p>

'I did not bargain for damaged goods," one of the voices hotly said.

"Just be glad you even _had_ a bargain! And you should know the risk involved in shipping and handling," the other voice seethed.

"But now I'll have to wait until the boy is well enough for the challenge," the first voice said with irritation.

"That's your problem. I delivered him to you, didn't I? It could have been worse. At least I didn't add any more…stipulations," the other replied.

There was a short tense pause before the first voice tersely added, "'Stipulations'? I do not recall agreeing to any 'stipulations' from _you—_especially given the circumstances of our agreement. So, cease with your attempts at making sorry excuses for your questionable decisions in the matter. We had an agreement. I fulfilled my side of the bargain and expected at least the same from you…I was mistaken about that, too, I see."

"Don't get on your high horse about that!" the other hotly countered. You didn't object when you had the chance since you were around during this whole deal…Not that I'm a bit surprised that you _didn't_ object. We both know you have done your share of —how should I say it?—_questionable_ tactics; and you most certainly have been driven by very _dubious_ and _dishonorable_ motives concerning this whole thing as well!"

Danny's muddled mind thought it heard something strange; as if some big and metallic thing had suddenly and aggressively moved. But then as fast as the movement had started, it had stopped and all was silent again…

Danny then thought he heard a snicker, which actually sounded familiar; but he couldn't be sure, especially now that his head was hurting even more. In fact, not a heartbeat later, he felt his mind get sucked into a centrifuge until whatever light of consciousness that had been flickering within it was snuffed out…

* * *

><p>Danny's green eyes slowly fluttered opened. He could see a mass of black and green blurs right above him before it cleared into the swirls of the Ghost Zone. And he could tell that he was lying on something that was both soft and hard…and that his still aching arms and legs were not only pulled apart, spread-eagle style, but it hurt when he tried to move them —even when he quickly realized that he couldn't do move them anyways.<p>

He sighed as his murky aching mind couldn't help but groan, _"Not tied up again?!…And where am I? How did I get here?"_

In fact, he was quite clueless about everything else at the moment.

The boy turned his head to his left and winced when it hurt to even do _that_! His eyes widened when he could see that the sleeve of his costume was mostly torn away, with cuts, ectoplasmic burns and bruises playing hopscotch on his arm. And just beyond that he could see that there was some green glowing rope surrounding his wrist and its other end was attached to a stake embedded in the same bed of grass on which he was lying.

He then turned his head to the other side and noticed that his right arm was also bound the same way, only that he could see that there was more of the sleeve covering his arm.

Danny lifted his head and looked at the rest of himself the best he could. He sighed in frustration when he could see that his chest was also partially exposed and still injured.

Just great.

He lay his head back down and sighed again. It felt better _not_ to move. He closed his eyes and tried to recall what had happened to him. But his pounding head wouldn't let him!

Finally, his headache let up a little and he sighed in defeat this time when his memory slowly came into sharper focus…

Walker.

Now he wished he was still in the 'I-don't-know-what's-going-on' mode.

The Warden and his goons really did a number on him this time; especially when the jerk had made sure he couldn't fight back in those handcuffs that had negated his powers. Just like Walker to stack the odds against him!

Still, that didn't matter or help him at the moment. And really, with how sore, how exhausted, and how low he was feeling right now, he really didn't care. So, what was Walker's plan for him now? Keep him here for some ghost vulture or other loathsome ghost animal's dinner? That, too, would be right up the bonehead's sadistic alley…

But then his still muddled and hurting mind drifted to another thought: maybe this really was the beginning of the _Observants'_ _next test_!

For no apparent reason, his mind wrapped itself into accepting that possibility. He should be panicking since he was starting out at a disadvantage, but he only felt more discouraged and even a little angry. It was now all too obvious to him just how sadistic the Observants were! They just couldn't wait to see him fail in all of their twisted traps… They couldn't wait to mix him all up so he wouldn't know what was black or white, or up or down so that he _would_ fail… So, what was the point of having him like this? Didn't they know that they had won since he was forced to compromise his morals at Walker's prison? Then why another test?

Suddenly again, he didn't care. What was the point of fighting when he was set up to lose and maybe even made to compromise on other things that were important to him? Still, something inside him hadn't wanted him to lose to Walker of all ghosts. But then again, why should he try anymore? Even if he put all of his effort into it, he knew that the Observants would make sure that he would still end up being the one with the short stick in the end….

But even as he lay there still with his eyes closed and seemingly in a funk, one of the things that was special about him began to stir. His heart was still trying to find an answer to all of this, to understand…In fact, the next sudden words in his head seemed to pound more pain in it. Yes, okay, he totally got that. _Two wrongs didn't make a right._ Was that why the Observants were putting him through all of this? To make him learn that? But he had learned that the _wrong_ way. And he did those …wrong things against his will.

That was so unfair.

They should know him better than that…He _thought_ they knew him better than that. And he thought he had understood _them._ So, if they were just out to get him to cheat on his morals, why did they even bring his mom here? Why did they make him seem that Sam was also in danger? Didn't they know that his morals wouldn't let him let them get hurt because he loved them? He stopped when he felt guilt wash over him at his next thought… But then again, wasn't he obligated not to hurt others as well?

Those unanswered questions just muddled his mind more. Maybe he didn't get it after all and, really, at this point, he didn't _want_ to get it. Then his head began to hurt more, which just led him back into a spiral downward mentally…

Danny felt so depressed that he hadn't yet thought of trying to access his powers to destroy the ropes binding him to the ground or even of using his healing powers to rid himself of his injuries.

But worse than that, those thoughts he had just before he last lost consciousness in Walker's prison resurfaced. He felt his eyes water and his breathing increase a bit under the stress; but he had to admit it: he really wanted to totally give up. He didn't want to fight any more ghosts; he didn't want to be forced to do things he thought were wrong; he wanted these tests to end; he wanted the Observants to let him and his mother go— or he wanted them to do their worse to him and get it over with….

He felt so miserable through and through that his mind steered its own course until it somehow ended up focusing on Molly Mockingbird again. He wasn't even aware how far his face had fallen or how heavy his frown was with feeling the weight of the girl ghost's deception. He didn't know why it bothered him so much. After all, he had just met her…

He suddenly thought about all his enemies. It was true that they were full of treachery; but he knew they would be….

But he thought this ghost girl was different…Then again, maybe she wasn't different after all, since ghosts in general did revel at being bad.

He frowned because that thought didn't sit well with him. After all, he still believed that a lot of them had started out good, but must have fallen into being bad for some reason. And even if they did become bad, he felt that, underneath, those ghosts just wanted to be good again if they had the chance; and when they had that chance they would work toward doing what was right from then on…

He thought that Molly was one of those ghosts and she was taking that first step of trying to do the right thing by helping him; but more than that, she had given her word that she was going to try to do better, _to be_ better—just like he was always trying to do. He had thought that for once during this entire stinking Observant set-up that he had found someone else other than his friends who was on his side…And then, there she was, leading him into a trap—especially when it was something she was doing _for Walker._

He turned his head to the side and scrunched his eyes tighter at his next thought, especially since it was equally full of sadness and anger…The bad things he had called her then was so true. Only, he shouldn't have given her the choice and none of them were the right word at this moment. Right now, 'scoundrel' was a more precise word for her...character. All her earnestness to help him and to turn over a new leaf was all fake…shallow…She was _no better_ than some of the cads he knew in both the Real World and Ghost Zone. But really, neither was _he_ after all the bad things he had done…

And now feeling even lower, where his pain, fatigue and disappointment put him at the utmost disadvantage, Danny suddenly felt as if the whole universe had come crashing down upon him. He was always aware of the problems of his world and the Ghost Zone, but he tried not to let them weigh him down. He knew he wasn't perfect, but he tried to remain focused on the good things, on doing the right thing even when doing the right thing had often been the hardest thing to do in his young life. And that often meant going against the flow, against what was easier, against what many people thought was cool just because they said it was and not because they had measured it against what they knew was the honest truth written within their hearts.

The disheartened boy tried to wrestle these thoughts away, though he continue to question himself as to why his thinking about Molly could trigger such devastating and discouraging thoughts he was now having, thoughts that could fully sabotage his will to fight on….

But then he realized it _wasn't_ because of her, though what she did to him was very upsetting. She was merely the trigger point of all that was wrong with this world and his own…

Now he was even more confused. He still wasn't sure if he even had a choice about doing the right thing anymore. Maybe he was destined to always end up doing something wrong in spite of his best efforts. And what if he couldn't help himself, and he ended up doing something like what he did at Walker's again?

The tears began to flow as he gave into his remorse again…But what he didn't realize even as he felt totally lost was that something within him was stirring again. It was against his nature to compromise his morals. But sometimes, he did fail in guarding them. But when he did, it was even more in his nature to admit his wrongs— and, more importantly, to try to right them and vow to do better.

In some ways, that was comforting; and Danny suddenly found himself contritely muttering, "I'm so sorry for what I did at Walker's…And I want to do better…If I had it to do over, I-I—"

He couldn't say anymore. He was truly very sorry for what he had done at Walker's prison. And it still hurt so much; but that spark of hope inside the young hybrid— though still dangerously flickering in-and-out—kept fighting to stay alive. And even with all the pain and uncertainty he felt at the moment, he felt compelled to draw near it, like a shipwrecked passenger's desperate swim to that life preserver…

Along with that hope, another thought struggled to pull itself out of the mire of his mind. And this one, though weak, was driven to make him listen…

Yes, he had done wrong, but he was truly sorry. And he had to admit deep within himself as honestly as he had admitted his wrongdoing: he knew he _was_ going to do his best to be better...

That feeling seemed to gain more ground; and it and other such notions dared to plow through the thoughts threatening to choke the boy's spirit…

There were things worth fighting for, things that were very important… and just as equally as that, there were _others_ worth fighting for, especially those who felt like he did. His parents, his sister. Sam. Tucker…Valerie….Even if they were the last six people in the universe who cared, who were trying to do the right thing even when everyone else wasn't, then everything good _was_ worth fighting for….

The boy felt some of the weight lift off his heart and mind, especially when he thought about the one being he often thought about and trusted more than anything or anyone else….

His mind drifted even more. And then there were his ghost friends… Even though he still really didn't want to believe that some of his ghost friends were gone like…Johnny 13 and Danielle, their memories and what they stood for would have to be enough for him to hold on….

He paused when his heart suddenly constricted in grief. But he kept it at bay as he mentally went through the list of his other ghost allies, which, strangely, seemed to strengthen and even comfort him: Clockwork, Frostbite, Libro, the Spectre, and….

Danny's face suddenly relaxed and his breathing slowed as he softly chuckled at the thought. Odd that he would think of _him_ of all ghosts as soon as he had thought of his allies. Still, it really didn't bother him. After all, he had to admit it. He could even sort of count on _Skulker_ among the other ghosts worthy of his kinder thoughts right now. Danny really did appreciate and — though it was kind of weird—respected that ghost. Even when Skulker didn't want to show or admit it, the ghost had helped him more times than he ever expected. Sure, Skulker had done his share of turn-coating after helping him. But still…the boy knew that Skulker was…different...

He closed his eyes and his sigh seemed to breathe comfort into his still aching body and soul… All of those he loved were worth keeping up the good fight for because of all the good things they all believed in….And that, strangely, also gave him more strength…

His thoughts changed course again, but these were less floundering ones. For the first time in what seemed an eternity, he turned his head toward his right and opened his eyes. He began to pull on his bindings with the intention of trying to get out of this newest mess the Observants had cooked up.

But before he could collect his thoughts enough, he suddenly startled when his ghost sense helped put his thoughts on a fast track….And then a vague memory surfaced, one in which…two…_ghosts_ were arguing over him not too long ago as if they were bartering over some kind of…thing! So, this ghost nearing him must be the jerk of a ghost Walker had said would be 'getting his turn' with him! And that would mean that this had to be the same putrid ghost who had captured him and actually had callously handed him over to Walker as if he _were_ a sack of flour! And then let Walker have at him!

All of a sudden, he heard a scrunching sound to his left followed by a hard nudge right into his still sore ribs…

"OW!" Danny blurted out as he jerked his head toward who he was sure was that ghost…

He caught glimpses of a dark bluish-grey and black-clad ghost hovering over him. He would never forget that suit that had haunted his…future and actually became a reality not too long ago during the 'Iluzisto thing'.

The boy blinked his eyes in disbelief as his heart fell to his feet and his mind screamed, _"NO! It can't be!"_

All of that hope that had built Danny back up just moments ago also crumbled to his feet when that ghost spoke…

"Welcome to my world and your nightmare, Ghost Child!" Skulker said with a wicked grin as the green flames surrounding his entire robotic face flared.

But then, the ghost immediately frowned when he caught a whiff of the whelp's scent. It was different than it had been a split second ago. In fact, it had changed almost immediately from what he had smelled before he nudged the pup. He was sure that it had to do with the whelp's still compromised condition, did it not? No, somehow this was…very unusual.

Instead of throwing any verbal darts at the ghost cyborg ghost, however, Danny's face fell; and he turned his head away from the ghost as he let the ropes around his wrists pull on him again when his tormented mind jumped forward and backward at the same time. That metallic sound that he heard when those two ghosts were arguing…Now he knew! It was _Skulker_ he had heard earlier arguing with some ghost…and now he was getting a creepy feeling about whom that 'other' ghost was!

One of Skulker's eyebrows shot up in surprise and the green pipes jutting out from both sides of his robotic neck stiffened at the whelp's reaction.

But then, Danny twisted his neck back toward the ultra-technical robotic ghost; and with chagrin hanging onto his entire face, he finally stammered out, "Y-You! You were arguing about me with some ghost…earlier!"

Again, Skulker hitched up one of his eyebrows up in even more astonishment as he gasped, "You were conscious?"

"Barely, and not for long, but enough to say that I was between reality and unreality since I didn't know until now that you were one of those ghosts!"

Skulker scoffed, "Hmmph. Just as well that you know, then."

The cyborg then chuckled a bit at being able to tell the Ghost Boy his next thought, even as he was untying the boy's feet. "Yes. You are right. I was arguing with another ghost, and that ghost was Walker!"

"Walker?" Danny blurted out, though he still could not believe that Skulker had admitted that.

The boy could now recall with more clarity about that earlier conversation. He barely reeled in his gasp of disbelief when he was now surer of what words the two ghosts had spoken…

"Y-You…_bargained_ for me?" Danny barely uttered, still shocked at the notion.

The young hybrid didn't think that Skulker would ever bargain for his prey…He always hunted them…But there was more: the Ghost Hunter was actually _in cahoots_ with Walker? That's what was really blowing his mind. And the other things made sense to him now: the glowing orange bands that kept his human side from phasing out of Walker's prison…the handcuffs that negated his powers…Skulker _must _have given those to Walker! Yet, he couldn't really believe it!

And then the boy added, though he was still in such denial that he choked on his words, "B-But why? I thought that after everything you've done for me in the past…."

Now frowning in disapproval and purposely cutting the boy off, Skulker insisted, "The key phrase in that is 'in the past', Ghost Child! And the past is the past and cannot be undone."

Danny didn't even notice that the very muscular cyborg ghost had been untying his legs completely and was unraveling the glowing ropes from around the stakes that had kept his arms out and secure. He was too distraught at the news.

But Skulker hadn't planned on taking the ropes off of Danny's still injured wrists.

Distress mounting in his eyes, Danny countered, "How can you say that? You helped me when I was fighting Pariah and then when Plasmius and I were captured by the Observants. And later when we were fighting Iluzisto. And…and then, you helped me during the 'Disasteroid' thing; and when I was pois—."

Danny stopped himself. He was about to remind the ghost about the time he helped his sister and friends after he was poisoned by ecto-ranium. But Skulker would not have any memories of those two last incidents because as far as the ghost was concerned, they did not happen—all because of that time rift thing when he had been fighting his alternate evil self for Clockwork's Time Staff!

"I do not know what you are talking about!" Skulker humphed as he brought the ends of the ropes still attached to Danny's wrists firmly together. "I have not helped you at all. And I only got involve that first time because of_Pariah_, not you. I did it to save my _own_ skin from having to serve a beast like him!"

The robotic ghost frowned more and added, "And as for the second and third incidents, I came to help Plasmius and _no one else_! As far as that last thing, I do not know what a 'disasteroid' is, much less have thought of helping you with that. So, I do not know why you would make up more than what there really is between us, whelp, which is _nothing_! It will not help you in the least."

Danny lowered his eyes in discouragement just as Skulker yanked on the ropes still attached to his wrists to pull him up to a stand. Danny grunted with the pain but didn't say or do anything else at the moment.

Then like leading a horse with its reins, Skulker pulled Danny closer to him.

Danny briefly glanced at his own reflection in the vacant round glass window in the middle of the Skulker's abdomen before his eyes drifted upward to the cyborg's face. The boy felt even more crushed when it seemed as if the cyborg's evil smile had stolen his entire face.

Skulker's voice also danced with wicked glee as he said, "I gave you more than enough time to recover. It is time that I hunt you again. I will give you a head start, just for the sport of it. And once I find you, you can try your luck fighting me. Notice I said '_once_ I find you', not '_if _I find you'. After all, you are on my turf now and I have a lot of plans for you. So, get ready to run, Ghost Child!"

"No!" Danny firmly and simply said, his face looking more sadden than angry or defiant. He still couldn't believe that Skulker had ever had an alliance with Walker or do such a thing to him. He just didn't think that Skulker was that kind of a ghost—or, more importantly, that _low_…Didn't Skulker have some sense of…honor, loyalty and bravery?

Now, Danny wasn't so sure about Skulker since he was still having a hard time believing what Skulker had told him…Yet, if what the older ghost had said was true…then…then Skulker_ wasn't_ the ghost the boy had been starting to think he was…. And that suddenly discouraged Danny as badly as he had felt when he first woke up bound and oblivious to anything.

But the teen's thoughts were interrupted by a quick yank of the ropes that were still binding his wrists and the surprised yet now irritated, demanding voice of the cyborg ghost.

"'No'? What do you mean by 'no'? It is not as if you have a choice in the matter!"

Danny's mind startled more to attention with both the physical jerk and the thoughts triggered by the ghost's words. _Choice? Did he have a choice?_ Though he was still discouraged and saddened over Skulker's having work with Walker, he couldn't help but feel that what he had thought about Skulker just had to be right…

And even though the young hybrid was still more upset than not, he felt a hint of resolve with that thought and his next words, "Yes. Yes, I do have a choice. We all have choices —good and bad. And I refuse to fight you!"

Skulker's eyes widened in a mixture of confusion, disbelief, and hesitation. He had not expected an answer like this from the Ghost Child. In fact, couldn't he detect a bit of sadness in the boy's voice just now? That was not like the Ghost Child he knew…And he could smell that the boy was…He growled as he threw that thought away. Instead, he said through gritted teeth, "Just what do you mean by that, whelp?"

"Just what I said. I will _not _fight you!" Danny dolefully insisted.

Both intrigued and irritated by the boy's remark, and unconsciously tightening his grip on the rope still controlling the young half-ghost's movements, Skulker flippantly replied, "Oh, no! You think that you can declare that just like that and expect me to go along with it?"

"I don't care if you go along with it or not," Danny truthfully said without any sarcasm or grit. He didn't even have the urge to counter the ropes that had suddenly tugged at his still painful wrists. Maybe he was wrong after all in hoping about the ghost…

He looked up at the ghost and locked eyes with him before adding with more disappointment than challenge, "I will no longer fight a ghost who wants one thing, yet actually fights so unfairly and deviously —and without honor!"

Every metallic muscle in Skulker's suit tensed as his green eyes and hair flared. He growled more threateningly, "_No_ ghost insults me like that and gets away with it, Ghost Child!"

But Danny didn't back down, especially when a sudden memory drove him further to say, "Oh, I think you've heard it all before…Walker certainly got away with it when he told you about your '_questionable_ tactics' and '_very dubious and_ _dishonorable _motives'!"

Skulker jerked on the ropes more violently, which roughly pulled Danny's arms forward and then upward.

The pain carved into the Ghost Boy when he then felt his body being roughly yanked upward until he was now dangling right in front of the cyborg ghost's angry green flaring eyes.

Skulker hotly jeered, "You know nothing about me, whelp!"

"You're right," Danny grunted, still reacting to the sudden, painful movement— though Skulker could tell that the boy's voice was still disheartened. "It's just that I thought…"

But Danny groaned with the pain when Skulker tightly wrapped his free hand around the boy's waist and then yanked harder on the ropes around his wrists. He quickly wound the slack more around Danny's wrists and forearms as if the rope was a ribbon sloppily tied around a gift.

Once satisfied that the boy was more within his clutches, Skulker let go of the boy's waist and spat, "What you think of me holds no interest to or weight with me. All I care is that you give me some of that spunk that you always show whenever I have gotten you in my power."

"Then you _don't know me at all_, either," Danny spat back even as he was trying to slow his painful pants now that he was dangling from even tighter ropes. Still, he was now more discouraged than ever. Skulker wasn't the ghost he thought he was. He added more sadly, "So, now that we both know that we don't know each other, just get it over with."

Both surprised and confused again, Skulker's eyebrows shot up. Just what was the half-ghost trying to prove here? He wasn't going to 'get it over with' right now because he was busy listening to the pup! That was something that he was always prone to do because, underneath, he _was_ open to the point of view of others…

The ghost silently argued back only to himself. No! It was because a good hunter had to learn everything about any prey or things that might be helpful to him in the future…He paused…No, there was more. He had more than a tendency to listen to the whelp. He _wanted_ to listen to the pup because…he admired the boy.

But he didn't want to admit any of that.

However, all of the sudden for some reason he just realized that the boy was still in pain from his injuries. So, all right…The whelp had not recovered yet. Maybe the young half-ghost was just stalling for time until he could recover.

But then, the Ghost Hunter unexpectedly caught a whiff of some other scent surrounding the boy…The fact that the whelp wasn't really struggling to break free was certainly a clue. But why was the pup so….crushed? And so unwilling to fight? Was the boy…giving up? Then why did Plasmius have him continue with their plans?

Nevertheless, Skulker shook his head with the hope that it would rattle out all of the emotions that were suddenly stirring within his central core. He had to stop them— now. After all, emotions were for _weaklings_, and he was a _strong_ hunter. And he was just as enthusiastic about this plan as Plasmius was!

He pulled even harder on Danny's bindings and pulled him closer as he threateningly demanded, "And I do not see the relevance of knowing you or not. I will not have you sit there and refuse to fight me and—!"

"Why not?" Danny persisted after purposely interrupting him. "Why should a ghost like you care one way or another if I give up or fight? All that should matter to you is that you have me in your power to do whatever putrid deed you want to do to me!"

"You are in no position to make any demands. Or question me and tell me what my motives should be! After all, _you_ _cooperated_ with Walker, too!" the older ghost sneered.

Danny's eyes widened before the blood drained out of his face and he lowered his eyes to the ground as his guilt clutched at him again. He didn't know that Skulker knew what had happened at the prison. But then again, that would make some sense since he was sure that Skulker would want to make sure that Walker stuck to his side of the bargain—such as it was.

With his eyes still lowered, Danny replied without elaborating, "You're right. I'm not in any position."

Skulker squinted one eye and cocked his head in bafflement. Was the Ghost Child just playing with him? If so, he didn't get the point….Suddenly he growled under his breath. He didn't care what the point was. He just wanted to get on with his and Plasmius' plans!

"I've given you more than enough time to recover! It's time for the hunt!" Skulker announced with thick annoyance in his voice as he tugged on Danny's bindings.

Danny grunted in pain once more. And now that the pain had intensified, his headache was worsening, which only made him dizzy. Just as well. Maybe he would get numbed by it all.

After all, he was still disappointed with Skulker. He knew that he had stepped over the line and accused the cyborg ghost of wrongdoing because he was so upset with Skulker's cooperating with Walker. Yes, maybe he had no right to do that, either, since he had done his share of dishonorable things, like this last time with Walker. But he wasn't going to lie to the ghost or give in anymore!

He managed to pant out, "I was wrong to cooperate with Walker. But I can choose not to make the same mistake twice. So, go ahead and do your worse because I won't run away or fight you!"

"Do not tell me what to do!" Skulker yelled as his face darkened with threat. Still, he couldn't ignore that the boy's scent had changed….He could smell…But his thoughts were interrupted.

"Why don't you just say it, Skulker?" Danny countered, now that he had an odd yet slight surge of strength from their banter, especially when he had just realized something:

Skulker really hadn't done much worse to him than pull on his bindings. And he was still talking to him—even though it really was more of an argument. Maybe his hunch about the ghost was right after all.

"What are you talking about, whelp?" The robotic ghost demanded, though he had slightly loosened his grip on the teen.

Danny instantly felt some relief but also felt he could cross that line even more boldly as he said, "That you don't want to fight me, either!"

Skulker re-tightened his grip on the boy and jerked him back up. His ire-filled eyes seemed to bore holes in the boy's eyes as he seethed, "I do not shirk from any good fight, which is the only thing I expect from you, whelp!"

Danny's eyes widened. Even though he knew he wasn't in any condition to fight in the first place, he had to hold his ground and refuse! But now that the moment of truth had come, he was beginning to falter—but more because his hunch about Skulker was just that: a hunch and nothing else…

Skulker frowned slightly. The scent around the boy was unquestionably different. _Now_ he knew how to get the boy to fight!

He darkly chuckled, "If you refuse any longer, not only will I proudly mount your hide on my mantle, but I will also tell everyone how _afraid_ you were in the end!"

"You're right. I am afraid," Danny agreed. But there was more disappointment than fear in his voice. But then he added with a bit more of defiance, "So maybe I was wrong about you after all. I thought you were different. But now I know that you're a _coward_ for not admitting the truth!"

This time, Skulker's eyes flared in rage before he drew his free arm back and smacked the boy right in the jaw. The force of the blow yanked the rope right out of his other hand and sent the Ghost Boy flying several yards away from him.

Danny groaned with the pain and dizziness when he landed in a heap.

"_Well, I really did ask for it, didn't I?"_ he moaned to himself when his dizziness returned ten-fold.

If the boy didn't know before, he was absolutely certain now that he hadn't fully recovered from being beaten by Walker and his goons, much less have been able to withstand anything Skulker had just dished out to him. Still, he felt he needed to hold his ground and refuse to fight. At least he still had a choice in that. He struggled to pull himself up off the ground since his arms were still tightly bound.

In the meantime, the Ghost Hunter's eyes narrowed on the panting young half-ghost who had yet recovered enough to move from where he had thrown him. Not that he was really surprised that the whelp was still there. After all, it was obvious that he hadn't given the pup time to fully recuperate from that incredible beating that Walker and just about everyone in the prison must have given the boy. But then, he saw the boy struggling to get up…

Before Danny could fully right himself, however, Skulker was upon him and wrapping his large robotic hand around his waist once more. In one swift move, the cyborg ghost was squeezing his waist and yanking his body back up again so that the boy was now eye-to-eye with the angry ghost.

"How dare you call me a **coward**!" Skulker seethed with his eyes and hair flaring with his fury as he tightened his hold around the boy. "I am no such thing! I never give into fear. Fear is for weaklings!"

Danny was struggling to pull air back into his lungs now that Skulker had inadvertently practically squeezed it all out when he grabbed him. He could even feel a few of his ribs cracking! And although the teen was dizzy with the effort, he stayed focused and dared to pant out, "Being…a… coward… doesn't… just mean… you run from fear!... And… knowing… that you're afraid… doesn't make you weak!"

Suddenly, Danny's mind was flooded with the words his friend Frostbite once told him when he was going to have to face Undergrowth again after being defeated by the plant ghost:

"_Fear is natural, Danny Phantom…Charging into battle despite the fear is what makes someone a hero. A hero must always believe that he will win…"_ **[1]**

The young hybrid drew strength from those words as he refocused on the situation. He then drew in as deep of a breath as he could and added more poignantly, "But not facing the truth of who you are and making me fight like some kind of fish on a hook right now makes you a coward!"

Skulker squeezed even harder and Danny jolted with all the pain but could not yell out because there was no air in his lungs. Instead, Danny felt his head spinning in circles and he knew he was about to lose consciousness.

But just then, Skulker hit him again.

Danny reeled from the blow as he crashed into the ground at the cyborg's feet. He choked painfully as he tried to suck oxygen back into his aching lungs, which was incredibly difficult to do. He laid there helpless to move and falling in and out of consciousness for several minutes while Skulker stood over him in indecision…

The Ghost Hunter frowned with confusion when the boy's last words had somehow been able to penetrate his central core….Especially when it triggered the scene he had with Plasmius not too long ago…

The two allies had briefly spoken in the control room of Plasmius' simulation room when the Ghost Child was in the mist of arguing with one of Plasmius' programs of the Observants right after the pup had fought with Ghost Writer.

His employer had been checking with him to make sure he was ready with his game plan should the whelp not caved after his fight with Walker. That had irritated him a bit since he always was ready with any game plan. Still, he had not wanted to fight the Ghost Boy under those circumstances —that is, having to completely…break the whelp while keeping him helpless —because it _did_ seem so…dishonest and…dishonorable. It wasn't as if he couldn't fight the whelp _without_ those circumstances; it was just that…Plasmius wanted it otherwise. He unconsciously frowned again. Even though he felt a strong…allegiance— even friendship— to Plasmius, he had disagreed with the man on this one…In fact, now that he thought about it, he was not in a very good mood since the moment he had to go through with this plan of his employer's. It just…didn't sit well with him…

With very good reason. This young half-ghost really was the most unique creature he had ever encountered. True, the whelp was similar to his employer. But he was also very...different from Plasmius. Danny Phantom unquestionably possessed what he secretly held dear: honor, loyalty and bravery—in fact, he had smelled the mixture of courage and fear in the boy just moments ago…But more courage, now that he thought about it….

Still, there was more…

Somehow right now, Skulker felt that the whelp's qualities were also far different than his own version of them, but now he had an inkling as to why. He paused at the thought. Maybe that was why he never really liked changing his plans for Plasmius...

Still….

He would never admit it to the whelp still panting at his feet, but he _hadn't_ truly been honest with himself about who he was…But the whelp was also very wrong about him…

The Hunter Ghost knew that he was no coward; that he never walked away from any fight. And he knew he was more than brave. He _was_ honorable, sticking to his own code of….

He stopped and his body tensed slightly.

Skulker couldn't really say for once that he kept _any_ code of ethics, since he often time…compromised those higher ideals. But he did have a code of conduct of sorts…though right now, he wasn't sure exactly what type of code he was using…or _how_ he used it…

But then, for some reason, the hunter felt compelled to search his central core for that answer…

And the truth stung a bit…

He was using his own code of conduct and ethics all right—ones that he twisted and made-up as it suited him—which meant that whatever code he was using was essentially relative to only himself and a shadow of any other higher code…And that was…dishonest…

He looked down at the young hybrid still at his feet. The whelp was moving a little, but not enough to say that he was recovering. Skulker frowned. Maybe he would give him a little more time…

His brow furrowed more when his mind suddenly shifted back to his personal conflict. So what if his code suited only himself? He knew what loyalty was and he was certain that he was loyal…He paused about that…Well, okay, he was loyal _only_ to Plasmius. And that was because they were allies and had a…connection, really, a…friendship. In fact, they trusted each other with each other's…He paused. _Lives, after-lives_, it didn't matter which because it was still true. But then, he threw those thoughts away. He knew he would be loyal to Plasmius no matter what…No matter what? He paused again. What good was loyalty when it was almost blind to whom it kept allegiance?

The thought unsettled him a bit…But wait! The hunter suddenly clung to his next thought. There was another ghost with who he had an affinity. He was loyal to Technus, wasn't he? After all, they often worked together. He hesitated again. But that wasn't because of _loyalty_…it was because of their common interests in gizmos and gadgets. And even then, they were really rivals, not loyal friends…

But what about his bargain with …Walker. Wasn't that a sense of loyalty? Suddenly, the thought tasted bitter. No…they didn't even _like _each other! And they weren't even good 'partners in crime'! He suddenly didn't want to think about that ghost anymore.

There were those other beings that Skulker was loyal to…But then, he stopped again. No, there were _no_ others; and then suddenly, he felt he had just cheapened the word when all along he was not capable of giving his trust—giving his loyalty—to most anyone….Because most of those ghosts he knew were not honorable enough to give it back to him, like…

His eyes reflexively fell upon the now curled up young half-ghost. But he threw those thoughts about loyalty away. Instead, the Ghost Hunter narrowed his eyes and studied Danny for a moment…He wasn't aware that he had relaxed when he realized that the boy was still breathing at least.

That just brought his thoughts full circle. Once again, Skulker wondered why the boy had said all those things about his helping him and why the boy seemed to be so distraught when he had brought them up. Was it because the boy was still distraught over being beaten by Walker? Skulker shook his head. Somehow, the pup didn't have the scent of utter defeat around him when he first came upon him…

Skulker paused as something clicked in his brain. And he now knew why the scent around pup had been so…odd when the whelp first saw him. The boy had somehow felt _betrayed_ by him. But…But _how_ could the whelp have any sense of betrayal when he and the boy never had any bond of loyalty? Suddenly, he had his answer after recalling the nuance of scent around the boy. The whelp felt betrayed because somehow the boy had some _trust in __**him**_ before that.

Once again, Skulker refused to hold those thoughts any longer. He looked down at Danny again and nudged him with his foot. Why wasn't the boy recovering so he could get on with the hunt? He silently growled in irritation and those feelings refocused his thoughts on Walker and the whelp's scent of betrayal.

He wasn't even aware now that his mind was becoming even more locked into a struggle with his conscience. But it was obvious with how his hands fisted at his sides.

He wanted to deny those thoughts. He had done _nothing_ wrong in partnering with the Warden! Skulker had made a deal with Walker only to secure his freedom—which, coincidentally, would help Plasmius in his own plans…

After his breakout of the prison long ago—which he had to admit had been possible because of the whelp still lying motionless at his feet—Walker had been trying to get to him and bring him back to prison again.

At first, the hunter instinct in him was thrilled with the game. After all, it wasn't every day that the cyborg got to use his hunting skills as _prey_. But, unfortunately, when he had let his guard down only once, Walker's henchmen had succeeded in capturing and bringing him back to the prison. Things didn't go well there, of course…But then, Plasmius had been able to break him out a second time.

That was both good news and bad. Good, because Plasmius' aid had solidified their friendship; and bad, because Walker once again had started another ghost hunt for him since he considered to be a runaway prisoner again.

But this time, Skulker was not willing to be constantly on his guard. It truly interfered with his hunting other ghosts—especially for the young half-ghost who had become his prime target of interest.

So, Skulker had felt that it was time to put a stop to Walker's incessant attempts to bring him back to prison. And that meant that it was time for the Ghost Hunter to turn the tables and _hunt_ Walker!

And hunt Walker he did! Furthermore, since Walker was always so smug that he wouldn't have expected a twist like this at all, Skulker had exerted almost no effort in capturing the prison warden.

Of course Walker was furious at now being on the 'prisoner' end of that encounter, which made him hostile to any of Skulker's bargain at first. Not that Skulker was surprised. But once the Ghost Hunter had introduced two of his most unpredictable and aggressive unique ghost 'trophies' into the warden's cage, Walker was more than ready to compromise—with a few bumps, bruises and scratches as an added bonus.

Skulker smirked in delight at that mental picture. But then he frowned almost right away at his next thought.

Even after that, it had not been smooth sailing to come to the any reasonable or civil conversation to start any kind of deal with the despicable warden. That is until they finally had remembered the only bargaining chip upon which they both could agree upon, which was….the Ghost Child!

He reflexively looked down at Danny again. He frowned. The whelp was still unconscious! Did he hit him that hard?

He shook his head of those thoughts. Why should he care? All that should matter that both he and Walker wanted him for their own personal reasons; which, ironically, had garnered a sense of commonality between them after all. Walker wanted the young half-ghost's hide to rot in his prison and Skulker wanted the whelp's hide to rot on his mantle!

However, a dilemma still existed on how to satisfy both parties' desires. And that was when Skulker took full advantage of the fact that he now had the upper hand since Walker was now _his_ prisoner. It certainly was another advantage that the cyborg ghost knew enough about the prison itself to present his plan.

And finally, after a bit more heated discussion, the bone-faced warden complied. Skulker smirked. At least it was easier for him to get the Prison Head to agree when he made it clear to Walker that he had even more of his unique ghost trophies ready to convince the warden if he didn't…

But before any final plans were made, Skulker had discussed them with Plasmius. After all, he often discussed things with the older hybrid since they were… friends….

Skulker paused as, his eyebrows creased with uncertainty. Now that he thought about it, at the time Plasmius seemed partially interested, but only in the '_capturing _Danny Phantom' part, not on the 'rotting on his mantle' part. He paused again. So, that would explain things...

Still, he made his plans—with a slight change in them, which among other things including a delay in following through on them until just recently, as a favor to… Plasmius...

So this win-win bargain for the two ghosts was set—all at the whelp's expense.

But both ghosts had twisted their plans to their own liking. Skulker had actually not captured the Ghost Child—Vlad did. But Vlad also knew of Skulker's dilemma and had agreed to 'kill two birds with one stone' so to speak.

And Walker?

The Hunter Ghost unconsciously growled under his breath with irritation.

Walker had indeed twisted their plans. And beating the Ghost Child to an inch of his life and after-life had _not_ been part of the agreement!

In fact, that changed everything and still left a sour taste in the Ghost Hunter's mouth. He had privately terminated their partnership when he saw the very injured young ghost once he had met Walker at their predetermined time and neutral place.

The cyborg stopped in his musings…Somehow, he didn't trust Walker after that —and somehow, he felt he never would again.

Still, he did get the pup in the end for his own fun, even if he had to wait for the whelp to recover. And since he definitely had honed the 'patience' side of virtues, that wasn't hard to do; that is, until the whelp's reactions threw another wrench into his well-oiled plans…

He finally refocused back on the now still Ghost Child. He couldn't believe that the pup was still unconscious! True, he had given the whelp quite a punch. Still, why wasn't the boy recovering? He knew that the Ghost Child had excellent and quite remarkable healing abilities; but he almost seemed to be as injured as Walker had left him. Why?

But what Skulker didn't think about at the moment was that Danny was not recovering well because of all the mounting stress of so many factors so far, which were, of course, all efforts on Plasmius' part to break the boy's spirit.

The cyborg decided that he didn't care about any reasons why the whelp was not recovering. He just wanted the hunt to begin…And just before he also decided that it was time to rouse the whelp, out of the blue, what the boy had said about him earlier hit him squarely between his robotic eyes again. He was _no_ coward! He had to be brave to remain a focused hunter. And even though he wasn't loyal to many ghosts—well, okay, only to one half-ghost—he was an honorable ghost. He always dealt fairly to others as long as….He slowed his train of thought and frowned when the truth still leaked out. He dealt fairly with others as long as _it suited his purposes…or—_maybe_— out of curiosity_. Nothing more. Not for the _sake of_ being fair or fair-minded for the right reasons. Not for the sake of respecting or even having any _empathy_ for others.

His face tightened at the sudden realization that he had not given any thought to the Ghost Child's…feelings…to his being a pawn in his and Walker's plans—or even Plasmius' ultimate plan. He _had _treated the boy as if he were some….object. So, really, he _had_ at least betrayed the boy's _dignity…_Maybe he was a coward—not because he feared anything…He stopped…except only the _truth_—like the boy had said!

Instead of feeling any compunction over that, Skulker suddenly scoffed and grew angry. The Ghost Child knew _nothing_ about him! And he would not let anyone's feelings make him weak, especially not _his_ own! How dare he let the brat make him slip! He knew of Plasmius' plans for the boy; and even though he now admitted that he had gladly played into the older hybrid's plan because he was jealous that the boy would distract Plasmius' time with him, he was always going to help Plasmius because he was loyal to him—_not_ the whelp!

Those thoughts spurred him to the point that he was now indignant. The Ghost Brat had _his own_ flaws and therefore had no right to point any fingers at him!

Still…

He paused.

But then the Ghost Hunter suddenly growled in anger again. There was no 'still' anymore. He used his well-honed and well-used tactics to repress his emotions. It was time to resume his current plans concerning the younger hybrid.

He reached down and angrily jerked the still hurting Ghost Boy off of the ground by his collar this time and brought him right up to his face again. He hesitated a moment when the boy seemed to have trouble focusing on him. Nevertheless, he sneered, "You _will_ fight me, whelp, or I will rip your hide off of you right _now_!"

Danny gasped to alertness and he remembered what he last said to Skulker and how he had ended up being this helpless because of it.

Nevertheless, Danny lowered his sadden eyes. He had hoped that he could have reasoned with the ghost. That he could have helped the cyborg see what an even better ghost he could be if only he truly embraced all his best qualities—bravery, loyalty, honesty—like he was supposed to do and not with his _misguided_ and poorly-formed code of conduct.

Once again disheartened, Danny mumbled, really to himself, "I-I thought you were different. I thought you knew what real bravery, loyalty, and honor was… But… But you've just settled for something shallower, only because you're not willing to pay the price… I guess I shouldn't have expected that from you."

But of course Skulker heard what the boy had said since he was literally in the whelp's face. And the boy's scent was all around him. He had the boy where he wanted him. Still, he couldn't help but challenge, "What are you talking about, whelp? What 'price'? And expect what? To trick or demand all those things out of others, like I demand you to fight me now?"

Danny looked back up at him a moment before letting his eyes fall again as he sadly whispered, "No. As one of my …ghost friends said: to do the right thing no matter the consequences. And I will not grovel to you or anyone else, Skulker. So, go ahead! Do what you want to do! I know now you don't know anything about real honor… You… You're nothing but an evil and obsessive ghost! But I won't be like you! I will not fight you!"

Skulker's eyes widened as he felt his central core constrict in conflict. But that only angered him more as he slammed his fist more than once into the bound boy.

Danny screamed in pain, but Skulker didn't hear it.

The older ghost was blinded by his anger, or else he would have let that scream make him come to his senses and melt his central core. And he would have realized that the scent around the Ghost Child now wasn't one of defiance; it was of disappointment with _him_. He would have also realized that the pup couldn't have fought back even if he wanted to because his arms were still bound and he was still weakened—both physically and mentally—by Walker's severe beating and his very discouraged feelings and because adequate sleep and nourishment were purposely being withheld from him.

But Skulker could also sense that Danny's psyche was quickly wearing down because of these factors, especially when Skulker would not let up in his blows. The boy was so disheartened, so at the brink of mental and physical collapse at this moment, he couldn't even put himself into a survivalist mode.

Instead, the boy's tears silently rushed out and down his face when he realized that Skulker wasn't the brave, honest and loyal ghost he thought he was. In some ways, then, it was ironical that he was growing numb under Skulker's angry fists; otherwise, the overwhelmingly sad realization about this ghost would have hurt even more.

Once Danny was slammed into the ground again, he would not be able to get back up at this point even if he wanted to. He was quickly losing consciousness again. Through his blurring vision, Danny could see Skulker's pulling out a large sword; and the hurt finally shot through him. This must be the way the Observants had wanted him to die, then! By the hands of a ghost he had once respected and _wanted_ _as a loyal friend_!

But suddenly, the boy's soul could not accept that even amidst of his pain and despair! And with his last ounce of consciousness, his soul screamed out to the one above every living creature he trusted the most…

"Please," he silently and desperately pleaded to the cosmos, "help me!"

And all went black and his body was still….

…..And somewhere else and several moments later, Sam jolted up in her bed and screamed, "Danny!"

….While three others twisted fitfully in their sleep…

* * *

><p>"THAT'S ENOUGH, SKULKER!" Vlad anxiously screamed into the microphone that piped into the simulation room.<p>

The words jolted the Ghost Hunter out of his almost trance-like rage and barely stopped himself from cleaving in two the unconscious and still bound Ghost Boy crumpled at his feet.

Skulker blinked as he gained control over his emotions once more. He paused a moment before he lowered his sword, turned his head to his employer and simply and emotionlessly replied, "Very well. Was that satisfactorily enough? The whelp's scent is unmistakable. I think he is on the verge of mental collapse at this moment."

Vlad stared back at him in shock for a moment. He had never seen his ally lose control like that… He had heard his conversation with the boy, and if Vlad didn't know better, he could swear Skulker had been affected by it! But that couldn't be! Skulker couldn't possibly feel anything for Daniel…

Skulker nervously rubbed his neck, and actually glanced away. But when his eyes locked onto the bloodied and unconscious Danny Phantom, he tensed and turned his attention back to his employer.

Trying to ignore his reaction, he repeated, "I think you are on the brink of success, Plasmius…"

Vlad seemed to snap out of it at last. He was really angry at the Hunter for losing control like that, but he was just as equally in disbelief; but he forced it down and focused again.

"Yes, the monitors verify that, Skulker. Good job!" Plasmius said, his voice still shaking but much calmer and now having a trace of triumph and relief in it as well. He had actually thought that Skulker was about to kill the boy! Still, he added, "You can go now, Skulker. I'll talk to you later, all right?"

Skulker silently nodded his acknowledgement. And he knew it was time for him to go check on a few more things for the billionaire.

But as the Hunter happened to glance back down at the unconscious younger hybrid so helpless at his feet, for the first time in his afterlife, he was not so sure about the meaning of victory, or even, about other important things…

And that was a very unsettling feeling….

* * *

><p><strong>(1) Quoted from <strong>_**Urban Jungle**_**, written by Butch Hartman.**

**A/N:** **I hope you liked this chapter. It's actually one of my favorites because Skulker is one of my favorite villain ghosts. I absolutely love his personality and as you can see, I shared my thoughts with you about his 'true' character. And, of course, how much Danny really affected him. Still, I feel sad for him and Danny. And I'm worried about Danny.**

**In the meantime, the Fantomos Ecto-Scale continues…**

**289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, TrueHeart**

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**289-level 6-**_**Gamma**_**—Ghost Writer**

**289-level 6-**_**Beta**_** —Walker**

**289-level 6-**_**Alpha**_**—Skulker**


	32. Chapter 32 Hope Rising

**A/N: Hey, gang! How is everyone? Thanks again for your support, especially from all of you mystery reviewers to whom I can't send a personal message. And to all of you mystery readers: be brave and let me know what you think because I thrive on all of your reviews!**

**Well, I've been itching for this chapter to come! I can't stand what is happening to Danny and so I now that I've finally been able to wrestle the keyboard from Ms. Hyde, it's my turn at this story! But just so you know, there is some reference here to some of my past stories as well, so hope you're up to speed with those. *winks* Ahem. Well, anyways, here is Chapter 32. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 32—Hope Rising<p>

Sam groaned at the tremendous headache that still had a grasp on her mind. She opened her eyes and saw only blackness. That didn't alarm her, however, because she knew she was in her bed and her room was always dark.

As she reached to cradle her forehead, she hoarsely moaned, "I-I feel awful!"

She immediately started to cough harshly after uttering those words. Her throat was very dry and it hurt to talk! But then, the thought that had startled her relatively awake set the bells and whistles off again: "_Danny_!"

The girl tried to search her dulled, aching mind for why she had this sudden and very bad feeling about her boyfriend. But nothing was clear to her. In fact, she was so discombobulated that it hadn't even occurred to her to call him telepathically. Still, she moved slightly and immediately noticed that something was definitely off...

She wondered _why_ she was in her bed— and odder than that— _fully dressed_ _and in her bed_.

Sam slowly pulled herself to sit and immediately leaned against her bedpost a moment when a wave of dizziness and weakness seized her. She felt as if she was going to faint. In fact, little did the girl know that the effects of the knock-out Formula 286 psi-1_A_ were still trying to pull her back to sleep; and that she had only gotten momentary strength to counter those effects through her telepathic link with her boyfriend—which was much stronger than his— and her special spirit powers.

"_Whoah! This isn't right!_" She hazily thought as she tried to steady herself even when she was still only sitting. _"What happened?"_

The weakened girl then somehow felt that she would be able to control her scrambled thoughts once she washed her face and got some water to drink. She struggled to come to a stand. But now that her legs were refusing to hold her up, she wasn't even sure if she could make it to her bathroom! Still, she was determined to move. She grabbed the bedpost and began to pull herself to a stand.

But then, she suddenly lost her balance when she felt a hot knife-like pain sear through her heart and brain at the same time.

"_Danny!"_ she screamed again as she reflexively grabbed both sides of her head.

She was now certain that her boyfriend was in tremendous pain and in grave danger.

But with her physical and emotional stress, she was too late in catching her fall. And in the process of falling backwards and sidewards at the same time, she hit her head on the side of one of her bedpost.

At another time, that wouldn't have necessarily knocked her out. But since the sleeping potion's effects hadn't even begun to wear off, that blow was enough for her to lose total consciousness and crumple onto her bed…

* * *

><p>GRRR!<p>

A bed squeaked with a slight movement.

GRRRRRRR!

The bed then squeaked louder at the sudden moment when Jack Fenton jolted up in his bed.

The head of the Fenton family groaned at the sudden light-headedness that tried to knock him back out, which could not happen at the moment because of something wonderful: his big, fat, _empty _stomach!

Most people would not be able to overcome the sleeping potion. It was actually formulated to slow its victims' vital functions down a bit, yet slowly starve and dehydrate them at the same time so that there would be no trace on how they had died. But what Vlad had never anticipated within what he thought was his most perfect plan was just how physically strong Jack was in spite of being on the hefty side—and, more importantly, how nearly impossible it was to conquer Jack's large appetite.

And Danny's father was incredibly long overdue in feeding his legendary stomach! Not only that, but the man would have woken sooner if he hadn't hit his head when he had fallen over the kitchen table when he was first affected by Vlad's insidious sleeping formula.

The large man shook his head, trying to remember how he ended up here in bed —fully dressed? He turned toward the dimming light emanating through his bedroom window. He looked at his bedside clock. It was late afternoon? He never took a nap and usually retired much later than this. And why was it that he felt like he hadn't eaten for a week?

And really, he wasn't very far off from that amount of lapsed time!

He reflexively ran his hand through his disheveled hair, only to startle when his hand brushed his face on its way back down! He quickly felt that area again. He had a beard and a mustache? He frowned in confusion as he searched his mind for any memories that might make some sense to what he was feeling….

Nevertheless, Jack slowly pulled himself out of bed and promptly lost his balance a bit once he stood up.

"Whoah!" he blurted out, only to wince in pain. His voice was very hoarse and his dizziness increased to the point that he had to sit back down on his bed. _"I feel like I've just gotten over the flu! How long have I been out?"_….He frowned at his next thought. _"That's strange. The last thing I remember…."_

He instinctively yet anxiously called out, "Maddie?!" But his throat was so dry he could barely choke it out. And he immediately coughed afterward.

Still, silence was his only greeting.

But Jack couldn't know that Maddie had originally been lying right next to him at first, since she had also fallen victim to the Formula 268 psi-1_A_. So, that fact made her disappearance all the more bizarre…

"Maddie! Danny!" the man called more forcefully before he coughed even more on the words.

But all he heard was the slightly scratchy echo of their names.

Now getting a creepy feeling, especially when the last thing he remembered was washing a head of lettuce in the kitchen, Jack stumbled to his bathroom to wash his face.

But when he looked in the mirror, he gasped. He looked _horrible_! He had a deep gash on the side of his forehead with a couple of tracks of dried blood that had once oozed out of it. Not only that, but his dull blue eyes were sunken and had very dark circles under them. And that rather significant and unkempt beard didn't help his appearance!

The man quickly threw cold water onto his face before cupping his hands and taking a handful of the liquid. The first few sips hurt as they slid down his parched throat. But as he imbibed more and more water, his throat felt better and better. Finally, after drinking several handfuls of water—and splashing his face again—he felt partially recovered.

"What happened?" he uttered; and the dread resounding within that thought startled him enough to completely clear the cobwebs of Formula 286 psi-1_A_ out of his mind.

He stumbled out of his bathroom and yelled out once more, "Maddie! Danny! Answer me!"

But instead of waiting for any answer—especially when he suddenly had the sick feeling that there would be none—he kept moving toward the stairwell.

Once he got to the top of the stairs and looked down, however, he suddenly had a bout of vertigo—something that he never had before. But then again, he never had gone this long without food and water, either.

Even though he knew he had nothing in his stomach but water, he suddenly felt very nauseous. He leaned against the wall while trying to squelch the thought of vomiting…

He then squished his eyes together and tried to get control over his suddenly rapid breathing and his dizziness. _"From the thickness of my beard, I must not have eaten or had anything to drink for several days or maybe more,"_ he thought. _"Then…if I was that sick, why aren't I in the hospital?"_

He jolted at the only answer that presented itself to him_…"Because, something happened to Maddie and Danny!"_

"Oh, God, no!" he frantically pleaded while retracing his steps to his son's bedroom.

He threw open the door and gasped in dread. The place was in utter destruction!

"He's been in a fight!" Jack exclaimed as he entered the room. He inspected some nearby scorch marks and twisted the ashes in between his fingers. He knew that feel. "And he fought a ghost! But which one?"

But then, he felt another wave of dizziness. He had to get something to eat—now— or he knew he was going to faint!

Holding onto the wall or nearby fixture, the man stumbled back to his bedroom, sat on his bed and pulled open the small drawer of his bedside table. But he frowned when he found what he was looking for. His thoughts drifted to his wife and son as he reached into the drawer and whispered, "Please don't think I don't care."

He had been able to stay away from it for months now, ever since he swore it off after fighting the Fright Knight.

"But just this once, okay?" he continued, as if his family was here and he was asking for their permission. "Because I might faint if I don't!" he finally added before grabbing a large handful of fudge and stuffing it into his mouth.

His eyebrows rose when he realized just how difficult it was for him to chew the fudge—he was weaker than he thought!

The man clutched the rest of the container of fudge and returned to his bathroom. This time he grabbed a small bathroom cup, and began to wash the fudge down. He groaned when that combination of semi-solid and liquid seemed to scrape his still parched, dry throat open as it moved downward. Still, he steeled himself and downed about a dozen or so more of those small cups of water before filling the cup to the brim again and sitting down on the closed toilet. He grasped another handful of the chocolate confection, forced it in his mouth and chased it down with another gulp of water.

Suddenly, he felt as if he was about to vomit again! He closed his eyes and tried to resist the urge. He knew he shouldn't have rushed eating and drinking, but he also knew his body was desperate for nourishment. He bent over the sink and lay his head on top of his folded arms. If he couldn't control his nausea and would have to vomit, at least he was glad he was still in the bathroom.

He began to relax in the next few minutes when he realized that he was feeling less nauseous, woozy and weak. He could tell he was definitely getting a much-needed sugar high. And in that instant he was glad. He needed that surge of energy because now he was sure that he had been out for the count at every level. He wanted to eat and drink more, but he knew he would have to take it slowly and not eat so much for the next few minutes, maybe hours if possible.

Jack sighed in some relief before he looked down at himself. He certainly looked like he had lost quite a few pounds more because his jumpsuit was actually quite saggy on him. He had expected to take it in anyhow because he had already lost several expected pounds in the last few months since he had eliminated fudge—and even cheese whiz—from his diet. In fact, he no longer had been complaining of feeling like a rabbit whenever he ate salad. But he had never intended on going on a crash diet as radical as this one apparently was!

"But enough of this!" he finally said out loud once he noticed that his dizziness had fully ebbed away. And he was also glad that his voice didn't sound as gravelly. "I've got to see where my family is!"

He did a quick search of Jazz's room. It was empty, of course—just as he half-hoped it would be. No matter his anxiousness, he was slightly thankful that she was out-of-town at college. At least she was safe —at least, he hoped so. Still, he was also upset that he didn't find his wife or son in here—not that he really expected it, but he had to be sure. He then quickly inspected the guest room and still came up empty.

Finally, Jack made his way to the stairs and was glad that when he looked down, he no longer had any vertigo. Nevertheless, he firmly grabbed the handrail and slowly lowered himself down the stairs as quickly as his still weakened knees and hungry stomach allowed.

He quickly searched the other rooms downstairs; and he could plainly see that they were empty, too, with no signs of any struggle taking place within them. That was good and bad news. Good, because the fight that Danny had took place only in his room; and bad because that did not explain why his son —and his wife, for that matter —were missing.

The man ended up in the kitchen and instantly saw that its usual furniture was gone. Except for that, everything was in perfect order —_too_ perfect.

His brow scrunched up again. He was sure that the last thing he remembered was that he and Maddie were making dinner. Yet, there was _no_ trace of that.

"Well, I have been out of it for several days, so I'm sure Maddie would have cleaned up. But why would the kitchen table and chairs be gone? And why didn't she leave me a note of where she is if she's gone, like she _always_ does? And why is Danny's room such a mess, then?" he mused as he began to re-inspect every section he knew where he and Maddie had been.

Except for a fine layer of dust, the counters were perfectly clean. That was odd. Maddie would never allow _any_ dust to attack her kitchen. In fact, even some of the old stains on the counters were gone.

The man frowned, searching his mind. "Wait a minute!" he cried out. "Ectoplasmic energy does wonders on stains! Danny was always proud of that! So, did the ghost who attacked Danny in his room, uh, and maybe come down here and, er, cleaned up, uh, sorta?"

He then uttered his next wild thought, "Naw! That couldn't have been a _girl scout _ghost who attacked Danny!...Well, at least I hope not! That would be very embarrassing!"

Still, Jack did another quick inspection and then…he saw it! He frowned in puzzlement before he half-grinned at the realization.

"Thank goodness Danny forgot for the hundredth time to fix that leaky sink!" the man slightly chuckled when he could see the small pool of liquid still standing in one of the small imperfect indentations of the sink. Only this liquid wasn't clear…it was _black_ and thick as an ominous foggy night.

Jack had just discovered another detail that Vlad in his overconfidence had overlooked. Formula 286 _psi-_1_A_—the stuff that would knock out anyone who touched it—was clear and tasteless. It would eventually and harmlessly dissipate without a trace in two hours as Vlad expected. However, that was true while it was in an _airless _pipe. But once it mixed with air for a period of time, it would coagulate and darken to the point that it would not evaporate and leave a telltale clue behind…

"This just might give me a clue on what happened," Jack said with hope as he retrieved a glass from the cupboard and carefully scooped up a good sample of it. And he was glad he had been extra careful not to touch any of the black liquid when he saw how it actually oozed into the cup like very heavy syrup.

The man hurried down to the lab and quickly and carefully transferred the liquid to a vial, which he immediately sealed.

He sighed at his next sensation. He was feeling light-headed again. He knew he had to eat some more before he could do any more investigating. After all, that sugar rush would only last so long.

The man hurriedly grabbed several slices of cold cuts and gobbled them down as quickly as his still dry throat would allow. He followed that with a large glass of orange juice. He just didn't want to take the time to eat—or eat too much too quickly— even though he knew he had to. After downing another large glass of orange juice, Jack began to head down to the lab. He really needed to examine that sample. Maybe it could give him an idea on where his wife and son were…But just as he got to the top of the stairs leading to the lab, he stopped at his next thought.

Danny's friends! Maybe _they_ knew where he was. At least, that's what he hoped.

The man turned back into the kitchen and headed to the telephone. He lifted the handset up to his ear. He frowned when there was no dial tone coming from the earphone! He pushed the switch button a few times, all with the same results.

"Well, there's always the phone in the living room," he replied almost casually as he scurried to the next room.

The large man gasped when he spied a small black contraption with red and yellow wires protruding from it and small green light shining brightly at its top. He had never seen anything like it before. His first instinct was to yank it off the phone but he hesitated.

"This whole thing is getting stranger than me not eating fudge—and, hey, that last time doesn't count since it was an emergency!" Jack mused.

Still, he frowned. What was he going to do now?

"Darn it," he said with a slight whine. "Why didn't Maddie let me get a cell phone? I always wanted one. Jazz and Danny have one. Why can't I?"

He stopped at his next thought. Didn't 'breaking a lot of things, including at least ten cell phones' ring a bell? He mumbled, "Well, okay, but I'm getting better at that. I mean, better at not...Uh, worse at breaking things…Oh, Darn! I know what I mean!"

But then he grew sober. "Hey, I'm sure I saw Danny's cell phone on his bureau, which is good news and bad news. 'Bad news' because I can't call Danny—sorry son!" He then chuckled a bit, "Don't need to apologize for someone who isn't here, Fenton!"

He suddenly frowned at getting distracted and commanded, "Focus! Now where was I? Oh, yeah. Danny's cell phone! There may be some 'good news' after all. I'm sure that Danny has Tucker's phone number on it and I can call _him_. Not only might he know where Danny is, but maybe I can ask him to help me. I could sure use him and his great little PDA to help me analyze that black stuff, too."

Jack hurried up the stairs as fast as he could and headed to Danny's room; grabbed his son's phone; retrieved Tucker's phone number after fumbling for several minutes— including turning off the phone by mistake— and finally dialed it….

The man anxiously waited for the boy to answer it…

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Tucker was the <em>second<em> person stirring after Danny's frantic plea. Danny's cry had been able to tap into something the trio of best friends didn't completely know about, but which had come to light in their last encounter with Spectra: Tucker's weaker but active telepathic bond that existed among the three best friends. That spirit energy was enough to jolt the dark-skinned boy to a semi-conscious state.

In fact, that same partially awaken state had happened a few times already for both of Danny's friends; but each of them did no more than stir fitfully for several minutes at a time when Danny had sent out an unconscious plea for help several times before now. But up to now, Sam and Tucker had just fallen right back in the clutches of knock-out Formula 286 psi-1_A_ shortly after their telepathic link had been activated.

Then, as if by grace, before Tucker had settled back down into a completely unconscious state again, Danny's father had called him from Danny's cell phone. Even in his half-conscious state, Tucker frowned as he vaguely recognized the familiar ring tone of his male best friend erupting from his cell phone. And just as reflexively, his hand groped for the device to answer it.

But since the boy was not fully alert, his hand clumsily bumped into his cell phone and knocked it to the floor, which in turn, accidentally opened up the connection with its fall…

"Hello?" Jack asked when the ringing had stopped and he heard a loud thud of some sort.

"Hello? Tucker? This is Mr. Fenton…Hello?"

Jack frowned. That was odd. But what he heard next was even odder…

He couldn't really discern it, though. It did sound like something or someone moving. And then he heard a loud, painful groan!

The man's heart began to race. Something was terribly wrong!

"Tucker!" he said more earnestly and nervously into the mouthpiece. "Tucker! Uh, all you alright, son?...This is Danny's father!...Tucker? Where are your parents?..."

When Jack still got no answer except for an anther painful groan, he began to panic and hurriedly said, "I'm going to get you help, Tucker! Just hang in there!"

His hands now shaking, Jack hung up and pushed '9-1-1'; and anxiously waited for someone to pick up. But, inexplicably, it just kept ringing…and ringing!

Now thinking that he had flubbed up again, the man hung up and dialed more carefully the three important numbers….But once again, the phone just kept ringing!

"_**What is going on?**__"_ his mind screamed out as he disconnected the phone. Now he was _really_ worried. First his family's missing, then the dead phone lines, that weird contraption on the phone in the living room, and now this?

Jack stood stunned in the silence before then he noticed _just how_ silent it was! It had been there all along but he was so caught up in everything else that his senses didn't alert him to it.

He hurried to the nearby window in his son's room and threw it open….

The streets! The streets were completely deserted! No cars, no people, nothing!

But then, the man heard a strange noise eerily echoing throughout the deserted street. He cocked his head at the sound... It was quite a distance away and seemed to be in the direction of Central Park. And it sounded as if something was being _built_!

Jack frowned in confusion, "That sounds like a big project…Hmm…reminds me of the big task we had building the Specter Transfer Tower for that Disasteroid way back when, uh, heh-heh, when it really _didn't_ happen!" He chuckled a bit, "Man, that time flux thing still wows me!" But then, he frowned again as he chided himself for getting distracted once more, "Enough of this, Fenton! If help can't come to the Foleys from the outside, then it's going to come from their friends! Uh, but first…"

He hurried to his room and grabbed the rest of the fudge. He knew he would need more in just a little while and he wanted to be prepared. After shoving the packaged fudge into his pocket, he ran downstairs and out of his house as fast as his still weak and heavy —but not as heavy —body could go….

As Jack exited his home, he immediately noticed the quickly darkening skies. No wonder it seemed odd that it had been this dark for this time of day. True, the amount of light in the day at this time of year was very short, but the real reason why it was unusually dark now was because the sky was overcast! That meant he had better hurry to the Foleys while there was still enough light.

And the man not only didn't want to waste precious time, but he also didn't trust that he would have the energy to make it too far on foot until he had fully recovered even if the Foleys lived nearby. He quickly got into the Fenton RV and headed toward the Foleys' home.

But as he traveled and briefly surveyed the area, he could see absolutely no movement or signs of life. There wasn't even any traffic at the main intersection in this part of the town! He slowed his RV down and briefly peeked into some of windows of the homes as his RV passed them by. It didn't look like anyone was stirring in there, either.

The man was finally at the Foleys in what seemed like an eternity. He hurriedly parked the RV, ran as fast as he could to the front door, and knocked on it. He was not happy—but not totally surprised—that there was no answer. He knocked more loudly this time and yelled, "Maurice? Angela? It's Jack Fenton! Are you there?"

But when he still got no response, he chanced going to the side of the house. He hesitated a moment at not feeling right for peeking in; but he knew he had to. Nothing seemed out of order, yet no one was around, either. And he was still haunted by those groans.

"Well since the police and rescue didn't come when I called them, let's hope they don't come when I hope no one calls them!" Jack told himself as he started to go around to the front of the house. But suddenly, his foot hit something and whatever that was ricocheted off of his foot and ended up on a pile of leaves a few feet away from where he had accidentally kicked it.

Frowning, Jack walked over to it and his eyes widened when he brushed the leaves away. "Isn't that…Tucker's PDA? What's _it _doing out here?"

Now the man was very worried. He knew that the chances Tucker would be without this was…He hurried back around to the front of the house. He turned the knob and was surprised to see that it was _unlocked_!

But Jack couldn't have known that the Foleys' front door was unlocked because Tucker had _left_ it unlocked a little under a week ago. The teen had taken his PDA and gone outside to investigate why his home had loss both power and water all at once. But while Tucker had been searching for a reason for that, he had stumbled upon an invisible Vlad in the act of placing the sleeping potion in the plumbing system of his home. Vlad had attacked Tucker at that time and Tucker had dropped his PDA. But since Vlad had made Tucker and himself intangible and transported Tucker right up to his room, the front door had been overlooked and had not been re-locked.

"Okay," Jack slowly said in surprise, but still took in a deep breath before he opened the door and went right in.

"Maurice? Angela? Tucker?" he immediately called out once he had slowly and nervously crept into the Foleys' foyer.

"Hello?" he said more loudly as he made his way to the next room.

Then for every new room downstairs Jack either called a 'hello' or one or all of the names of the Foley family as he continued to search their house for them. But the utter silence which greeted him with each call actually made the hair on the back of his head stand up in dread.

Still, the head of the Fentons ventured further and finally decided that he was going to look upstairs.

He entered the first door that presented itself to him.

And that is when Jack saw him!

Tucker! Asleep in his bed with his shoes and glasses on? _"Why, I don't sleep in my clothes unless I have somewhere to go to first thing in the morning!_" was his immediate thought.

The man frowned and chided himself to concentrate as he looked at Danny's friend again. The boy was sleeping, all right. But he wasn't sleeping _peacefully_. In fact, Tucker was still writhing a bit. And he looked like he was in _pain_!

"Tucker? It's Danny's father, Mr. Fenton," He tentatively called, but the teen didn't answer him.

This time, Jack called out the boy's name more loudly and grew more nervous that the teen still had not awakened. Were all of the Foleys as ill as he had been? He then jolted. _Was the whole town suffering from some sort of epidemic?_

And actually, Jack wasn't far from the truth. There was a sort of epidemic in the town, but the citizens of Amity Park weren't infected with any disease…

Finally, Jack got the guts to get close enough to Tucker to try to shake him awake. But just when he was about to touch Tucker's shoulder, the man startled when Tucker's stomach growled —loudly!

And then Tucker actually groaned before moaning, "Sooooo….hunnngrryyy…"

Jack's eyebrows shot up in both surprise and understanding. He immediately retreated from the boy's room and flew down the stairs and headed for the kitchen.

He opened the refrigerator door and retrieved some milk out of it. But then, when he opened the cap to the milk container, he could immediately tell that it was spoiled. In fact, so was the juice that was in the fridge. All the other stuff in there was fine, but Jack wanted to try to wake Tucker with something easier to swallow.

He went over to their pantry and saw what might meet his needs, though he hesitated a bit.

"Well, it'll just have to do!" he finally decided as he popped the cap and poured the contents into a mug before he warmed it a bit in the microwave.

He smirked a bit that he felt so at ease in another kitchen. But then, he frowned, irritated with himself for going off on a tangent—again! He took the mug from the microwave, filled another and larger cup with water, and headed back upstairs.

When he entered Tucker's room again, he was sort of happy to see that Danny's friend was still fitful in his sleep.

He pulled the boy up to a sitting position, supported him, and brought the cup up to the boy's lips as he firmly said, "Here, Tucker, drink this."

Jack carefully placed the lip of the warmed mug into the boy's mouth and just as carefully poured some of its contents in. He was glad that the soup _stayed_ in and even gladder when he heard the boy swallow! He carefully put a bit more of the soup in the teen's mouth and relaxed a little more when Tucker swallowed an even larger gulp this time!

But then, the large man startled when Tucker gasped loudly and his eyes flew open as the teen yelled, "Vegetable soup?! I _hate _vegetable soup!" He suddenly coughed on his words right after that.

"Well, heh-heh, that did the trick, just as I had hoped!" Jack chuckled with a bit of triumph. After all, Danny's father knew well enough that the teen hated vegetables of any sort.

This time it was Tucker's turn to startle when he finally realized that not only was Danny's father who was speaking but that he was here…in his room!

Totally bewildered, Tucker pulled away from the man and not yet looking at his best friend's father, uttered in a very cracked and sore voice, "Mis-Mister F-Fenton?"

Once again, the boy reflexively closed his eyes and coughed hoarsely right after speaking and addressing the man.

"Easy, son! It's all right!" The man gently said with a serious frown before he stood up and pulled the pillows behind the teen's back for support.

His head still spinning a bit, Tucker finally turned to actually look at the man, and when he did, he yelled, "Arrghh!"

Jack jumped at the teen's outburst but before he could respond, Tucker uttered, "Y-Your beard!"

"Yeah, too early for Halloween, huh?" Jack quipped with a small, embarrassed chuckle.

"Uh-huh," Tucker barely uttered, now even more bewildered and still feeling very weak. He was finally able to choke out, "C-Can I have some water, please?"

"Oh. Right. Sure, son," Jack sheepishly said as he reached for the cup he had placed on Tucker's bedside table and handed it to the teen.

Tucker sniffed at it suspiciously. Once he was satisfied that it wasn't vegetable based, he slowly started to sip in the cool liquid, which instantly did a good job soothing his dry, sore throat.

"Something must have happened to everyone…We must have gotten some sort of flu….but that doesn't explain why Maddie and Danny are missing…" Jack mused really to himself, though his voice was very sober.

Choking a bit on that last sip of water, Tucker blurted out, "W-What?"

He immediately started coughing again and then groaned when Danny's father patted him on the back a little bit harder than what the man thought he was doing. Finally, the teen was able to choke out, "W-What do you mean, Mr. Fenton?"

Then seeing that the teen now had fear as well as confusion all over his face, Jack replied, "I've gotta tell you something that might get you upset, Tucker. But, I think that the whole town must have had some kind of sickness or something because the entire street is deserted and it doesn't look like any people are even moving around in their homes. On top of that, when I realized all of that and tried to contact the emergency people, no one answered! And for some reason, Danny and his mother are missing and I don't know why. But what's worse —and I don't know how —but Danny was in some kind of fight as well. Otherwise, I'm not sure what I mean."

Suddenly, Tucker's mind snapped to attention. "Mom! Dad!" he said with a gag out before quickly adding, "Valerie! Sam! Are they okay?"

"I don't know, Tucker," Jack soberly begun, only to stop when Tucker reacted.

The boy had been so worried about his loved ones that he had jumped right out of bed —only to promptly fall right to the floor from being so weak.

"Are you all right, Tucker?" the man fretfully gasped as he easily lifted the boy right back to his feet.

"No!" Tucker honestly said when he could feel his knees buckle again just as his head was seized with more dizziness.

Danny's father quickly grabbed and scooped the teen up under his arms as he gently asked, "Hey. Let me check on your parents and then I definitely need to give you something else to eat, all right?"

Though obviously still anxious, Tucker nodded weakly. His best friend's father then helped him back to bed and lay him back down against his propped up pillows.

Jack bit his lower lip in concern and anxiety as he started out of the boy's bedroom door. But then, he turned back with his next thought and sheepishly and nervously asked, "And Tucker?"

"Yes, Mr. F.?" the teen weakly replied.

"Uh, please try to stay awake, okay? I know I'm going to need your help."

'I'll try, sir," the boy quietly said, even when he was trying to steel himself from wanting to faint and had to close his eyes from his dizziness.

Jack opened the door to the next room and closed it right away when he could see that it was an empty guestroom.

The next room had lots of technological and electronic stuff all in it, including a small workbench. He knew that Tucker's father didn't really have any interest in that sort of stuff. So, that only meant…

Jack's eyes widened as he blurted out, "Tucker already has a man cave? That's not fair!" Then he thought about his lab and sheepishly added, "Well, okay, so I do have a man cave, but technically it's a co-ed cave because Maddie…" He stopped short.

Maddie!

Growing more serious once again, he chided himself, "Forget about that, Fenton! Time to find Maurice and Angela!"

He hurried to the next room and saw them lying on their bed. And once again, they were fully clothed, including having their shoes on —just as he had found himself and Tucker!

He quickly went over to the man and shook his shoulder and gently called, "Maurice?"

But when the sleep-induced man didn't respond, Jack grew more alarmed and shaking him more firmly, repeated with more concern, "Maurice? Wake up!"

Once more, there was no response.

Pursing his lips with worry, the man quickly looked more closely at Tucker's father and calmed a bit before mumbling, "Well, at least he's still breathing."

He glanced over to Tucker's mom and added, "And so is she. But why won't they wake up?"

He shook Tucker's father again, but this time also swatted his face a bit.

But Maurice didn't even flinch.

"This is bad," Jack said, biting his lower lip again.

But when his eyes fell to the bedside phone, he reflexively grabbed it and dialed '9-1-1'. Once again, the phone rang and rang without anyone picking up. "And this is even worse!" he said in chagrin before quickly hanging up.

But then he thought about that sample he took from his kitchen sink. That just _had _to do something with all of this. His mind began to race with that thought. "Better get Tucker some food because we have a lot of work to do!"

The man hurried back downstairs and searched more diligently for something for the boy to eat. He saw some high protein bars, a jar of peanut butter, and some boxed milk. He quickly gathered them and hoped that they would be good enough for now.

Jack rushed back upstairs and startled when he saw that Tucker's eyes were closed.

Trying to control the fear that was itching to completely seize him, the man said a little too frantically, "Tucker?"

Tucker's eyes slowly fluttered open and Jack sighed in relief before motioning to the food in his arms and saying, "Sorry, but this is all I could find that was ready and not spoiled."

"What about my parents?" Tucker asked, more worried about them than about his stomach right now.

Not wanting to scare the boy and also wanting to make sure that the teen would eat, Jack told him a half-truth, "They are okay but aren't able to get out of bed right now, but still want you to eat first."

Tucker smiled weakly. Sure they would. "Thanks, Mr. Fenton. And thanks for the food. I am a little —well, okay. I'm STARVED!"

Jack slightly grinned as he handed the teen the food and milk. He then sat down and also helped himself to some of what he had brought, since he made sure he had brought plenty.

Finally, Tucker felt full enough but not so full that he would get sick from having not eaten for several days. And he was already feeling a bit stronger when he finally said, "Thanks again, Mr. Fenton. I feel much better. So, I think I'll be able to get out of bed to see and help my parents."

Jack's face fell a little and when Tucker saw that he anxiously asked, "You did say they were okay, right?"

"Tucker," Jack began, his voice very gentle yet serious. "You know that they would have wanted to make sure that you were looked after first. I have to tell you that I was right when I told you that they were okay and in bed. But, I didn't tell you everything right away because I didn't want to scare you because I had to get you to eat. But here it is: I could not wake them up. But they're still breathing, so that's kinda good news. And I think that there might be a way to find out why they are sleeping so deeply…"

Tucker, however, was now in shock of what Danny's father had just told him. He could feel his heart pounding and his breathing gearing up like a race car ready to tear away from its starting line. Suddenly panicked, he loudly and frantically asked, "A-Are t-they in some kind of c-coma? We need to call an ambulance! And I need to see them! Why didn't you tell me that something was wrong with them?" The boy could feel tears rushing to his eyes and then he really began to freak out when he blurted out his next thoughts, "And what about Sam? I gotta get a hold of her!... And Valerie! Oh, no, is she in a coma, too? And where's Danny?"

Jack drew closer to the boy and hurriedly replied, "I don't know, Tucker, but please try to calm down. We can check on them all as soon as we can."

But in his panic, Tucker didn't hear what the man said. He started to get up out of bed, only to feel dizzy right away and even nauseous right after that. He groaned and lay back down. He instantly closed his eyes in the hopes that that would settle his head, his stomach and his emotions.

Meanwhile, Jack looked at Danny's friend with worry. He hadn't wanted to cause the boy to panic, but he could see that it was too late! He bit his lower lip. In a way, he felt guilty. He should have come right out with everything right away, but now that he had, the boy was panicking just as he had feared! But then again, he was glad he didn't tell Tucker the entire truth right away because he didn't think he could've gotten the boy to eat with how upset he was right now.

Though he understood the teen's reactions, he had to calm him down. He moved quickly right to Tucker's side when the teen tried to get out of bed again.

But the man was glad when Tucker then lay back down all of the sudden. He didn't know it was because Tucker had another bout of dizziness. Still, the man didn't question that and instead, gently placed one of his hands on the teen's shoulder.

Tucker opened his eyes and when he saw the man's concern and worry in his face, he took in a deep breath and tried even harder to control his breathing.

Jack apologetically said, "I'm sorry, Tucker. I didn't want to frighten you after getting you to wake up, which is why I didn't tell you everything at first. But listen to me, son. I need you to get a hold of yourself because…." The man stopped and swallowed hard before he added, "Because right now it looks like we might be the _only two_ people in town right now who can do something about what has happened!"

Tucker's eyes widened in dread, but he tried to slow his breathing even more and steel himself. Danny's dad was right. He had to make himself focus. Somehow, he felt if he didn't get a hold of himself, his parents and friends would definitely be in even bigger trouble. He swallowed hard and made himself push back the panicking lump in his throat that had threatened to choke him again. He managed to reply in a quivering voice, "Y-You're right, Mr. Fenton….Just tell me what you want me to do."

* * *

><p>Vlad's first priority in his entire Master Plan 285 was to incapacitate Daniel and bring the boy to his home. And actually, that was the most obvious thing to do because Daniel would have been the only threat to thwarting his master plan in the first place. But once he had had the boy where he wanted him—which was in control and in his simulation room— he had informed his computer about the other two important errands he had to complete before he began this whole affair with Daniel. One of them was to finalize his plans about the fountain. But the other was even more important to the billionaire…<p>

Vlad had planned all along to retrieve the love of his life and bring her to his home After all, it was never in his plans to let Maddie die—or to be harmed in any way. But he knew that Maddie wouldn't have stayed on the sidelines if she knew her family was in danger. So, he had to give her the sleeping formula to keep her safe until he could secure Daniel. Once he had the boy under control—and had also had the fountain ready for his plans—he had returned to her house and brought her to his home.

And as soon as he had gotten her there, he had given her the antidote to the knock-out potion. She hadn't woken right away, of course, because it would have taken time for the effects of Formula 286 psi-1_A_ to fully wear off. But once she had recovered, he would make sure that she was kept safe and secure until he could claim her son as his own…

But he had also made sure that Daniel had thought that his mother was a prisoner of the Observants from the beginning; and so when Vlad had really shown the boy his mother, Daniel had never known that he was seeing his mother _for real_ all that time—only from the room that Vlad had provided for her in his home!

So, Maddie was in that room all the while and was actually the _third_ person who had stirred in response to Danny's desperate plea….

* * *

><p>Maddie's eyes slammed open and she bolted up in her large, soft, plush bed. She frantically looked around her. Why did she do that? And why was it so dark?<p>

She then frowned when her memory came into full focus when she spied the book to her side. She must have fallen asleep from reading the latest book that she had the maids get for her. But why did she awaken so abruptly? Yes, she had felt distraught all of the sudden, which had stirred her out of her short unplanned nap. But she hadn't been having a nightmare; at least, she didn't think so. In fact, she couldn't even remember any of her dreams she might have had. Still, she somehow knew that something was wrong…Well, not including how wrong this all was _being here_!

Here.

She had suddenly woken in this strange—and very large—room several days ago. That much she knew. But she didn't know how long she had been asleep before that. It didn't matter, though, since she had quickly concluded that she was still some kind of prisoner for some reason.

True, she was being treated royally. But she hadn't met her captor yet. And the only contact she had with any kind of living beings were those same three maids. Or she should say, those same three _ghostly _maids, who waited on her every need—sometimes to a fault.

Those maids were always polite and attentive, but they never gave her a hint of where or why she was here, even when she had directly asked them those questions.

In fact, whenever she pressed the trio for answers, all they did was smile or laugh nervously without replying…And in the end, every time she had tried to talk to them whenever they came, they kept their conversation only to pertinent questions concerning her basic comfort or would start conversations on subjects she didn't find the least bit interesting.

That was the other problem as well. She had a hunch that those three maids had been coming in a lot and sometimes staying little bit too long when she first got here. It was as if they were purposely distracting her from trying to figure out anything about this place or why she was here.

And, really, her hunch was true. Still, she had been able to wheedle things from them and secretly do some investigating about all of this all the same.

But things had changed lately. The maids were only coming about four times a day…to provide her with her meals and to tidy up the place, refresh her clothes closet with new outfits, and the like. For some reason, they had slackened off. And that meant she wouldn't have any more opportunities to talk with them…But that also meant that she could take advantage of this as well. She was now determined to do something more constructive about her situation. She wasn't about to sit here like some bird in a gilded cage!

The woman pulled herself out of bed though it was getting darker. She had never paid much attention to the night since she had been brought here. In fact, she almost welcomed it because that meant that she was able to escape from here—even if it was only in sleep, especially since she would sleep the entire night… Not that she wasn't working on trying to figure out some way to escape already, because she was with every free moment she had when she was awake. She had asked for paper and pencil and some reference books. Fortunately, the maids hadn't objected to giving her those things. And with those things, she had been calculating and making her initial plans.

But now that she thought about it and because she felt rested, why shouldn't she take the chance to fully _inspect_ her room at night? She had tried to inspect it as much as she could during the day, but of course the maids had been in-and-out so much until just lately that she really hadn't had the opportunity…Besides…She suddenly shuddered. She felt as if she was being watched whenever she was awake.

Danny's mom shook that thought away and refocused on this opportunity to inspect some of her room. Maybe it would yield more clues on how to get out of here.

Suddenly, however, she startled a bit at her next thought. It was dark! Why hadn't the maids come yet? But then, she calmed down when she answered her own question. Because it wasn't late enough! Then what time was it? She sighed when she answered herself again. Of course, now that it was dark, she wouldn't be able to check her 'secret clocks' which helped her to tell the time—even if it was a very rough estimate. Still, what time was it?

She turned on the bedside lamp and looked for her notepad…The last time she had logged the 'time' it was around what she had called 'two o'clock'. And it usually got dark at this time of year around four-thirty or so…Had she really been asleep for approximately two hours? Then that would mean the maids would be here within the hour.

She frowned. That didn't seem right. Still, she wanted to see if her 'secret clocks' could still help her determine the time.

As she headed to one of her 'secret clocks', she thought about how she had been able to keep track on how many days she had been here. It was rather easy. She couldn't tell _which_ day of the week during all that time, of course, but she could tell the number of days from how many different outfits she had worn. But what was more important for her was to know what time of day it was. And she had already figured out how to do that…and keep careful track of it…

In fact, Danny's mother had no problem with figuring that out, which, fortunately, also helped her to keep track of the maids' routine as well as when she got up, ate, and the like to help give her a sense of time. Now, of course, when she had first woken in this strange place and had met those ghostly maids, she had immediately asked for a clock or a watch, since there was neither in her room. But when the maids had fallen all over themselves apologizing that they could not give her any, the woman had to come up with her own way to keep some semblance of time. It was crude, of course, but it would have to do because she had a lot of work to do. She knew it was crucial so that she could use it to her advantage to come up with an escape plan—and, more importantly for her, not go insane. After all, she couldn't afford to get disoriented. She had to keep her mind clear enough to think of some kind of escape plan.

The woman had already inspected the one lone window in her bathroom and another lone one in this very large area that served as her bedroom, entertainment room and dining room. She had already discovered that they both were locked and had sealed blinds over them. And the window in the main room was also covered with a thick, expensive curtain.

However, her excellent observations skills did not fail her in spying those minute areas under and around each of the set of blinds where light cleverly leaked out. In fact, a very tiny beam of light had managed to escape from a small area of the window in her bathroom and tag the wall opposite to it. She had, of course, been excited about this detail and was quick to stealthily mark the area with small vertical lines as the beam slowly bent with the passage of time. Not only that, she could tell that the bathroom's window faced the east by its cool temperature and that the intensity of the light waned; while, inversely, the intensity of the light escaping the imperfect seal of the window of her bedroom and the heat emanating from it increased as the day wore on. So, at least she could keep of the time passing during the daylight hours.

At first, Maddie recorded her crude findings on a piece of paper towel with the 'ink' soaked on the stick from her eyeliner bottle. But then when that ran out, she just came out and asked for a pad of paper and a pencil. She was surprised but secretly very thankful that the maids were all too eager to provide those to her. And ever since then, she had written down what turned out to be a rather predictable routine.

But now, the woman was 'off-schedule' in all sense of the words. She finally arrived at her first 'secret clock', which was in the bathroom. She frowned, though she really shouldn't have expected any help since this was the 'morning clock'. She hurried over to her 'evening clock', which was near the window in the main room. She checked all around that 'clock' and frowned. But then, she noticed more moisture around the area where the light normally would peek through.

Maybe that would explain the early darkness. Maybe it had rained and was still overcast outside.

But as the amethyst-eyed woman turned around, she saw something she hadn't seen before. She cocked her eyes and studied the area. There was an eerie, yet very diffuse, light leaking out from under the entrance door to this room. She frowned. Why hadn't she noticed that before? She smirked slightly when she answered her own question: because the room was very big and she wasn't always near the door, that's why. Still, she threw that thought away because she was too intrigued by this development. For some reason, the light looked very _ghostly_—which, of course, could be very important.

Maddie returned to the bedside lamp and turned it off. She looked right back at the door and her heart leapt slightly in excitement. The ghostly light was slightly brighter! She slowly crept toward the door and knelt in front of it as soon as she reached it. She bent and twisted her head and body in an attempt to look under the small crack the width of the door's bottom.

Though the auburn-headed woman couldn't actually see out from under the crack, she could now tell that she was right about the ghostly nature of the light. But it was an odd aura. It was _both_ green and blue…but then again, it was _neither_ green nor blue. In fact the colors fluctuated and twisted upon the other as if they were in some kind of dance. Even as her mind was wondering why that single aura was colored that way, she inspected all around the door. She noticed some of that same aura oozing through where the door met the jamb and lintel; she now knew that it must cover the entire front of the door. Still, at least the greenish portion of the aura looked like…

"_Is this some kind of new ghost shield?"_ she immediately asked herself.

She shook her head with doubt. "_If it is, why put a __**ghost**__ shield up?"_

True, the maids were ghosts and they came here to see her. But no other ghosts had been in her room at all.

Then an idea struck the woman. _"Maybe that shield is to keep ghosts __**out**__ who don't have permission to come here?"_ She suddenly didn't like that assumption. Was she really in that much danger?

Maddie threw that thought aside because she was still curious about the other part of the aura—and how they had interacted. She had never seen anything like that before.

After searching her mind for a possible explanation that made sense, she smirked to herself. _"Well, then, there is only one way to find out!"_

The amethyst-eyed woman got up and headed toward her nightstand.

She turned on the small nightstand lamp again, and though she immediately noticed the eerie shadows that suddenly pooled in various parts of her room, she chose to ignore them for now. She immediately ripped out a sheet of paper from her notebook and returned to the door.

Getting back on her hands and knees, Maddie slowly partly folded the sheet of paper and inched it through the crack and out to the other side.

She had no sooner gotten it only halfway under when it seemed to hit a solid wall! She pressed her eye as close to the crack as possible to try to get even a small glimpse to see if the paper indeed had hit into the aura.

Sure enough! Not only was her hunch right, but there was something odd about it. The folded part of the paper was not only bent upward, but it seemed to move as well, as if it was being buffeted by the aura and sometimes not. But it seemed to push more against the bluish part of the aura.

"_A 'real item', and possibly human, shield is intermixed with the ghost shield!"_ Maddie immediately concluded to herself. _"But why?!"_

Though she had to admit that she was impressed with the technology her capturer or capturers possessed, she wasn't happy about the development. That meant that she couldn't just try to pick the lock and leave. So, she would have to think of some other way to escape.

But little did she know that she was not only right about the aura and the technology behind it, but it was the same combination ghost and human shield that Vlad had invented when he had completed the Ecto-Skeleton. Vlad had actually been working on separating the two, but had set aside that research when he had come up with the master plan he was currently using.

Maddie frowned and looked back down at the crack at the bottom of the door. So, if there was a combo ghost and human shield up in front of her door, how did the maids get through? Her face puckered in thought. Okay, the maids always used a key to unlock the door. But was that the only thing they did? But how could they get to the lock if there was a ghost shield around the door?

She brightened at her next couple of thoughts. _"Okay, let's check, then!"_

She pulled herself up off of the floor and tried to look through the keyhole of the double-key lock. She frowned. She couldn't see through it at all like she had first hoped.

But the brilliant woman would not be daunted. _"All right. If that doesn't help, let me get right on my other idea."_

She headed to her nightstand again and pulled open its lone drawer. She quickly took out the roll of scotch tape and brought it back to the door leading out of the room.

Once she was kneeling in front of the door again, she carefully tore a small rectangular paper away from the sheet of paper she had used to check about the shield.

Maddie just as carefully overlay the paper against one of the jambs of the door and taped it down to it. She stood up and looked down at it. It worked just like she thought it would! It reflected the light of the two-tone aura so that she could see it more easily from where she stood. She hurried to the nightstand and quickly turned out the light.

Danny's mother walked back to the door and looked to the bottom of its jamb. Once again, she could see the light of the two-color aura reflecting from that white piece of paper. Now, all she would have to do was wait until the maids returned to see if her guess was right.

But now charged with excitement, Maddie walked over to one of only two doors other than the entrance to the room. She determinedly opened the door and turned on the light switch as she walked in.

She already knew that it was a huge walk-in closet, with rows and rows of stunning, expensive gowns, shoes and all other accessories women only dreamed about. Some of the gowns and shoes still had their price tags on them…And all of them were in her exact size, as if they had been tailored-made for her. She shuddered at the thought before glaring at the wonderful attire. She grew to hate them as much as being here because she never had a choice on what she could wear on any given day here. Those three maids saw to that and insisted that she wear whatever they had laid out for her.

At first, she had refused to wear them. But then again, she didn't have much choice because they had taken her hazmat outfit away anyways. Not only that, but she had already recognized that she couldn't totally needle whoever had her imprisoned here when that enemy had her at such a disadvantage. If she was too obstinate, she may be watched more carefully—in fact, that would also explain why the maids had come more often in the beginning. But then she also figured that if she cooperated in this little way, she might make her enemy complacent enough that they wouldn't suspect her true plans. She smirked. Maybe that would also explain why the maids weren't coming more often!

Nevertheless, the woman knew she had to escape. And, really, in the end she didn't care to know who her captive was. All she cared about right now was to leave this place and go home!

But she threw that thought behind as she refocused on searching for some kind of flaw in this plush prison cell of hers. She purposefully pushed back the first row of gowns in her walk-in closet.

The woman carefully inspected the back wall, looking for….well, really, she didn't know exactly what to look for, though she secretly hoped she would find any clue on the way _out_ of here. She continued to search, even so far as to pulling back some of the plush rug where it met the wall to inspect the floor beneath it.

After completing a full inspection of the closet, she thought, "_Okay. At least I can eliminate the closet as an option for escape…"_ But then, she smiled with her next thought… "_or maybe just for __**now**__!_"

She turned off the closet light and exited. She slowly made her way over to another lamp in the room and turned it on. She began to inspect the walls more closely and carefully.

So far…nothing.

But when she approached the large mirror that hung on the wall opposite her bed, her eyes were drawn to a partial odd… shadow of some sort that had been cast from the lone light currently shining in her room: that nightstand lamp.

When she examined that shadow more closely, she startled a bit. There was something _behind_ that shadow; she was sure of it!

She hurried to the lamp and turned it off, which instantly cloaked her room in darkness once more. She carefully made her way back to the wall mirror. When she found one of its edges, she cautiously moved her hand around it until she was sure in which direction she had to move.

And then, she knew she had moved to the right spot that she had first seen when she could see the same phenomenon. She hadn't imagined it! She peered more closely and gasped. There was a diffuse bit of _light_ coming from _behind_ the mirror!

"What the…?" she softly breathed out, but then her quick mind put it together. _"It's a two-way mirror!"_ she thought. "_That's why I haven't met my kidnapper yet— because my kidnapper didn't __**need**__ to meet me to see me!"_

Suddenly she shuddered in both disgust and dread, "That is so wrong!" she grunted under her breath at the disturbing thought. But then again, she relaxed a little at her next thought. She had always thought it odd that the maids had always insisted that she change in her closet or…through the other door that wasn't the entrance to this room: the bathroom. That would explain why…

"_Not that I excuse the sick jerk who's keeping me here!"_ she angrily thought. _"But enough of that for now. I have to check out the bathroom!"_

Maddie carefully made her way to her right, where she knew the door to the room would be—and the light switch for the ceiling light. She squinted her eyes at the flash of bright light when she flipped the switch. Nevertheless, she hurried right away to the door to her bathroom.

Turning on the bathroom lights, she immediately began to inspect the room more carefully.

It, too, was much larger than most modern bathrooms, including any of her own at home.

Home. That brought her other worries in the forefront again. She had, of course, been worried all this while how her husband and son were…well, at least she was worried about her husband. She knew that Danny could take care of himself!

Suddenly, she frowned when she had a fleeting doubt about that… But then she paused and her brow furrowed in even more worry. Now that she thought more about it, she was even more worried about _Danny_. She gasped. That is why she had awoken with such anxiety! Something within her—her mother's intuition—told her that something was very wrong with her son.

Trying not to panic, she bit her lower lip. Maybe she was wrong about that feeling and she was just letting her worry get the best of her. She had to keep her head on straight if she was going to try to figure out how to get out of here. She had to cling to the hope that her husband and son were all right and that they were as worried about her as she was about them. And she knew that they would be out looking for her!

But, of course, how could they even start? Unless…unless there were clues left that would give them some hint on where she was.

Her thoughts then came around full circle. Enough of this! She had no time for it, especially when she had work to do…

Moving things a bit haphazardly about, she began to inspect every inch of the bathroom.

But she wasn't even a quarter of the way through when she heard a familiar soft rap at the entrance to her bedroom.

The maids were here! It must be dinner time! She quickly opened the bathroom door and called out, "I'm in the bathroom!"

"We can come back, mistress," one of the maids suggested.

Trying to keep her voice as casual as possible, Maddie answered, "Yes, that would be good. Give me just a few minutes, alright?"

"As you wish, mistress," another maid replied.

Maddie hurriedly began to straighten up the bathroom so as not to have the maid suspect that she had done too much searching. She stopped a moment at her next thought. But then again, she could use that to her advantage…

Finally, Maddie was finished and secretly marked where she needed to renew her search. That was all she could do right now.

The woman hurried over to the door and looked down at the paper. The aura was still there. Then she decided to sit on the lounge chair next to her bed in anticipation of the return of the maids—and to make sure that whatever creepo was watching her didn't get suspicious.

And just as if she could tell how much time had passed, the maids rapped on the door almost exactly when Maddie had expected them to…

"Come in," Maddie replied, her voice calm and in control. But right afterward, she looked for that small white piece of paper she had taped to the bottom-most part of the door jamb.

She frowned. The aura was gone! She hadn't expected that. Then that would mean that the shield had to be off….Her mind raced! Wait a minute! She was right about it being a human _and_ a ghost shield! That would only make sense—otherwise, how could the maids have _knocked_ on her door before unless the shield was _off_?

The woman immediately skewed her face to a more neutral expression as the door quietly opened and the maids softly poured in.

"Good evening, mistress," one of them said as she headed over to her routine of turning down the bed.

Another maid was holding a set of clean linen. She was going to place them in the bathroom, which was also part of her daily routine so that it would be ready for Maddie's evening shower.

The third had a dust feather and was obviously ready to do the evening dusting.

"Good evening, too," Maddie automatically said before pausing at her next thought…Alright, she would go for it.

"Oh, ahh. Sorry, you haven't told me your names," Maddie finally said to the maid who was about to head toward the bathroom. Though she had already asked that a few times without success, she was going to ask again—and use the intended question to throw the ghost slightly off-track.

"I'm sorry, mistress," the shy young ghost maid replied when she halted in mid-air. "You know that we were instructed not to elaborate on any sensitive subject."

"Being friendly is a 'sensitive subject'?" Maddie tersely asked before lifting her hand up in apology and frowning a bit in irritation. "But don't worry about that, okay? Well, then I just wanted to let you know, _maid_, that I was looking for my favorite perfume in the bathroom, and so, I might have moved things around a bit."

"That is not a problem, mistress," the maid said as she continued toward the bathroom. "What is the name of perfume you wish and we will find out if it can be provided to you?"

"_Imprisoned_," Maddie dryly replied.

"Very well. I will inform…."

"Never mind," Maddie quickly interrupted her. "That is not my favorite. It is called _Moonlight."_

"As you wish, mistress," the maid hesitantly replied when she now realized that the woman had been sarcastic when she told her what the initial name she had given that perfume. Nevertheless, she quickly entered the bathroom to perform her duties.

And the other two maids also went on with their routine duties...

Finally the maids were done with their tasks and the one who seemed to be the leader of the trio informed Maddie, "We will be back shortly with your dinner, mistress."

"Thank you," Maddie answered without emotion.

But this time when the trio lined up and began to file out of the room as they had done each time they had left the room, Maddie stood up and quietly inched toward them as they placed the key in the lock, opened the door, and exited.

The woman was thankful that they never turned back to look at her, which was part of their routine every day when they left the room. She hurried to the door but pulled away out the maids' line of sight just in case. Even though she had managed to do that without any noise, Maddie knew she wouldn't have time to just slip out just behind the last maid and seize the opportunity to escape.

Even though she might be tempted, she knew it would be futile. After all, she had no idea how powerful these seemingly docile and courteous ghosts were—or how provoked they might be should she try to escape right now. Besides, it didn't matter how powerful they were. Since she had no ghost weapons, they could easily overpower her, make her invisible and intangible, and then just place her back into this room. And then again, if she tried to pursue this unwise tactic, they would undoubtedly step up their surveillance and caution with her after she had failed. No, she would have to wait.

But then, there was another detail. As soon as the last of the last maid's spectral tail passed through the doorway, the door quickly shut tight.

Maddie quickly turned the light off. She bit her lip in anticipation when she could hear the key's being inserted into the lock and then turned.

Everything almost seemed to be in slow motion as the auburn-haired woman's eyes remained locked on that lone small piece of paper as the turning of the key continued and when she heard the final click of the lock's being locked.

She immediately looked down. The aura had not returned yet. She held her breath a little in anticipation. Had she been wrong in her guess?

But suddenly, Danny's mom heard something strange….She immediately pressed her ear against the door while looking down at the white paper. The noise was just to the left and outside of the door from where she had her cocked ear….

And a few seconds later, Maddie hitched in a gasp and bit her lower lip when she saw something on the paper: the aura had returned!

She suddenly and mysteriously smiled in triumph— not just because she had essentially guessed right about the shield, but because she had recognized what that sound she had just heard was, which was equally important.

Now, all she had to do was wait for the maids to return with her dinner…

**A/N: Well, I'm so glad that at least Danny's father and Tucker are recovering**! **Thank goodness for their wonderful stomachs! LOL! Now for all you realists out there, yes, I did think about the fact that we can't live long without food and water—it's been just about a week since Jack, Sam and Tucker have been without food and water. But I can also cite a few incidences where **_**real**_** people survived for even just shy of two weeks without food and water. And other incidences when they had survived even longer than that. Those are rare incidences of course. But I think that as** **long as there is no other extenuating circumstances (like you're in the heat or are having to walk, etc.), and you are in good health to begin with, you can survive for several days—and maybe in the 'weeks' category. But I also believe that Sam, Tucker, and Jack are rare individuals, and so they would be able to overcome just about anything! Otherwise, they would have been dead a LONG time ago from other adventures and dangers.**

**And I'm also not surprised that Maddie would be busy on trying to figure out how to escape…Er, heh-heh…I'm sure all you very clever readers remember that Danny had noticed that his mother must have been making plans to escape…That would only make sense if he were seeing her **_**for real the entire time—**_**which he was! Now of course you didn't think that Vlad would actually want to kill Maddie, did you? Nor would he want Danny to know that **_**he**_** was the one who had Maddie as his prisoner even when he made it seem that the O's had her? Hmmm? Of course you didn't because y'all are too clever!**

**Finally, just so you know, being that the true-phan that I am, I found out a while back that Tucker's mom's first name is Angela. How did I know that since the show never credits her with a first name**_**—**_**even in the ending credits? I looked up the bio of Mrs. Foley's **_**voice actress—**_**who listed **_**Angela**_** Foley in her resume of voice roles she had done!**

**Heh-heh. Yeah, I admit it: I'm very much off my rocker! Wahoo!**

**Anyhoo, I'm very happy that hope is indeed rising for Danny—I just hope that—**

**Ms. Hyde: Just a minute, dearie! You wouldn't let me spoil your readers, so you can't, too!**

**Truephan: *Gulps* Uh, you're right, darn it! So, I think I'll end it here except to say—**

**Ms. Hyde: *quickly grabbing the keyboard and starting to wrestle for it* B-Be s-sure to leave a review, d-dearies!**


	33. Chap 33 Lev 7 Ghosts--In the Thick of It

**A/N: Well, gang, now that we caught up with Danny's friends and family, it's time to get back to Danny…Gee, I want to get back to Danny's friends and family instead now that things are going to get worse and worse for our hero! But never fear, actually. We will get back to them… just not now! In the meantime, here is Chapter 33. Let's see if you notice anything about the title. Enjoy!**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 33—Level Seven Ghosts—In the Thick of It<p>

Through the window of the control room Vlad studied the unconscious boy still lying on the cot in his simulation room. He frowned in thought. It was obvious that Daniel hadn't recuperated from his last two fights since his body was still littered with cuts, bruises and ectoplasmic burns. In fact, the man knew that the boy was totally incapacitated at this point because he hadn't even ordered his computer to put the boy into any particular kind of sleep. Still, that was actually a bit promising that the boy hadn't recovered yet like he usually and quickly did from his other fights—real and staged. Maybe this was the sign the man had been waiting for that would verify that the boy had finally reached the end of his rope.

Good.

The man turned to the monitors and frowned. Though the readings were overall where he wanted them to be, they were still a bit erratic and inconclusive—just like they had been for the past few encounters with these last few ghosts—and especially right before the teen had fallen unconscious after Skulker's final blows. The man needed the readings to be higher and, more importantly, _steady_!

Blast!

Still, Vlad immediately calmed himself. He always knew that getting Daniel to this point would be a delicate matter. If he pushed the boy too much, he would not be able to get the control over the boy just as he planned and wanted. But if he didn't push hard enough, and stepped into the next phase of his plans too early, then all of his hard work would be in vain as well.

Suddenly, the man smirked with amusement since that only triggered another thought: the love of his favorite game. Yes, this was indeed a unique game of chess—and at its _finest_. He unconsciously drew in his lower lip at contemplating what his next step should be. His brilliant mind analyzed all the other moves he had already done to set up his final strategy. He smirked again. So far, most of his other plans were going along swimmingly; but he had to admit: keeping them going was draining him more than he had anticipated.

Nevertheless, everything he had done so far were the necessary moves to set up for any possible counter-moves that he might have to take if the boy wasn't ready—though he hoped they would be all moot right now, of course.

In spite of the readings, maybe what Skulker had said about the boy was true. After all, that was one of the special talents of his….friend. The Ghost Hunter's instincts about his prey were usually right in spite of otherwise irrefutable facts...

Still, 'usually' wasn't '_always_'…

The man turned completely away from the window and walked toward the all-too-familiar coffin-like receptacle. He lightly touched the device and ignored how it felt. It really had never stopped vibrating ever since Skulker had put what was inside… Still, he wondered if he would have to use it.

In many ways, the older hybrid certainly hoped not. After all, he needed to be extra alert if he did. And so far, he hadn't had little time to deal with his own mounting fatigue at managing his other plans at the same time as breaking Daniel. True, he was able to get some sleep shortly after Skulker had dealt with the boy. After all, the monitors did indicate that the teen could be unconscious for hours. And Maddie had been instructed to alert him immediately if the boy stirred or showed any _beta_ brainwaves. So, in fact, the man had been able to sleep a little bit and to the point that it was now early morning of the next day and the boy was still unconscious.

Vlad pulled his hand away from the receptacle, though his mind was still on it. If Daniel continued to fight the avalanche of mental collapse, he would have to pursue this option. It would be very risky, true. But if need be, need be.

But, not now. Using what was inside would be too drastic to throw at boy right now, and would definitely be out of sync with how he had been preparing the boy so far.

The billionaire pulled away from the coffin-like device, sure of his next thought. No, he had to agree with Skulker. Daniel _was_ on the verge of a mental breakdown—just like he wanted.

He walked back to the monitors and rechecked them. All of them showed signs of Daniel's eroding psyche; that is, all the amino acids or bio-chemicals that regulated anxiety, depression, stress and moods were in their respectively critical ranges. It was true that they weren't staying in the critical levels, but they weren't staying in the _normal_ ranges, either…

And there were other biological cues that the boy was fast losing this war on his mental stability… The boy's muscles hadn't been in a relaxed state since his last few ghost fights. His heart rate and breathing were definitely increased more than they should have been during his actual simulated fights. Not to mention that the boy was obviously depressed and discouraged before and during his last encounter with Skulker. And the fact that Vlad had made sure that Daniel had not been given the chance to be in any _beta_ sleep or given adequate food—all planned to add spice to Daniel's stress.

But the man was somehow still not satisfied.

Everything so far only indicated that all was going according to the man's plan…He had brought Daniel to this boiling point—brewing it slowly and carefully so that he could just about taste victory….Still, the boy was terribly…resilient and stubborn to his central core. Vlad was still not certain if this was indeed Daniel's final tipping point….He had to be sure….

But just then, the door to the simulation room opened and Skulker floated in.

The Ghost Hunter merely nodded to the man and went to inspect the coffin-like receptacle, which was part of his daily routine lately.

Vlad could see that his friend didn't look pleased, but he wasn't going to come out and say anything about it. After all, they really hadn't been able to speak to each other since Skulker's encounter with Daniel. Instead, the man commented, "You're doing a good job maintaining that special receptacle, Skulker. It's your finest invention so far."

Skulker merely grunted under his breath as he looked over the specs of the receptacle.

"You know," the man continued with a slight smirk on his face, "It is such an ingenious device that it ought to have a name. Have you thought of one?"

At first, Skulker stopped what he was doing. This was the first time that Vlad had offered to let him name an invention. Usually the older hybrid took the liberty to do that without consulting him. Not that it really bothered the Hunter…well, okay, it did bother him a bit. Still, the ghost didn't reply immediately and resumed his inspection on the receptacle.

Vlad's smile fell just a bit. He thought his friend would be pleased to do the honors. After all, the man usually had a name in mind once he knew that Skulker was busy with inventing something; and he didn't think the ghost minded one way or the other about naming whatever he had invented.

After a few more seconds of silence between the two, Vlad finally said, "Well, there's no hurry. But if you want to see the fruits of your labor, feel free to see what happens next to Daniel."

This time, Skulker turned away from the coffin-like device and glanced at the man slightly before looking beyond the man and to the boy on the other side of the observation window. He grunted again and hurriedly finished his task.

Vlad smirked. He knew that meant that his friend would be joining him in the next few minutes.

He turned back to the boy again and then asked his computer-generated image, "Have you checked why Daniel is still asleep, Maddie?"

"I have tried to wake him without success, sir. Your test subject is under such stress now his brainwaves continue to jump from the _delta, alpha_ and _theta _ranges," she casually replied.

"What? Did you put him in those sleep phases?"

"No, sir, you have not instructed me to keep him in any particular phase. You only instructed me to try to wake him, which as you can see, has not been successful. It is true that your test subject would be expected to be in the _delta_ brainwave range since that range is most indicative of being in the unconscious state as well as deep sleep. There is that other brainwave range which indicates the coma state, ironically also in the _alpha _range. But because the subject is unresponsive, those _alpha_ waves that are intermittently being recorded are considered abnormal at this point, of course.…" the holograph began before she suddenly paused and rechecked the monitors before pushing a few buttons. She then rechecked the readings.

"What is it, Maddie?" Vlad asked a bit anxiously.

"It appears the test subject is coming out of the _theta_ brainwave spectrum and toward more normal ranges, which means that since the subject is beginning to move only proves that he is waking up…"

Meanwhile, Skulker had already finished with his tasks and was floating in front of the observation window for the past several minutes.

The man turned back and exchanged a silent glance at Skulker before looking at the boy again. It did seem that Daniel was rousing—even if he looked as if he was not easily coming to. In fact, his writhing movements were very fitful; and the boy was groaning.

The man turned his head away for the moment and glanced at the monitors now that the boy was stirring. His brow furrowed a bit more. The readings were even more erratic!

He then looked back at Daniel. Now the boy was still again!

But the monitors were still erratic.

Though Vlad guessed that this might be the moment he was waiting for, he still had to know what this all meant. After all, he had never monitored a truly brainwashed or mentally broken being before…

He remained spellbound at watching the boy and waited anxiously to see what Daniel would do next…

* * *

><p>The first thing Danny realized was that his head ached. In fact, it felt as if it had been placed in a vice and the handle was slowly grinding more pressure and pain into his brain. He groaned at the sting and he reflexively tried to change his position.<p>

Even that hurt!

Nevertheless, the boy wasn't even aware that his very muddled mind was on an aimless track of its own making at the moment.

Was he even awake? Or was this just an intense dream? Were his eyes open or shut?

He suddenly didn't want to try to find out about that last thing because if his eyes were shut and he opened them just to let light in, his headache just might get worse!

Still, the boy wasn't aware that he had stopped moving even as he was trying to search his dull mind as to why almost his entire body was hurting like this. And when he couldn't think of a reason, or, really, remember _anything else_ at the moment, he almost gasped in panic!

And then when Danny could feel his breathing increase in reaction to the panic that threatened to consume him, he tried to slow it down. He had to get a hold of himself even though the way he felt right now, he was totally out of control.

But now, he wasn't even sure if he could get a hold of himself! He didn't know where he was, he didn't know what was going on, and he didn't know why he was hurting!

Suddenly, however, his stomach growled.

Oh, great! Now he was hungry.

The young half-ghost suddenly felt panicked again. Now he was suddenly not hungry; he was nauseous instead! But that still didn't explain why the rest of his body was in so much pain.

Then strangely, other anxious and confusing emotions began to bombard him. Danny felt his mind in a whirl without a chance to catch any particular feeling, much less try to stop any of them.

The boy felt as if he was lost within himself and he yelled in full panic.

He reflexively cradled his head within his hands as if that would slow all the pain, thoughts and distressing emotions bombarding his mind at the moment. After several more agonizing moments of it, however, the teen suddenly stilled again, so confused that his mind had actually grown numb under the assault.

And that was the boy's saving grace, because it gave him a fleeting moment of peace. And with that slight respite, he had one rational thought escape…

* * *

><p>Vlad had been glancing between watching the boy and the monitors. It was hard to tell which was the more fascinating to observe. But, really, it was both, since the man suspected that he was witnessing the boy's total mental collapse.<p>

Suddenly however, just as the man looked back at the monitors, he startled a bit when the monitors shot off the scale again just before the alarms went off.

"I thought you fixed those monitors and alarms, Maddie!" Vlad shouted over the sounds just as his computer manifestation promptly turned off the alarms.

"They are calibrated and accurate in their detection and sensitivity modes, sir. There is no explanation as to why there is such a definitive rise in all levels except to say that there must be a spike in the test subject's energy level."

"But to this capacity, to this incredible degree?" Vlad asked in both fascination and curiosity. Maybe this is what had been causing the alarms to go off all these other times.

"I do not have a formal explanation or hypothesis, sir, and…"

Once more, the holograph paused after reviewing the monitors and then glancing at Danny.

"Sir," she simply said as she motioned for Vlad to gaze at to where she was pointing.

Vlad immediately turned and glanced at where she had been pointing, which was to Daniel.

Daniel was now entirely surrounded by a bright blue aura!

Suddenly, some of the circuits within the control room where Vlad and his holograph were began to spark and sizzle at the occurrence even as Vlad looked at the boy in disbelief.

"What is happening?" the man blurted out, though he was now craving even more to know what this phenomenon was.

But since several of the monitors had short-circuited, the holograph had no data to answer his question.

"Unknown, sir," she simply replied before adding, "But before the monitors became unresponsive, they did indicate that there is a possible correlation…."

"The monitors are damaged?" Vlad suddenly blurted out, now a bit stunned and concerned that the monitors short-circuited just as that blue haze engulfed Daniel."

Maddie redirected her own circuits and performed a quick diagnostic before she simply replied, "They only appear to be off line at the moment….No permanent or major damage seen."

Vlad slowly sighed to purposely control his emotions to that. He would have reacted normally to any unexpected event and remained calm if he wasn't so tired. True, he couldn't have accounted for any of these bizarre types of…aberrations when devising his master plan. But, he thought that it would have been much easier than this. Still, maybe it was a good thing this happened. After all, he wasn't even aware until this moment that he had put in so much….ego-laden emotion into this master plan. Yes, its success was important, but what was even more important was that he knew he could not afford to allow his ego or emotions _to interfere_ with the success of his plan. It was time to mentally factor in the possibilities of more surprises in the future. And to keep his head rather than his heart in it. He sighed a bit deeper, now in full control of his emotions.

But before he could respond to the facsimile to the love of his life, he could see that the blue haze surrounding Daniel had just disappeared and the boy was already pulling himself off of the floor.

However, what Vlad, his computer and Skulker—or Danny, for that matter—had not known was that Danny had _not _been suffering any mental breakdown. Danny was showing signs of having a significant _concussion_ from being attacked by Skulker.

In fact, once that little bit of memory had eked out of Danny's brain a few moments before the monitors shot off the scale—that is, when the boy remembered how much he had been kicked around by Walker and then Skulker—he had finally willed his healing powers to come forth. The boy had been a bit confused as to why his left ear had stung a bit during the time that his healing powers were in effect, but it wasn't as bad as he had first felt and didn't last long, so he shrugged it off.

But once Danny had been essentially healed and had gotten off of the floor, he decided just for good measure to add the technique that Vlad had taught him while they had been prisoners of the Observants and Iluzisto. Suddenly, he morphed into his human form before slowly willing his transformation rings to reappear and hold steady at mid-morph. A few moments later, he returned to his ghostly form, having made sure his central core was now completely healthy.

"Some very clear data has just been gathered about one of your theories, sir," Maddie suddenly announced.

But in actually, Vlad had half-heard her. He was too fascinated on what he had just witnessed and didn't want to avert his attention away from the boy at the moment.

Skulker, however, had clearly heard the computer and one of his eyebrows shot up in curiosity. But he didn't comment and turned back to looking at the whelp.

In the meantime, and even though over all Danny was still upset and discouraged when he remembered about his encounter with Skulker, most of his depression and anxiety had lifted now that he had essentially recovered physically. He still couldn't really wrap his head around the fact that Skulker had been willing to do any of that to him. He shook his head in denial, especially when he didn't want to believe any of it. After all… But then he paused when a possible reason erupted out of his brain. And that only helped him refocus his reactions to what had happened, which only spurred him more to _anger _than depression for the moment…

"I'm finished with these tests, Justeco, do you hear?" the boy cried upward while turning himself in a slow and tight 360 degrees as he spoke and at the same time searching for the spirits he just knew were listening in. He was hoping that he was right in assuming what he was about to say.

"You have no right to force any ghost to fight me like I think you made Skulker do!"

The boy's words stunned Vlad, but not as much as they did Skulker.

"I know that a lot of ghosts were willing to fight me, but in the end they were really set-up by you," Danny still insisted before suddenly remembering how he was forced to do bad things for Walker. He added more loudly and angrily, "Just like me!"

But now that the boy was on a roll, he had finally remembered something that could help end all of this, something that he had learned when he had visited the Observants not too long after the 'Iluzisto affair'. So, he knew he could say even more.

Continuing to turn and then shaking a fist upward as well, Danny continued, "I demand that you take my case to the High Council! What you are doing is totally screwed up and I think they would agree with me on this one. And I demand the _rajto rifuĝo _**(1)** for my mother, too! She shouldn't have been dragged into all of this useless but putrid torture in the first place!"

Danny frowned at himself in irritation. He should have thought of that earlier! Then again, he had been too busy getting smacked around for the Observants' sick pleasure!

The thought only fueled his rage.

"You and your brother are such hypocrites, Justeco!" Danny suddenly growled. "You condemned Iluzisto for his evil and sick ways of treating his prisoners. Well, you two are no better! You've been torturing me just like he would. You despicable spirits are starving me and I really have never felt that I've been getting enough sleep! Well, you know what? I hope it screws up your precious data! It seems that's all you Cyclops care about!"

* * *

><p>Vlad frowned at this newest development. He really never thought that the boy had it in him to come up with such a ploy, especially after going through all that he had so far. He really had thought that the boy had been in the final stages of breaking down mentally… But then again, maybe the man should have anticipated this. After all, he knew how tenacious the boy was—he just didn't think he was <em>that<em> tenacious.

Not only that, shortly after the whole 'Iluzisto affair' had been settled, he knew that Daniel had actually gone to visit the Observants again— something about wanting to make full peace with the morons. Foolish boy. Still, Vlad was now sure that Daniel must have acquainted himself with some of the laws of those creatures based on what Daniel had just said and what Vlad himself knew about the imbecilic spirits in order to develop his master plan. But, obviously, the boy had learned a lot more than he had.

So, now that Vlad knew what Daniel knew, this complicated everything once again. But right now, he could not come up with a counterplan. So…though not satisfied with it, he settled for another…

It was time to turn up the heat even more…

Vlad tersely commanded, "Activate Program 289-7 _Epsilon_, Maddie."

"As you command, sir," she casually replied before she pushed a few buttons.

At first, nothing happened.

She looked at the control panel before typing in some more commands.

Vlad turned to her when he realized that the program had not begun within the simulation room and asked, "What is it, Maddie?"

"It seems that the earlier short-circuit event is still interfering with your master plan, sir."

Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose while trying to square himself into control after hearing the upsetting news. He finally said, "Can you fix it?"

"Override complete in 3—2—1," his computer would only say before the program finally was in motion….

* * *

><p>Danny was just getting angrier—and hungrier—now that he realized that the Observants had chosen to ignore him. He knew that they <em>had<em> to act upon his demands. How could they blatantly overlook that?

Just what was their _real_ game? He jolted a little when a possibility sprung up in his mind, though most of him rejected the notion right away. Were the Observants trying to make him go insane? He frowned. Suddenly, he didn't care to think about that anymore. But instead of discouraging him, it revived his stubborn determination. Still…let them try to speed things up to make him go mad—he would keep that from happening!

But really, at this moment, the boy didn't have time to think about even that too much longer since the room began to spin with more colors and light swirling around him before they caught him up within it.

Of course Danny knew that another 'test' was about to commence. He wasn't at all happy with it; but then again, he wasn't about to let himself get beaten up this time by any putrid ghost. In fact, he was so angry with the Observants right now that he really _wanted_ to get his hands on one of his enemies—especially when he was sure that they would start the fight. And now that he was feeling pretty much back to speed physically, he could sure use pouring some of that anger into one of his enemies to make him feel better psychologically.

"Okay, jerks, bring it on! Just add more fuel to the High Council's fire," he angrily mumbled as the atmosphere continued to metamorphose….But then, Danny noticed how hot and wet it was becoming, and he sarcastically mumbled, "Ha-hah. I thought you wouldn't get the 'fire' thing. So, okay, then. Add water to this swirling mixture and then cook well. Great!"

Finally, everything cleared, and Danny immediately realized why it had been so hot and muggy: he was in some kind of thick forest.

He scanned the area and saw nothing but plants of all sorts as far as he could see. But when he looked up, he was surprised to see that the sky was not green, black and purple like he expected. It was as blue as the sky over Amity Park.

Still grumbling and quite peeved, Danny started to walk forward while inspecting the foliage as he moved. Some of the plants were obviously tender and new; others thick, sturdy and well-established.

"Okay, so this is a forest of some sort. Big deal," Danny muttered. "Time to get this over with, then," he added with even more irritation as he moved onward.

But after walking for several more minutes, all that he saw was even more jungle—with absolutely no signs of any life or even afterlife.

"What gives?" the young hybrid finally uttered, now feeling more perplexed than edgy.

Suddenly he spied a lake ahead and he reflexively quickened his pace toward it. However, shortly after he did, he stubbed one of his feet against something.

"Ouch!" Danny cried, immediately floating upward before bringing that foot up and quickly rubbing it.

But then as he continued to hover in place, he also looked down to see what had hit his foot and gasped. It was not a rock. It was a fallen, well-weathered _sign_. And it read: _Floody Waters_!

Suddenly, the teen didn't like that and he felt a shiver run up-and-down his spine. He swallowed hard and took flight in the direction of the lake, only to find a few moments later that it was not a lake. But instead, it was remnants of the water park's huge swimming pool, now reclaimed by the forest.

"What is going on?" he uttered with a slight gasp. "What happened to Amity Park? What happened to my friends? My fam—Dad! Don't tell me that the Observants have now stepped _way_ over the line because I called them on all of this!"

Now a bit panicked and regretting that he had challenged the spirits, Danny soared over in the direction where his home should be.

But as Danny traveled onward, all the while searching the thickly wooded land under him, he unconsciously slowed…..Now he wasn't so sure where he was going. The city….Where was it? Was it really here…and had it changed so….radically?

There were no signs of any highways or roads…Only small unpaved pathways wound themselves here and there, as if they were the wondering streams of someone's thoughts.

But then, he saw that one of the pathways lead to a breach in the forest just ahead and his heart leapt a bit in hope. Maybe the city was just ahead!

As soon as he reached the cleared area, however, his heart fell again.

There was nothing familiar here. Any semblance of sound buildings or other modern-looking landmarks were gone; instead, sparse groups of some kind of rudimentary…cottages…or dwellings of some sort haphazardly played hopscotch along the crude pathways.

But when he looked closer, there were also no signs of any yards, no real fences of any sort that separated the small huts from each other… except for what looked like makeshift patches of small—but very poor—gardens. At least, that's what they looked like to him… He sighed, though it was a slight yet very uncomfortable one. Well, at least that meant that there had to be some people nearby—he hoped.

However, even after flying onward with that hope, he still found no signs of any familiar landmark, animals, nor cars nor airplanes of any sort in the sky—nor, more importantly, any people. And that only made him start to get very bad vibes about it all. Everything looked virtually the same for as far as he could see no matter in which direction he looked.

Finally Danny slowed his flight to a near stop while allowing only the wind to keep him at a sluggish drift forward as he thought, _"I don't think I hit my head on that last lame ride….Is this another dream? Or am I in some kind of alternate universe?..."_ He paused, trying to assure himself as he mentally added, "_Yeah, that's it! This is not the Ghost Zone, yet, it's not the Real World, either. At least, I hope I'm in some kind of wacko world because I hope that things haven't gotten…worse for challenging the Observants."_

He could see a thicker area of the woods further ahead and decided to go and inspect that, just in case there was some sort of clue to what was happening under all that foliage.

Once he was near enough, all he could see was that there was a small pathway under a thick canopy of trees and vines leading away from the more open area with the 'farms' in it —that is, if he wanted to call it an 'open' area.

He scanned all around him again, and seeing nothing different for as far as he could see, he shrugged. At least this pathway seemed to go _somewhere_, so maybe he would find an answer from where it led. He plunged right in, but kept flight because the pathway was partially choked by underbrush. And now that he could see that there was a thick overgrowth of trees and vines above, which blocked most of the light, he had to depend on his ghostly vision to guide him. It didn't help that this area was even muggier and hotter than the other part of forest he had left behind.

Suddenly, however, a strong green vine jutted in front of him, which promptly blocked his path.

Danny jolted to a hover before becoming irritated at himself for not seeing the vine until it was too late. He quickly skirted around the vine and flew onward, only for another creeper to fall from one of the overhead trees and block his way again.

Once again, the teen frowned in annoyance and this time, he reached for the vine and easily yanked it out of his way as he flew on.

Only a few minutes later, however, Danny had to unwittingly slow his speed considerably down. The forest had thickened significantly from where he had first entered this area.

But then, he jolted when he thought he heard…voices! His heart leapt with slight excitement and relief, but then he frowned in confusion. The voices were not in disarray; they were rhythmic, as if they seemed to be…chanting!

The teen floated even more slowly, though he continued to head toward those voices, which were steadily becoming louder as he drew nearer…

And he could finally see a clearing of some sorts just ahead. At least he thought he it was a clearing because he could see more light…though, oddly, that light also seemed to flicker in its brightness. But that may have been because there was an even thicker clump of vines that seemed to have instantaneously plopped themselves right on the pathway.

But the young hybrid knew he was close enough now that the voices were becoming more distinct and it was getting bright enough for him to see that the thick clump of vines just ahead was not so much wide as it was tall. And the vines seemed to be wrapped around a large rock in some kind of…order, as if they were made up some kind of…structure. But just as he was deciding to turn invisible and intangible and push only his head through the heart of the rock and into the clearing, he could feel the hair on the back of his head stand up when he heard the words the people were chanting. Their words gave him the mega-creeps. Still, all he could do right now was listen as he turned invisible and intangible and poked his head through the middle of that rock cradled in dense foliage …

"O Mighty _Kresko Sub_, you who give us what we need, yet no more than what we just need…"

Danny could see several humans all huddled around this vine-covered rock through which he had pushed himself. But he didn't inspect it for now because he was more interested in these people and what they kept chanting…

"O Mighty _Kresko Sub_, you who know what is best for us, and help us to not seek anything else best for us lest we fall into a state of confusion…"

Even though they had not noticed him, they looked too intently at him—or should he say—at this twisted form of rock and vines that he was partly through as they practically bleated their words. He could see that they were dressed…oddly. Their clothing looked all the same: brown and woolly-looking yet also tattered, as if they were really people who had lived long ago. Not only that, but the rough clothing literally hung on each of them, as if everyone was much too skinny for what they had chosen to wear….And their faces…they were streaked with sadness and, worse, swathed in _gauntness._

"O Mighty _Kresko Sub_, you who is wisest among us, who shows us the way to the path, though it be hard. We thank you, because it is in your hardness that you soften us to see the path…."

But as Danny listened and observed, he noticed something even odder. There didn't seem to be any old people…or children…here, though those who were present kind of looked older because their skin was very weathered, though he knew that they couldn't be that old because no one had gray hair. Yet, he could see how hollow their upturn faces and rough-looking their raised hands were as they chanted, as if these were people who had to work very hard physically…

"Therefore, O Mighty _Kresko Sub_, please hear us. We need your guidance. The rains have not come. The heat is overbearing. The labor is more oppressive. We…hunger… Please, we beg you, come and show us what you will allow us to do."

Finally, the chanting stopped and the people were silent. Immediately, they lowered their eyes and hung their arms until it looked as if they had melted right into the grass beneath their feet.

Danny narrowed his eyes as he examined the faces of a few of them who looked back up at this rock in which he was still intangible and invisible. He could see by those sunken yet almost vacant, eyes that they expected something to happen.

As the minutes wore on, Danny grew uncomfortable. What was wrong with these people? Why hadn't they said anything more than that chant that happened what seemed like eons ago already? And why did they look so lost, so helpless? And who was this '_Kresko Sub'_? Whoever he, she, or it was, it sounded like a real turkey to him.

Danny finally couldn't stand the silence any longer. He pulled the rest of himself totally from the rock, stood on the ground and rematerialized.

Once the people saw him, however, they gasped in fear and fell prostrate at his feet.

"A-Are y-you o-one of his dreadful messengers?" one of the men stuttered in obvious fear.

Not only confused about the man's words but also quickly getting very creeped out about all of this, Danny uttered, "What? What are you talking about?"

Still prostrate, another man dared to say, "T-The m-messenger of _Kresko Sub. _Did he send you?"

"Nobody sent me!" Danny insisted, though he silently thought only to himself, _'Uh, except those Observant jerks…And looks like this 'Kresko Sub' is a dude!' _Nevertheless, he continued, "And who is this '_Kresko Sub'_dude?"

But it was as if they weren't listening to him because another man cried, "He had to have sent you! You have the power to disappear and reappear at will and you _glow_!"

Then Danny suddenly understood. This '_Kresko Sub' _must be some ghost. And that just made him angry again.

"Look, people. Will you please get up?" Danny irritatingly half-commanded since he was suddenly perturbed that they were still groveling at his feet.

The group of humans slowly rose and stood up. All of them looked at the young half-ghost with trepidation. But one young man studied Danny more intently than the others…

Once Danny was a bit more relieved that the group of half-starved humans wasn't at his feet, he said more gently, "Thank you. And I don't know how or why you got to be so…sheepish, but the only explanation would be was that you must be under the power of some ghost."

But then suddenly, the people all gasped in fear, which startled Danny.

Several of the people then cried, "We do not call him _that_! It is forbidden. We must call him:_ Kresko Sub, la Granda Protektanto de la Medio_**.(2)**

Now grabbing the side of his face and quickly rubbing it in irritation, Danny replied, "Okay. I think that you're saying something in Esperanto; and even though I understand some of it, I haven't memorized the entire dictionary yet. So, can you please just tell me all of that again —in English?"

"We are forbidden!" one woman cried in fear.

A man worriedly added, "We do not question the one in charge of our entire world!"

Danny's eyes widened as he said in disbelief, "What? This ghost has conquered the whole world?"

"Yes," a young sandy-haired man who seemed to be just a few years older than Danny confirmed. He was the same young man who had kept quiet all this while and had only watched Danny intently.

"Do not tell him anything!" a woman standing next to that young man fearfully demanded.

But Danny replied with some exasperation, "Don't tell me _what_? Look. I think I can help if you just tell me who this ghost is!"

"Why should we trust you? You are one of them!" an older man accused, though his eyes still conveyed fear. "And for all we know, _Kresko Sub _might be changing tactics and using newer…messengers to do his evil bidding."

Danny then bit his lower lip before replying, "Well, you have a good point there. But if I was really one of his jerky minions, do you think I would be talking to you and trying to help?"

At first, no one spoke.

Finally, Danny humphed indignantly and said, "Okay, if you don't think you can trust me and tell me what happened here, then I'm leaving. But I'm also going after that ghost who did this to you just the same. He then pulled out his Esperanto dictionary from his pocket, hoping to at least look up what _'Kresko Sub'_ meant.

But before Danny could turn to the first page of the book, that same sandy-haired young man stepped forward. Looking Danny right in the eyes, he said with more verve, "I do not believe this ghost is a servant of _Kresko Sub_! I do not know why, though I have to say that I feel that his eyes convey…kindness and sincerity. Therefore, I will tell him what he wants to know!"

Though the group of humans gasped that the young man had finally spoken, several others quickly objected, "We will be punished!"

"Then _we will be punished_!" the young man spat back with his dark eyes glaring at the group. "You know that I still have not lost the ability to hope and that I do not speak unless I am certain of my mind."

He then turned to face his kinsfolk; and pointing defiantly to the eldest in the group, he added with a strong voice, "And I will no longer stay in the shadow of your sins!"

Once more, gasps erupted from the emaciated crowd before the woman who had been standing next to the sandy-haired young man walked up to him. She grabbed and then pulled his arm with trying to coax him away from Danny as she pleaded, "Please, John, do not do this!"

"No, Mother, it is enough!" the young man she called 'John' said as he pulled gently but decisively away from her before he stepped more boldly toward Danny.

And now that they were face-to-face, Danny could see more clearly that this young man was his height and only a few years older than he.

"As you have heard, my name is John."

Danny nodded before replying, "And I'm Danny Phantom."

The small group of people gasped a bit before murmuring to themselves.

Danny looked among them in surprise and asked, "Is there something else wrong?"

"No, not with you," John began. "It's just that we did not expect you to have _two_ names. We no longer have any family names since _Kresko Sub_ came into power. He did not wish for us to unite ourselves or have any sense of identity outside the elements of nature."

"Oh," Danny simply replied. "Then you can just call me Danny."

John smiled weakly before he said, "I wish I could say that it was a pleasure under these circumstances, but I am glad to know your name all the same."

Danny swallowed hard but still asked, "What happened here?"

"It has always been like this since I was young. The only memory I have of how things were then was that our town was once very vibrant. But…somehow, little-by-little, it fell into decay."

"But why?" Danny asked.

John gravely replied, "Honestly, I am not certain; but I can only tell you what I know. It seemed so slowly that it happened; but then those who were old enough to know better realized it was not so much slow but that they ignored it all when it was happening."

"I don't understand what you mean," Danny replied.

"What I have been told is that those who could have acted allowed our world to decay. They allowed other people who insisted that they knew what was for the best for everyone to come into positions of authority. Only that, those people really did not know anything at all."

Danny shook his head in confusion, "I'm sorry. I still don't understand. Wasn't this once Amity Park?"

This time, one of John's eyebrows rose in surprise before he commented, "How do you know of it? You are a stranger here; and that name no longer has any meaning in this place. Whether you are here or in other parts of the world, everywhere and everything in it are only called _La Medio __**(3)**_and no more."

Danny gulped. "Well," he slowly began. "I used to live here when it was called Amity Park…but I, uhm, travel a lot and have been travelling for quite a while and…"

"How could you do that?" an older man suddenly butted in with clear suspicion laden in his voice. "It would have taken you _months _to reach the very next town and even years to go even further!"

"No, it wouldn't," Danny countered. "You know that I'm a ghost; so, I'm able to travel easily since I can fly and…"

He stopped when the others gasped in shock.

Now more irritated at their reactions, Danny whined a bit, "Will you _please _stop doing all that 'gasping' stuff? And you told me there are ghosts here, so don't tell me that you people haven't seen them fly! And for that matter, don't you take jets to get to some places?"

But then, Danny's eyes widened in disbelief when he could tell that they _didn't_ take jets. He then hesitantly said, "But you know what jets _are_, don't you?"

The group slowly and nervously nodded before John said, "We used to have several means of travel in the past but were compliant enough to give it all away since we had been convinced by others that they were bad. Now we have to use our own legs to travel."

Danny frowned in both disbelief and worry. But then, their other admission—that they had never seen ghosts fly—came into focus and he asked, "But what about ghosts? Don't you see them flying here?"

"No, they do not fly. Perhaps they have forgotten how or are also forbidden to do so," John answered bitterly before adding, "But the servants of _Kresko Sub_ were not forbidden to destroy our homes whenever they wished and with no reason. They even came merely to parade through our village without a word, which was just as terrorizing because we were never certain if they would attack us in the end."

Danny's face scowled. What did that mean, then? Still, he didn't understand all that had happened here. He then said, "So is that why you all are so…uhm, poor?"

John's face fell at Danny's last comment before soberly replying, "We have not always been like this. It only happened within my own lifetime. I remember having all of the privileges of a vibrant city. Everything was so opposite of what you see of it now….But now, life is truly very hard now. It did not have to be, but we were duped into giving everything up. And it was then that _Kresko Sub_ came."

Danny, however, was still confused by all of this. But before he could ask anything more, the earth began to tremble!

This time, everyone but Danny erupted in fearful and panicked cries. Many of them quickly fled the scene. After all, they looked as if they knew who must be coming and after all that John had said, they also looked as if they knew whoever this ghost was would _not_ be pleased...

Danny saw the blood drain from John's face with fear when the grass beneath him stood upright, as if it, too, sensed the danger lurking near them. Even as the ground continued to shake, he hurriedly said to Danny, "I am very sorry, my friend! I have no power against this evil, earthly force, especially when the others have run away. If we would have banded together, perhaps we would have stood a chance; but not now! Go, save yourself before it is too late!"

As soon as the scared young man had turned to flee, however, several large vines shot out from the surrounding trees, whipped tightly around him, and lifted him skyward.

"No, _Kresko Sub!_" John cried in terror just as the vines curled around his neck. "I have said nothing evil!"

At first, Danny was slightly stunned by what had just happened. But because he now knew what kind of vines these were, he reacted not even a heartbeat later. Charging up his ectoplasmic energy, he quickly swooped upward to John's side before zapping the vines off of the young man.

John screamed in even more terror as he immediately began to plummet to the ground.

But Danny caught him and set him gently on the ground.

John looked at him in both shock and appreciation and quietly said, "Perhaps you are a messenger….But just the kind from the heavens and not the false ones created on _La Medio_."

But seeing more vines creeping toward them, Danny instead hurriedly said, "Get out of here, dude! I can handle these creeps!"

John nodded in appreciation. And before he dashed off, he added, "Perhaps one day, we will take back what we have lost…and be more vigilant and guard common sense more diligently rather than give power to those who only wanted to control us with irrationality. Thank you for helping us!"

But Danny didn't answer him. He had already turned away and taken flight to meet the attacking vines right after John had spoken.

Danny easily sliced and diced those glowing vines with his wulf claws or froze them with his ice rays. He just as easily avoided others by turning intangible; or turned invisible before sneaking up to others and tying them into knots.

Before too long, the area had been completely cleared of the vines and Danny soared up into the air. Now he knew where he was going, which was to find this '_Kresko Sub'_ and send him back from whence he came.

Acting on a hunch, Danny decided to fly south, since the vines that had attacked John and him had crept out from out of that direction. And after only a few minutes of flight, the young hybrid saw the hideous ghost in the midst of an area choked by all sorts of plants and vines.

Danny bit his lower lip when he could see how the ghost had changed. He had grown two more sets of arms, he was now a much richer shade of green, and the top of his head looked more like a large clump of broccoli than a reject from a punk flower band. But the boy wasted no time worrying about that. He had to stop the ghost.

As he increased his speed, Danny concentrated on forming a large ball of his ice energy between both of his hands. Once successful, he poured even more ice energy into it and it enlarged as easily as if he had pushed a snowball down a hillside. And just when he thought he could make it no bigger, Danny infused his powerful green ectoplasmic energy into it.

Before he could throw the ice bomb at the ghost, however, several large flower-like plants barred his way.

His hands were too full to use his wulf claws, so Danny did the second best thing: he froze them with beams of ice energy streaming from his eyes.

But those now frozen plants had done their job in distracting the teen half-ghost. Before Danny knew it, several other plants had snuck up behind him in mid-air and shot several small balls of sleep spores at him.

Danny saw the spores right away and darted forward in an effort to avoid them. But then, several other vines shot outward and wrapped around his right hand, jerking it hard and making him drop his ice bomb. Ironically, however, that powerful snowball burst outward upon impacting the ground, encasing and freezing all of the plants that had been attacking him in a thick layer of ice before blowing them to smithereens.

Danny chuckled, "Now, that's what I call 'reaping what you sow'!"

But he grew sober right away; and unsheathing his wulf claws, he dug right into the other attacking plants that were still in his way. He also shot others with ice rays streaming out of his eyes.

Nevertheless, the plants rebounded and shot more sleep spores at him even as Danny destroyed them.

But seeing that the sleep spores were beginning to surround him and, more importantly, beginning to affect him, he pulled upward in an attempt to put some space between him and the spores. He was heartened when he was far enough away to ready his Ghostly Wail against them.

Suddenly, Danny gasped when his sharp eyes saw that the plants below him were moving several bound bundles along their leaves, not unlike humans forming a chain to pass buckets to a fire. But, ironically, these plants weren't moving water…they were moving unconscious humans bound with vines! And he could plainly see that John was among the captives!

Now the teen knew he had no choice. If he used his Ghostly Wail, the humans were sure to be injured. And he had to save the helpless humans! He plunged downward and was swallowed up by foliage and sleep spores.

Still determined even as he was beginning to feel his head spin, Danny charged up his ice energy and yelled in defiance, "Oh, no you don't!"

Just then, however, the ground immediately below the young half-ghost rent wide open and he was being pummeled by a large fist as tough as hemp.

The young ghost's body ricocheted upward by the hard blow, which, combined with the effects of the sleep spores, was enough to knock Danny out. But before he lost total consciousness, Danny heard a very familiar evil laugh….

* * *

><p>Danny felt something cold and wet sliding down from under his nose and the side of his mouth. He now realized that he was awake and that his jaw, mouth and nose hurt.<p>

As his mind and eyes began to clear, he unknowingly turned to what the cold, wet voice he heard was saying.

"It is about time you woke up, flesh-walker! I don't want you to be late for dinner!"

Danny tensed and then sighed in irritation when he realized he couldn't move because he was bound by several vines. He then growled, "Undergrowth! Or should I say, _Kresko Sub_? Though really, _Slimeball_ is my best choice for what to call you!"

"Silence, Phantom!" the plant ghost hotly commanded. You have no leverage here! I am more powerful than you now. My roots are so deep that they intertwine with all the roots of all the plants from here to all those on the other side of the world! And that is because I have conquered the world as I had once promised. And the most delightful thing about it is that I didn't even have to fight for it!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Plant Head, and I really don't care to know. But all I do know is that you're not going to win!" the boy defiantly spat out.

Undergrowth laughed and it was so loud that some of the nearby plants shuddered under the vibrations. He snapped his fingers and several plants unfolded and displayed pods which held the unconscious humans that Danny had seen earlier. But the boy's head snapped back to the plant ghost when Undergrowth loudly wheezed,

"You weren't listening, flesh-walker! And right now, I demand that you do! I have already won! And the pathetically weak flesh-walkers who were once masters of the Earth and of my precious plants are now my subjects to do with as I choose! And they gave me that power more willingly than they realized until it was too late!"

"What do you mean?" Danny defiantly asked while he struggled with the plants he knew were able to suppress some of his powers. He didn't want to fail again!

Undergrowth pulled his face skyward and loudly boasted, "The human fools practically handed it to me, though it was I who started it all! I planted the seeds of my will into weak flesh-walkers who could still serve me in their pathetic positions. Heh-heh. Rules and regulations! Wonderful human creations, especially when they are in the hands of reckless and blind fools! They swallowed up and regurgitated all of the whispers I fed them. And the results were more than delicious! They all willingly deprived themselves of the things that centuries of human generations before them had fought so hard for so that their young would not have to work so hard to survive. Fools! And now looked what happened! Ha-ha! By letting those weaker and more evil among them—those who could no longer discern common sense from hysteria mixed with power-lust— control them, the flesh-walkers gave up everything they had worked for! The fools didn't realize until it was too late that they were not only meant to be guardians of the elements, but that they were also allowed to _rule_ the elements with some sanity. Now they are slaves to it, just as I always wanted!"

The giant plant continued with glee in his salivary voice, "And now, the humans have nothing. They are now ruled by my power and the power of _La Medio _and now must grovel for their existence for eternity. Ha-ha! They are even doomed to worship me as their god!"

Undergrowth then turned to the bound boy and shoved his large face right into Danny's and sneered, "And now, the formerly powerful and pain-in-my-side Phantom will feel the force of my organic might!"

Even as Undergrowth brought all three pairs of his vegetable hands closer to the boy's chest, Danny concentrated on willing both his ice powers and wulf claws.

The plant ghost then curled most of his large plant fingers within his palms, though he was sure to keep the 'index' finger of each of his hands extended. And then, he willed each of those index fingers to project forward and grow larger until each of the six fingers had a knife-like point to them.

Then like slithering angry eels baring their razor sharp teeth before attacking their prey, those six awl-like fingers converged at the center of Danny's 'DP' emblem.

Suddenly, in the midst of concentrating on activating his powers, however, Danny gasped when it started again! His spine was burning as if it were consuming all of his energy like those countless times before! He could not believe it was happening again. But still, he concentrated harder in trying to will away the sharp pain shooting up his spine while commanding his ice energy and wulf claws to pour forth.

At the same instant that he thought he was going to be successful, however, Danny yelled with another pain: the pain from the six large knives as they began to carve into his chest.

In desperation, Danny dug into his inner strength and struggled to make it come together but still could not stop Undergrowth from peeling away at his ghostly flesh. Still, he panted in defiance, "No! Leave me alone!"

Undergrowth merely laughed hideously and scoffed, "I will have your central core to feed my own for eternity, Danny Phantom! And with it, no flesh-walker will ever be able to be the master of the Earth again!"

Tears streamed down from his eyes as Danny could feel himself weakening and in such pain in spite of his efforts to stave everything off. And as Undergrowth began to take root within his central core, Danny could feel his ectoplasm gush down the front of his costume as his eyes glossed over.

But then suddenly, Danny thought he heard a female voice's desperate cry: _"Danny! NOO! Danny!"_ before he collapsed under the tremendous pain….

* * *

><p><strong>(1) Esperanto for: The Right of Refuge, which was a solemn appeal to the High Council that could not be ignored by any Observant when it was demanded from them.<strong>

**(2) Esperanto for: Undergrowth, the Great Protector of the Environment.**

**(3) Esperanto for: The Environment.**

**Well, I'm glad you made it down here! As you can see, Danny is now going to have to face 'level seven' ghosts, which were equal to him in power when he was fourteen. Of course, Danny is older and more powerful than that in this story, but he is having his…issues with his powers as well. So, indeed, these more powerful ghosts are going to be difficult to defeat…And speaking of powers, the Fantomos Ecto-Scale resumes:**

**LEVEL ONE-289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**?— Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, TrueHeart**

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**289-level 6-**_**Gamma**_**—Ghost Writer**

**289-level 6-**_**Beta**_** —Walker**

**289-level 6-**_**Alpha**_**—Skulker**

**LEVEL SEVEN GHOSTS—Difficult to defeat. Would have been evenly matched with Danny at age 14. They usually have only one way of being defeated and can be defeated only after discovering that flaw. Also, Danny could only defeat them at age 14 after he picked up new skills to defeat them.**

**289-level 7-**_**Epsilon**_**—Undergrowth**

**And, by the way, happy Memorial Day to everyone. And when you see a veteran in or out of uniform, please shake their hand for me. Without them, we would not have our wonderful country. God bless all veterans!**


	34. Chapter 34 Hope on a Tangent

**A/N: Heyluu, everybodee! Hope you're having a great week. Mine just got better because I'm on vacation for a while! Oh, what a feeling! AHHH! So, how appropriate is it to check in on Danny's family and friends again? SOO appropriate! But I need to warn you: there are some spoilers here about some of my earlier Post 'Phantom Planet' stories. So, without further banter, here is Chapter 34. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 34—Hope on a Tangent<p>

"My glasses! My glasses! Where are my glasses?" Tucker yelled in sudden panic, which completely startled Danny's father.

"Uh, you have them on already!" Jack quickly replied while pointing to them.

"Oh," the boy half-answered even as he looked quickly around to assure himself that he did have his glasses on.

But just then, the boy's face tightened as another thought riveted him just enough to put him back into another bout of full-blown panic, including having his breathing increase tenfold.

"My PDA! Where's my PDA?! Tucker screamed even more frantically.

Jack startled again. He had not expected this at all. After what they had previously agreed upon, he had thought that the boy had calmed himself enough for them to plan their next step.

Obviously, he was wrong and the boy was losing it even more! Not that he could really blame Danny's friend, since he knew very well that Tucker's PDA was like a 'third' arm to the teen.

Still, the man knew he had to get the boy focused again.

Firmly grabbing Tucker's shoulders and slightly shaking him, Jack firmly said, "Tucker! Please calm down! I found your PDA outside! I think it's okay, but I really didn't get a chance to see if it really was, yet.

Jack immediately reached into one of his jumpsuit's pockets and pulled out the cherished item. He then extended it to Tucker, who quickly snatched it up as if he were still starved and this was his first bite!

The teen anxiously looked his little machine over and pushed a few special buttons. He sighed and relaxed a bit when he saw the results of the diagnostic program he had activated. He finally looked up at Danny's father and said in a much calmer voice, "Well, it's a bit scuffed and dirty and the batteries are low; but it looks like it's okay. Man, I'm sure glad that it has programmed itself to go into a special 'sleep' mode which included activating and boosting its defense features."

One of Jack's eyebrows shot up in surprise and curiosity. He knew that the boy's PDA was particularly special, but really he had no idea just _how_ special it was…But then he smiled in delight and said, "That is very cool, Tucker! Uh, what does that mean?"

"Well,..." the boy began, only to pause a moment in indecision…

True, Danny's folks were the only adults that now knew a lot of his and his friends' secrets—like the fact that Mr. Fenton knew that his PDA was one of the _future_ Skultech 9.9's PDA's…But like all normal teens, they didn't want to tell their parents _everything_—especially some secrets. And he didn't want to tell Mr. Fenton _all_ about this PDA, well, at least not now. After all, time was of essence, which was the truth. He finally added, "Uh, well, Mr. Fenton, it's very complicated and really, we don't have time for this, doncha think?"

"You're right, son," Jack readily agreed. "But let's go check on your parents again. Maybe we can try to wake them like I did you."

"Thanks, Mr. F," Tucker replied with a weak smile. He really did appreciate the man's offer and help.

But then the boy frowned when he saw the man's face fall. He swallowed hard and asked, "I-Is there something you haven't told me about them?"

"No, Tucker," Jack said, and the seriousness in which he had said that spooked Tucker a bit.

Jack also forced the lump in his throat down as he continued in that same somber tone, "It's just….It's just that if we can't wake them, we'll have to keep strong and leave them where they are. I wouldn't want to move them and risk hurting them more since we can't be sure what's wrong with them. They'll be safe until we can get them help."

The man suddenly paused again. He wasn't even sure there was _any help_ to be had. Still, he said, "But if we can't get them help right away, I just want you to know that I will try to find a way to help them…and everybody else, okay?"

Trying to be brave, Tucker nodded with a weak smile before saying, "Thanks again, Mr. Fenton. But, um, I kinda need to get what feels like crud crawling all over my face off. So, could you give me a sec to use the bathroom?"

Jack chuckled slightly before nodding and then helping the boy out of his bed. When the man could see that Tucker was stable enough on his feet, he let go. However, shortly after that, the man bit his lower lip when he could see that the boy was trying hard not to stumble to the bathroom.

But a few moments later, the man jumped when he heard Tucker scream while he was still in the bathroom!

Jack burst right in and frantically asked, "Tucker! What's wrong?!"

At first, Tucker had a hand against his chest and was still staring at himself in the mirror. But then, he looked at the man and stuttered out, "S-Sorry! I just was expecting… _that!"_ He pointed at the mirror, and then added, "I look awful! And why didn't you tell me about my beard?"

"Because I didn't want to scare you since it's _still_ too early for Halloween?" the man offered weakly before gently teasing, "Besides, it doesn't look anything like a yeti on a bad hair day. There's hardly any beard there, you know."

Knowing that the man was joking, Tucker then laughed softly, "Yeah, you're right."

Nevertheless, the boy glanced back at the mirror, frowned a bit at what he saw and he rubbed his fuzzy chin. Of course, Tucker knew very well that it hadn't been too long since he had started to need to shave, even if his facial hair was _very_ sparse. Still, he added, "But can I take a few minutes more?"

"Take all you want, son," Jack gently replied. The man knew that the boy was still shook up about everything; and, honestly, so was he.

Finally, Tucker was through and the man smiled to see that the boy had looked a bit better after freshening up a bit.

But when the two of them were about to head toward Maurice and Angela's room, the teen suddenly swayed off balance when a tremendous jolt of pain shot through his brain. Its aftereffects were so numbing that Tucker hadn't yet realized that Danny's father had caught his fall and was still holding him up and frantically calling out his name.

Before he knew it, Tucker was sitting back on his bed with a very concerned Mr. Fenton looking at him, slightly patting his cheek, and shaking his shoulders while intermittently saying his name.

Once Tucker finally came partially back to reality, only two thoughts came immediately into focus and he outwardly blurted them out: "Danny! Sam!"

Jack was more relieved that the boy had responded at all much less really understand the boy's slurred speech. Still, the man asked, "What did you say, Tucker? Are you all right?"

At last, Tucker blinked the spots out of his eyes and turned towards the man after finally comprehending that Danny's father had said something to him. As his mind and memory cleared even more, Tucker also further realized that those last two thoughts about his best friends were very urgent ones and he had to get himself together. And he had to tell the man.

He uttered, "W-What? Uhm, sorry, Mr. Fenton. But you're not going to believe me and you might get a bit more worried about me now and how strange what I'm about to tell you is gonna be. But I had this very strong—and _definite_—feeling…Something's very wrong with Danny!"

"What? How do you know that, Tucker?" Mr. Fenton slightly gasped since he was obviously not ready for this kind of response out of the boy. Maybe Tucker was still a bit dazed, hungry and upset about what had happened to him.

Tucker studied the man's face a bit and was slightly relieved that at least the man didn't look like he thought he was crazy. Still, he hesitated. _He_ really wasn't too far in thinking that he was crazy. But he just knew he was _right!_

"I know it sounds crazy, Mr. Fenton, but I just have this feeling about Danny. I can't explain it…" He paused again before scrunching his brow at what he was sure was another definite thought that he was having. "And Sam is trying to wake up, but can't."

Now the man's eyes widened even as he squelched another gasp. _Now_ he was a bit spooked about what the boy told him, yet he wasn't so alarmed to completely reject the boy's claim outright….

After all, if nothing else could be said about Jack Fenton, he was a man with a lot of patience and an underlying desire to be supportive and understanding. But more than that, he was a very curious man. There was never any doubt that he had an almost child-like fascination with the supernatural unknown and science, especially with trying to make both compatible with each other. It had been his—and his wife's—life's work. And, really, he accepted the unexplainable more readily than even he was aware. So, though his initial reaction was reflexive in being spooked, underneath, he had already accepted Tucker's claim.

Nevertheless, Jack's curiosity got the better of him more this time as he repeated, "I know you said you don't know how you know, Tucker, but have you always had these…strange—but, heh-heh_, interesting_—feelings about your friends?"

"Well,..." Tucker slowly began before pausing just as he had when it came to explaining his futuristic PDA…

Only this was _way_ different. Sure, they told only Danny's folks mostly about their adventures, including the 'Spectre affair' and about his futuristic PDA. But, neither he nor his friends had told any of their parents about this: that is, about Danny and Sam's telepathic powers. And him? Well, he knew he didn't have anything near as powerful as that. But the boy had to admit that shortly after the 'Spectre' thing, he was having a more and more unexplainable...sort of 'sixth sense' about his friends. He became very aware of it for the first time during their last encounter with Penelope Spectra and Bertrand when they had tried to break up him and Valerie and break up Danny and Sam in order to suck up their misery pheromones.

But there was more that Danny's parents didn't know…

In fact, the bespectacled teen hadn't even known about his friends' telepathic connection for a while. It had taken Sam a few weeks to even admit to _him_ about her 'complications' she had gotten from Jiva —and even then she had told him only after Danny had encouraged her to do that.

It wasn't as if Sam couldn't talk to both of her best friends. She just didn't like to draw attention to herself liked that. Tucker got that. After all, she hadn't even told her best friends that she and her family were rich until a couple of years ago. And, again, that was because she hadn't wanted to make a big deal out of that, either. So, if she didn't want to make a big deal out of something like being loaded, she certainly wouldn't have wanted to blow her horns about something like…having, well, cool telepathic and her other powers like that!

He was also especially touched that Sam had let him tell Valerie that secret, even when he had offered not to. But he knew that Sam also got it that he didn't really want to lie to his girl about anything anymore; and she knew that this was the time for her to put his feelings ahead of hers. Not that Sam hadn't always done that before, she just wasn't so…open about that before.

He chuckled only to himself. That was so like Sam, too: that his female best friend couldn't bring herself to telling Valerie herself. Tucker got that, too. After all, he and Sam had a longer history together than him and Valerie. And even though Sam and his girlfriend were now friends, Sam hadn't completely warmed up to her yet. Not that it was either of their faults. It just took Sam _lots_ of time and knowing before she could even begin to allow people into her 'personal space'. That was just Sam. But Tucker also knew that once Valerie had become a 'full member' of Sam's 'inner circle', then all that would change —for the better.

Tucker smiled at that thought since he knew that one day that would be true. It was just a matter of time…

But then, Jack noticed that the boy had smiled shortly after pausing after uttering that 'Well'…

Scrunching his face in confusion, Jack asked, "Well, 'what', Tucker? Weren't you about to tell me about those weird…feelings about Danny and Sam?"

The man suddenly paused. Suddenly, he was embarrassed and had become concerned that someone might know something about him that he didn't want them to know before he hesitantly added, "Uh, you don't get those vibes about me, uh, do you?"

This time Tucker laughed and said, "No, I just get those, uh, feelings only about Danny and Sam."

Jack nervously chuckled but then fell into silence.

Once more, Tucker felt an unspoken pressure to explain things. He didn't want to lie, but he didn't want to explain anything unless he got the 'go ahead' from his two best friends. He bit his inner lip, trying to search in his mind on what to do when a sudden idea pushed forward. That might help…"

"Uh, Mr. Fenton?" Tucker finally began, "You were once a teenager, right? I mean, do you remember when you were a teenager?"

Jack smirked and without missing a beat, answered the teen's first question with a chuckle right away, "Well, of course I was a teenager once!"

Instead on commenting on that, however, Tucker cleared his throat in reluctance and some nervousness before continuing with his train of thought, "Well, then, you know how all of us teens have this sorta 'teen-code' about keeping some things between us and hidden from 'the folks'? You must have done something like that when you were a teen, right?"

Jack partially narrowed one of his eyes, not sure if he had understood what the teen was saying. But then he guessed, "I don't remember ever needing any kind of a password as a teenager, Tucker, but if you feel uncomfortable about me tellin' you 'bout things I did when I was a teenager, then that's alright with me not to talk about it."

This time it was Tucker's turn to slightly narrow one of his eyes in confusion. But then he shrugged and sighed in relief when he kind of figured that the two of them weren't going to go into Danny and Sam's 'telepathic' thing, Sam's new powers, and his own connection with his two best friends.

Still, there was the dilemma of his wanting to wake Sam so that maybe she could locate and contact Danny using their telepathic powers. It would mean putting off getting to the bottom of this weird sickness everyone seemed to have, but the urge was too strong. He was worried about his friend and that unique bond he had with her and Danny _impelled_ him to go see Sam. And although he wasn't about to tell Danny's father about the whole telepathic thing, he knew the man would at least understand his worry over Sam….

Tucker finally asked, "Uh, Mr. Fenton?"

"Yes, Tucker?"

"Um, I know we need to get back to Fenton Works and try to get to the bottom of all this weirdness and help everyone, but… do you think we could stop at Sam's house, first? I'm just really worried about her. I want to make sure she's alright…"

Jack blinked at the boy, slightly confused once more. But then he snapped out of that and said, "I want everyone who's unnaturally asleep to wake up, son. And we'll certainly do everything we can to see to that. But I also know Sam's like family to you—and she means the world to my Danny boy! So, you need say no more! But, first, let's try to wake your parents since—"

"My parents!" Tucker exclaimed, cutting off Danny's father. "How could I've forgotten about them?"

Jack startled as the boy abruptly bolted out of the room, and thought, "_Gee, was I ever like this as a teen?_" But suddenly worried about the boy's health as well, he charged after him while calling out, "Tucker, wait! Remember you're not doing so good, kiddo!"

But the boy was too worried about his parents to care about his well-being at the moment. Once Tucker made it to his parents' room, he called out their names. He tried to rouse each of them in turn by shaking each of them on their shoulders.

But they did not budge.

Jack was quickly at the boy's side. And seeing that the boy was about to cry, Mr. Fenton offered, "Let me go get some water, Tucker, and see if I can get them to drink some of it, okay?"

Knowing that he was too choked up to speak, Tucker merely nodded.

Danny's father hurried to the hall bathroom and retrieved two cups of water. Jack placed the cups down a moment while he helped Tucker prop his parents up higher in bed with their pillows. Then, Jack gave one cup of water to the boy and motioned for him to offer some to his mother while he headed to Tucker's father.

At first, it seemed as if the two would be successful in waking Tucker's parents. Both of them actually swallowed some of the water! But then, neither of them responded much after those first few sips.

Tucker slowly pulled the water away from his mother's lips and gently wiped the excess that had unintentionally spilled out. He then carefully lay her back down. Though he was very upset about it, Tucker now clearly understood how serious this all was and he remembered what Danny's father had first suggested before they had gone off on a tangent.

Choking a little on his words, Tucker approached Danny's father and said, "D-Didn't you say you think you have some kind some kind of clue that was causing this…sickness, Mr. Fenton?"

He then quickly and purposely turned away from the man.

"Yes, I found something I would like us to analyze, so…" Jack paused a moment and swallowed hard when he saw Tucker trying to wipe away his tears without the man seeing it. But the boy hadn't done a very good job of it.

Nevertheless, Mr. Fenton gently placed his hand on one of Tucker's shoulders and quietly said, "We'll find the cause and the cure for all of this, Tucker. I promise. We have to because I want my family back, too."

Tucker raised his teary eyes up at the man and also saw a few tears threatening to jump out of his. But all the boy could do was quickly nod in acknowledgement even as he reached down and gently squeezed his father's hand before glancing worriedly at his mom.

"I'm alright, Mr. Fenton," he finally said before sniffling a bit. "We got to get Sam and get everyone well again. And we got to find your...uhm, I mean, _our_ family."

The man weakly smiled as he said, "Thank you, Tucker. I knew you would come through for me, uh, _us_."

The boy's eyes widened before he smiled weakly and nodded again…

Having Danny's father have that kind of trust in him and love for him and his family was a real confidence booster —as well as being heart-warming…

But as they headed out of the couple's room, Tucker felt dizzy once again. He was trying hard not to let the stress get to him. He was, of course, still weak, and he was very worried about his parents. But what was draining him at the moment the most was the strange—and incredibly intense— feeling he was having about his two best friends.

Before Tucker knew it, his knees had buckled, he was seeing black, and he was falling to the floor.

"Tucker!" Jack yelled as he caught the limp boy before he hit the floor.

The man bit his lower lip. Though he knew that time was of the essence, he needed Tucker to recover well enough so that he could help him. He gently hoisted the boy up and headed back to his bedroom.

As he laid the boy in his bed, the man's eyes averted to the darkened window.

Jack sighed in resignation. It would be best if he let the boy rest a bit more since underneath, he knew that the way _he_ was feeling, it was too dark to travel safely. After all, he had to admit that he still hadn't fully recovered, either.

"We can get going again, once it's light enough outside," the man decided as he sat in a nearby lounge chair.

"_Now, let me just rest my eyes"_, he thought as he closed his eyes and promptly fell asleep…

* * *

><p>Danny's mother anxiously awaited the return of the maids with her dinner. Her mind had been racing ever since she had discovered the ghost-and-human shield around her only escape route.<p>

The auburn-haired woman knew that she didn't have much time before the three ghosts would return, but she would use every moment of it to check a few of the ideas that had popped out her head.

She grabbed the scotch tape, turned off the light again and hurried to the rectangular-shaped closet. Once she had closed the closet door behind her, she pulled one of the gowns off its hanger and threw the dress aside. She hurriedly twisted the hanger apart until she had a long, thin, yet partially bent, wire at her disposal. Then she bent a small piece of it back-and-forth until it snapped off the rest of the former hanger. She repeated this several times until she had a small handful of shorter stiff wires which were by her estimate only slightly longer than the depth of the door.

Though Maddie hoped that her captor wouldn't be in a 'spying' mood right now, she had to assume otherwise. She hid the pieces of wire behind her, slowly opened the door to the closet, and crept out. She was sure to hug the wall as she made her way to the main door.

Finally, she was at the entrance of her room. She quietly knelt down and bent down with the intension of looking under the crack of the door. It was obvious from the reflection of that small white piece of paper she had taped to the jamb that the shield was still on. Still, she refocused on her immediate task.

She placed all but one short wire on the floor. Then she slowly and carefully pushed that small piece of wire under the door and waited for the aura to change in color. She tried to see if there was a pattern to the change and her heart leapt a bit when she saw that there was! She mentally counted the seconds between color changes for a few cycles. Once she was sure of the pattern, she continued with her theory.

Once the aura appeared more green than blue near the wire—which would signify that the ghost shield part of the aura was undulating in that particular area for the moment — the woman pushed the wire more away from under the door and toward the outside of her room. As she had hoped, she had no problem doing that when the aura was a ghostly one. But much to her dismay, as soon as the aura appeared more blue than green, the wire was repelled back until more of it was on her side of the door than the other side.

Maddie frowned in determination. She grasped the wire more firmly this time and when the aura was ghostly green again, she shoved it through. But this time, she held it steady as the seconds ticked by. Finally, she held her breath when she predicted that the human shield was about to move to this area. No sooner than she had thought that when she could feel the blue part of the aura buffeting the wire!

After a few moments of struggling with the human shield, the wire stopped moving!

The auburn-haired woman strained to look under the door and her heart leaped at what she saw.

The human shield was now molded _around_ the wire!

Now a bit excited about her discovery, especially when she knew it was important, Maddie quickly pushed another short piece of wire under the door and shoved it on top of the first piece of wire. Once again, the human shield molded around that piece! She repeated the process until all the wire pieces were clustered on top or to the sides of each other in such a way that they created a circle of wires about an inch in diameter that was embedded in the human shield whenever it moved to that area.

Danny's mother quickly wrapped a piece of tape around the ends of the cluster of wires on her side of the door before she taped the entire structure to the floor. She smiled when she saw that the blue aura didn't move any of the wires out of place!

Suddenly, the woman heard movement on the other side of the door!

She quickly pulled herself up to a stand and straightened her dress. But then, she immediately placed her ear against the door while looking down at the piece of paper below.

Maddie closed her eyes and listened more carefully when she heard the code to the ghost-and-human shield combo being entered.

The woman smiled when she recognized something about the code….

She hurriedly pulled away from the door and went back into her closet. She grabbed the dress that she had thrown to the side and quickly headed to the deepest part of the closet, which appeared to be just another rack of gowns abutting the back wall of the closet.

But what Maddie had discovered earlier was that there was a small, yet significant space behind that rack of gowns…An area that offered her the utmost privacy.

The woman slid a few of the hanging gowns aside to create a rudimentary 'doorway', hastily threw the loose gown into that small space, and closed the gap. She then just as quickly headed to the closet's lone door.

She took in a slow, long breath, put on a more neutral face, and quietly opened the door.

But as soon as she stepped out, Maddie feigned surprise at seeing the overhead light on and the maids.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you so soon," the woman lied. "I was just taking a few minutes to admire the wardrobe. The dresses are really beautiful. In fact, there are some very stunning ones I haven't tried on yet. Uh, would it be possible for you to ask your master to allow me to pick what to wear tomorrow?"

At first, none of the maids answered.

Finally, the oldest one replied, "We can ask, madam. But in the meantime, we have your dinner and we need to begin our evening duties.

"Of course," Maddie said with a sweet, yet fake smile as she headed to the small table and chair where the maids always served her food.

The human female sat down in anticipation.

The maids obliged her and served her meal.

As Maddie ate, her eyes discretely studied her room and observed the maids at the same time. She was glad that she had already discovered that the two-way mirror near the door had some blind spots—especially the most obvious one: the _other_ side of the door, which, thankfully, was _nearest _to the closet! Now she was sure she would be able to work on what she had been planning practically since she had found herself here.

Once the woman was finished eating, the maids cleaned up and bid her a good night.

Maddie had also wished them a good night, though she silently was anxious to have them leave so that she could double-check the code.

Finally, the pleasantries were complete and the maids lined up in single file to leave.

Maddie kept a small smile plastered on her face as she watched the maids go through the door.

The woman slowly made her way to the closet with the pretense of retrieving her nightgown before heading to the shower.

But just as she felt she was in the blind spot of the two-way mirror, she slinked back to the door. She could see that she had timed this part just right because the piece of paper at the base of the door was not reflecting any colors. She hurriedly pressed her ear against the door, closed her eyes in concentration, and listened.

Once more, Maddie smiled at the familiarity of the code…

She finished her errand to the closet and momentarily stopped to look at her notebook before she would head for her evening shower.

The woman sat down flipped the pages to the section that was her 'time log' and marked on a makeshift column. The maids had just left after giving her dinner and then cleaning up afterward. And as close as she could figure, that it was close to eight in the evening. That meant that she could spend the rest of the evening and then some finalizing her plans.

She flipped a few more pages of her notebook and rechecked the sketch of the device she was going to build. As the amethyst-eyed woman glanced over the specs, she nodded her head in both determination and self-satisfaction.

The woman then flipped to a blank sheet and wrote down her observations about the code right away.

She sighed and closed her eyes.

She wasn't going to fret too much over this. After all, she knew it would take her some time to get the supplies she needed because she was going to have to get them without seeming too obvious in her plans. Not only that, what she planned on using to escape would be crude at best. Still, as her mind clicked in analyzing what she would need, she didn't doubt that she was definitely going to meet her objective.

The woman opened her eyes again, and with a small smile, placed the notebook down.

And just as she headed toward the bathroom, she silently thanked her mom for making her take all of those piano lessons…because if she hadn't, she wouldn't have been able to recognize those…notes…

* * *

><p>Thinking that a diffuse yet momentarily light had flashed over his closed eyelids before what sounded like a muffled engine immediately following that, Jack jolted awake. He looked around the slowly brightening room.<p>

"_Did I fall asleep_?" the man asked himself as he rose and headed to the window of Tucker's bedroom.

He could see the sun rising in the distance. But then he paused and cocked his head when he heard that strange echo from yesterday, only that it didn't seem as loud as it had been when he first noticed it yesterday. However, it still seemed to be coming from Central Park.

Though Jack was curious about it, he felt that there wasn't enough time to worry about it for now. He turned away from the window and could now easily see Danny's best friend still sleeping in his bed. But he frowned when he could tell that the boy wasn't sleeping soundly, just like he had found him last night.

Just beyond the bed, the orange-suited man spied a couple of extra cartons of non-perishable milk and energy bars that were left over from yesterday still lying on the bedside table. The man quickly went over to the boy and gently shook him.

"W-What? I'm almost ready for school, mom!" Tucker mumbled as he slowly began to wake.

Jack smiled in slight amusement before he quickly replied, "I wish that was all you had to do, Tucker."

This time the boy cried out in alarm at not hearing the voice he had anticipated.

Though Jack was slightly startled by Tucker's yell, he nevertheless said, "Well, at least I know that I won't have to give you any more vegetable soup to get you to wake—though, of course, I'm glad we could wake up again! We both must have fallen asleep last night and it's now morning. So, it looks like at least the two of us are over whatever's happening to everyone else."

But before Tucker could respond, the man added, "But, let's gets something better in our stomachs right now, okay? We've got a lot of things to do, son."

Jack quickly retrieved the milk and energy bar and offered it to Danny's best friend.

Tucker obliged him and the two of them slowly ate and drank.

After they were through, Tucker asked, "Can we check on my parents again?"

Jack slowly nodded as he seriously said, "But if they haven't changed, we have to agree to get going, okay? The sooner we figure out what's wrong with them and everyone else, the faster we can cure them."

The dark-skinned boy bit his lower lip, yet slightly nodded in agreement. He slowly pulled himself to a sitting position and steeled himself when he felt a little dizzy after doing that. He had to force himself to fight it so he could help his parents and his best friends.

_His best friends!_

Suddenly, Tucker was even more aware of his friends' predicaments. But then he hitched in a gasp when he had an even stranger feeling. Though he knew that Danny was in danger, Sam was even in _more_ danger at the moment. And he knew he had to get to her soon! That was enough to help him steel himself enough to pull himself together.

"Uh, Mr. F?" he suddenly blurted out.

"Yes, son?" the man replied in anticipation.

"I agree with you that we have to figure out what's wrong with everyone. But, uh, remember all that, uh, weird stuff I talked to you about last night?"

Jack frowned and rolled his eyes to the side and upward trying to narrow which of the many weird things about which the boy was talking.

Tucker saw the man's confusion and quickly added, "Uh, never mind. I just, I just want to ask you that if my parents aren't better, can we go and check on Sam? I just, uh, I just have a feeling that we can, uh, well, maybe we can see if we can wake her, too? I just think she, uh, might be able to help us find Danny!"

The man puckered his face in more confusion. How would the boy know that? He slowly replied, "Uh, how would—"

"Please, Mr. Fenton!" Tucker suddenly cried in desperation when he felt the feelings he was having intensify.

The boy's expression spooked the man and Jack immediately said with as much assurance as he could muster, "S-Sure, Tucker! Are you sure you're alright enough to get going?"

Trying to keep his voice steady with the hopes of assuring himself, Tucker answered, "Yes, sir. I think it's important like everything else is right now."

Jack paused a moment before saying, "Okay, son. Let's go check on your parents first, okay?"

Tucker nodded and slowly got up off of the bed. He was thankful that he didn't feel any woozier from doing that.

The two males made their way to Tucker's parents' room and checked them over.

Though Tucker was upset that they weren't able to wake his parents, he could see that they weren't any worse. Still, he felt torn at leaving them.

Jack, in the meantime, waited patiently when the boy paused after seeing his parents. But after a few more minutes of awkward silence, he quietly and sympathetically said, "Are you ready, son?"

Tucker wiped his nose against one of his sleeves and swallowed thickly before partially choking out, "Y-Yes, Mr. Fenton. We have to go…for everyone's sake."

The two parted the older Foleys' room and headed downstairs. After retrieving some more food and boxed drinks from the kitchen, they headed to the front door….

Once they had stepped out, however, both of them reflexively looked at each other when they could hear that strange noise echoing from the direction of Central Park.

"What is that?" Tucker blurted out.

"I wish I knew, son; but we'll have to check on that later," the man replied.

The boy nodded and they both walked to the Fenton Assault Vehicle and climbed in…

The odd couple was finally on its way to the Mansons. As the two males traveled, each of them related to what had happened just before they had fallen to whatever sleeping sickness they could see that the town was still in.

Tucker had bitten his lower lip in an effort to keep himself strong and focused when Danny's father told him more about how Danny's room had looked—and the evidence that his best friend had fought some ghost.

They had also talked more about the possibilities as to why they had fallen asleep and why they ended up fully clothed in bed and with their entire house in total order. They even asked themselves again if everyone else in town had indeed ended up like this. True, all the homes they passed by looked abandoned, but maybe there was some other logical reason for that—at least both of them hoped so.

Tucker also told the man that his PDA had detected a large spike in ecto-energy before he had gotten attacked outside of his home. And that only led them more to believe that a ghost was somehow behind this, even though Tucker had completely rejected Jack's suggestion that it was a girl scout ghost!

They had also both agreed that Jazz was probably all right, but they didn't want to call her just yet. It would do no good to get Danny's sister upset when they really didn't know what was going on much less be able to calm her that everything was going to be all right—especially when they didn't even know if everything was going to be all right and when they didn't have much of any plan at the moment, either.

They had also discussed other spectral suspects that could have pulled this off. They had pretty much rejected the possibility of that ghost being Nocturne because they had found no evidence, of course, of the sleep helmets and had not encountered any Sleep Walkers.

But when they finally pulled up in front of the Mansons' home, they both unconsciously left those thoughts behind.

Jack immediately went up the stairs leading to the front door and knocked loudly on it.

And though Jack half-expected that there would be no answer, he was chagrined when he was right.

Still, he knocked again and cried out, "Jeremy?.. Pamela?...Millie?...Sam?..."

But once again, there was no answer.

When Jack turned to Tucker to ask his help in deciding whether to bust the door down or not, he saw that the boy was on his cell phone.

Although Tucker had a feeling that this would be useless, he still dialed the familiar number.

A few moments later, Tucker frowned but still spoke into the mouthpiece, "Sam. It's me, Tucker. Ya gotta call me right back right away as soon as you get this message, okay? It's very important!"

Once he disconnected, he glanced back at Jack, who was already looking at him.

Tucker slightly startled but still said, "You heard that, right?"

Jack only nodded before he said, "The door is locked! I'd go to the back to check if it's locked or not; but I know that it is. Mr. Manson is as paranoid as they come. Why, the last time we were here, I told him I had to get something out of the RV that I had forgotten to take out. I had just stepped back out to get it when he locked the door right behind me… I was sure I had told him I was coming right back."

Tucker resisted the urge to laugh. Obviously, this was another of those 'lots of things' about which the man was clueless. Danny's dad couldn't even fathom that Sam's dad so didn't like him!

"Are you sure about that strange feeling you had, Tucker?" the man asked, now uncertain on what to do.

Tucker paused in thought a moment before he hesitantly replied, "Yes, sir. Uh, at least I'm sure that at least Sam is here."

Though that answer spooked the man slightly, he frowned even more when the boy whipped out his PDA. Was the boy that hooked on video games?

Nevertheless, Tucker looked intensely as he pushed some buttons just as Jack continued, "So, do you think we should….break into…Man, Tucker, that is so cool! You've got to show me that trick some day!"

Tucker smiled a bit more as he cut off the orange beam designed to open locks and jolt doors ajar a little all at the same time. "Thanks, Mr. F. And follow me. I know where Sam's room is. And from what we've both experienced, I have a feeling that she's in her bed just like we were."

"With her own clothes and shoes, though, right, Tucker?" Jack added in embarrassment.

Trying to squelch his own embarrassment at the thought, Tucker replied, Uh, yeah, right, Mr. F. Let's hope so."

Once the twosome had reached Sam's bedroom door, Tucker gingerly knocked on it and said, "Sam?...Sam?...It's Tucker…Did you get my message?...Sam?"

The boy hesitated again, but still really convinced that she would be asleep —and decent—he grabbed the knob and opened the door. He went in with Danny's father close on his heels.

"Whoa, I had no idea!" Jack breathed out when he glanced around his son's girlfriend's room. "Spooky…but kinda neat…Uh, but don't tell her I said that, okay, Tucker?"

Tucker chuckled a bit, "Yeah, Mr. F. I follow the 'Dude Code', so don't worry!"

Mr. Fenton smiled weakly before his face grew sober. Both he and Tucker could see that Sam was sleeping —fully clothed and with her shoes still on—just as they had hoped. But more importantly, they could see that she was sleeping _fitfully _—and they could finally hear that she was either mumbling or coughing intermittently…

They couldn't know that she had already recovered from the blow to her head last night, but hadn't been able to overcome the effects of the sleeping portion as she had before yet.

In fact, once they were near enough, they could hear the franticness in her crackly voice as she mumbled, "Danny!...NO!...Danny!"

Tucker bit his lip when he somehow knew that she was feeling the same things he was feeling about their best friend. Still, he went up to her and started shaking her as he firmly said, "Sam? Sam! It's me, Tucker. Wake up!"

But all Sam did was moan and cough slightly before mumbling more incoherently this time.

Both of the males stood in silence. They felt both fretful and helpless while looking upon the restless yet unawakeable girl.

Tucker suddenly brightened with an idea and excitedly said, "Mr. Fenton, didn't you say you woke me up with soup?"

"Yes, vegetable soup. Why?"

"Give me a sec," the boy would only reply as he dashed out of the room.

Jack just stood quietly in place, still partially admiring the girl's room—creepily so.

Finally, Tucker was back. With an encouraged smile on his face, he came in while keeping his hand curled around something.

He then said, "Just so you know. I need to warn you to be prepared. I swear she has some kind of radar about this! And her reaction might be a bit….strong."

Jack frowned in confusion but he nodded anyways. A moment later, however, his eyes widened when he finally saw what was in Tucker's hand.

"Wait! You're not going to…" he began before Tucker cut him off with a slight grin.

"No need to re-invent the wheel, Mr. F."

Tucker slowly extended his hand while drawing what was in it closer and closer to the sleeping, yet agitated, girl. And sure enough, he only got to about three inches from his friend's nose and mouth when her face violently scrunched up.

Not a heartbeat later she bolted upright in her bed. She hadn't even opened her eyes yet when she was not only screaming at the top of her lungs, but she had unconsciously commanded her fuchsia-colored Spectre energy to rapidly form around both of her hands before she just as rapidly and haphazardly shot two energy rays outward.

Both males yelled in alarm and barely avoided the rays, which quickly shot past them and slammed violently into one of the walls and into a nearby bureau.

Now awake and still panting, Sam startled when she could now see her male friend right in front of her. She scrunched up her face in even more confusion when she hoarsely choked out, "Uh, w-what are you doing here, Tucker? And, w-what just happened?"

She started harshly coughing right after saying that when she suddenly realized how dry and sore her voice was.

Once Sam had stopped coughing, Tucker smirked as he lifted up the raw piece of meat with his thumb and index fingers and smugly replied, "I thought this would work in making you wake up, though I would have bet that your 'meat radar' would have gone off a half inch earlier!"

Sam scowled at her friend before she jolted at two things: finally seeing _Danny's father _in here and noticing that her hands were still glowing with her purplish-red energy!

The man had looked utterly shocked at what had just happened, but he was still able to gulp, "Uh, this doesn't have anything to do with when I was a teenager, uh, does it, Tucker?"

Tucker burst out laughing at the cluelessness of his best friend's father and in relief at seeing Sam was all right —and that Mr. Fenton had essentially gone along with everything.

Sam, however frowned in a mixture of irritation, worry, embarrassment and chagrin. She finally stuttered, "Ah, ah, h-hello, Mr. Fenton."

She then winced when her dry, sore throat protested and coughed a bit harder. But she continued nevertheless. "I-I guess I have some explaining to do since I was caught red-handed."

"Actually, fuchsia is more like the color of your hands right now, Sam," Tucker quipped back, only to gulp when her eyes threw darts at him.

Meanwhile, Jack pursed his lips and waited for the teens to make the next move.

And that didn't take too long because Sam's adrenaline rush had quickly fizzled out from her lack of food and water. Her hands immediately returned to their normal color just as she was groaning with dizziness.

The two males rushed to her side and caught her before she could fall off of her bed.

"Quick, Tucker, get her some water!" Mr. Fenton commanded as he easily lifted the petite girl and placed her in a nearby lounge chair.

The male teen rushed to Sam's bathroom and retrieved two small cups and filled each of them to the rim.

He hurried back and offered the precious liquid to his female best friend.

Sam took one of the cups and slowly sipped in the water. But in spite of her careful efforts, she coughed several times after every other sip or so.

Finally, after a few intense moments, the coughing episodes lessened. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes after she had drunk most of the first small cup of water.

"Sam?" Tucker reluctantly asked.

The girl opened her eyes and sighed. "I think I feel better, Tucker."

But she coughed a bit more after saying that.

"Are you sure you're alright, Sam?" Mr. Fenton pressed.

He was now very worried about the girl and a bit spooked that somehow _she_ had ghost powers. Was she somehow a half-ghost, too? How did that happen?

But when Sam saw that Danny's father still looked a bit upset about everything, she got a strong feeling about what was on his mind. But she didn't question it because somehow she also felt she owed him an explanation.

She turned to Tucker and quietly added, "Uh, Tucker, do you mind telling Mr. Fenton, about, uh, you know…"

She coughed once more but she didn't need to repeat herself. Tucker knew from that strange connection he had discovered he had with his best friends to what she was alluding to, which is how Sam had gotten her powers…

Tucker nodded and sighed in resignation before replying, "Well, okay, uh, Mr. Fenton, it's like this…."

Finally, he was done with their story.

In some ways, Sam was relieved that at least one of Danny's parents knew about her new powers —including hers and her beau's telepathic connection. She knew that they should have told Danny's parents sooner, but they just couldn't. In fact, once again, it was her reluctance because she didn't want to make a big deal out of it or have them think she was crazy…She softly chuckled to herself. As if Danny's parents weren't a bit…eccentric! Still, she was still a bit relieved about it all, especially when Danny's father never looked at her or Tucker as if they were crazy while Tucker was relating their story.

Still, the man hadn't said anything during the entire time. And now the girl realized that he was taking _a bit too_ long of a time about giving them his opinion about Sam's 'Jiva complication'—as the girl called it. Suddenly, both she _and Tucker_ were growing worried by the second since they were having second thoughts about telling the man the truth.

But then, the man glanced up and studied his son's best friends' anxious faces. Finally, he smiled encouragingly and commented, "Well, it's good to know that Danny won't have to worry too much about defending his girlfriend…And she just might be able to do some fancy rescuing herself."

Satisfied smiles broke on both of the teen's faces even as Sam blushed in embarrassment and relief.

But suddenly, Sam gasped at being seized with unexpected dizziness and tremendous pain. She clutched at her chest. It hurt as badly as if someone was stabbing her heart with a huge knife _right at that moment_! And then her mind was filled with the reason why!

Panting with the pain and vertigo, she still managed to scream, "Danny! Noo! Danny!"

At that moment, she had actually _felt it when_ her boyfriend thought he was being stabbed in his own chest by Undergrowth!

A heartbeat later, she groaned as her eyes rolled upward and she collapsed into her chair.

"Sam!" both males cried as they ran up to her side.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, as you can see, things aren't going too smoothly for the gang, even if they are making headway. But you also know how they are! Once they feel better, they will focus all of their energy in saving the day—that is, if they can! Heh-heh. Gotta keep up the suspense, you know!<strong>


	35. Chap 35: Level 7: The Ultimate Nightmare

**A/N: Hiya, y'all! Yipee! It's already time for an update! There is a major spoiler about one of my earlier stories called, 'Sleepover Nightmare'; so, if you're confused, just have fun with it anyways! And, uhm, gee, heh-heh, how did this chapter get to be_ so long_? *smiles sheepishly* Hmm…oh well, just have fun with it as well! Here's chapter 35. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 35—Level Seven Ghosts—The Ultimate Nightmare<p>

"Sam!" Both Jack and Tucker anxiously yelled when the girl had suddenly fainted again.

They both rushed to her side. They couldn't have known that the girl had somehow been able to feel her boyfriend's being 'stabbed' by Undergrowth—even if the whole 'Undergrowth' scene was artificially induced. But just as soon as they were near enough, Jack pulled back in hesitation; but Tucker didn't at all and he quickly yet gently grabbed one of his friend's shoulders.

But as soon as Tucker touched the girl, he gasped when a sudden jolt ran through him, as if he had stuck one of his fingers into a light socket. He staggered back dazed by the unexpected event, and immediately brought one of his hands up to his forehead.

Jack gasped and caught the dizzy boy before he could fall. But when the man saw that Tucker's eyes weren't focusing, he anxiously uttered, "A-Are you all right, Tucker?"

"I-I think so," the teen finally responded, though he was still cradling his forehead and feeling he might throw up.

But no sooner had he said that when Sam began to moan and her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Sam?" Tucker fretfully asked as he moved toward her again in spite of his wooziness. "Are you all right? And what happened?"

Sam blinked her eyes with trying to comprehend what her friend was saying. But then, another thought came into more pressing focus. And she knew why she had just fainted. Her face scrunched up at the thought as she cried out in alarm, "Oh, Tucker! Something's terribly wrong with Danny! We got to help him!"

"I knew it!" Tucker agreed. But he was so worried now that he that he didn't think how his female friend might take what he next blurted out, "I could _feel_ it, too!"

Sam looked at him incredulously while Jack's eyes widened slightly.

Tucker grew more nervous at seeing that and stuttered, "Uh. Uh, I-I m-meant to let you know before, Sam, but really I wasn't sure of it until now. I'm sorry and I don't understand why and all... But I think that 'telepathic thing' might now include me!"

The threesome fell silent for a few moments, unsure of what to say next.

But then, Jack's stomach growled and he cleared his throat in embarrassment before saying, "Well, I know it's very important for us to help everyone, but we won't be good to anyone if we don't get something to eat and drink…Er, especially you, Sam…"

The man paused a moment again before coming out with his next thought. "And, uhm, I need to let you know right now, Sam, that even though we haven't checked on them yet, I'm pretty sure that your parents and grandmother must also bel in some kind of deep sleep."

The girl quickly searched her mind and from her special powers she knew that not only was Danny's father right, but at least her grandmother was in grave danger! Her heart skipped a beat and panic began to clutch at her.

"No!" Sam cried before she reflexively jumped out of the lounge chair, only to crash right to the floor in her weakened state.

The two males rushed to help her, especially since her legs were still wobbling and unable to hold up her weight when she tried to get back up.

"Please wait, Sam!" Danny's father insisted as he gently lifted her toward the lounge chair. "You're too weak to go anywhere!"

"But, I got to help my grandma!" she immediately wailed while attempting to abruptly pull away from the males. But when she noticed that her efforts to do that didn't have any impact because of her weakened condition, she started bawling uncontrollably.

Shocked by the girl's sudden burst of hysteria, Tucker and Jack hesitantly stepped away from the upset girl once they knew she was safely sitting on the lounge chair.

But then Tucker insisted, "Sam! I don't blame you for being upset, but we need you, so you have to get a hold of yourself! Mr. Fenton and I will go check on your parents and your grandmother and will be right back, okay?"

The two males looked on in both chagrin and indecision as the girl continued not only to cry, but also bury her face into her hands. It had even seemed as if the girl hadn't even heard what Tucker had said. However, a few minutes later, Sam's eyes widened when she realized what she was doing. She immediately tried to steal her emotions. It took her a couple of additional minutes, but she finally got them under control. Finally, she heaved in a huge sigh and looked up at Tucker and Danny's father.

She didn't notice the two males' reaction at seeing her puffy and reddened eyes. They had never seen the girl like this—ever! They were so taken aback by it, they didn't even dream of making her feel bad about it.

Nevertheless, Sam was very much embarrassed about what had just happened. She didn't know what to say but felt she should. She had just stuttered, "I-I—" when Tucker gently interrupted her.

"Hey, we understand, Sam. We're just as upset about all of this, too. My parents have that same sleeping sickness and Mrs. Fenton and Danny are missing!"

Once again, Sam's face lit up in panic and worry. But before she could lose it again, Tucker rushed over to her, leaned down and grabbed her by the shoulders.

Looking squarely into her eyes, he insisted, "Look, Sam. We all got weakened by this sickness and we're not ourselves. But we need you to be in the game! Mr. Fenton and I will go check on your parents and grandmother. But while we're gone, promise me that you'll work on eating or drinking some of the stuff we brought. You'll feel better if you do."

The girl was about to protest when Tucker pleaded, "Please, Sam! Don't be so stubborn! _Danny and I_ need you to get your strength back! And that might mean sitting still until then, okay?"

Sam looked at him and she hitched in a gasp when she accidentally read his mind! He was very worried about her—and everyone else. But she knew he was right. She wouldn't be good to anyone, especially Danny, if she didn't have the strength to even stand up.

"Okay," she finally whispered. "But please let me know how my parents and grandmother are right away, okay?"

Now obviously more relieved, Tucker quietly replied, "Okay, Sam."

Jack, meanwhile, walked up to the two teens. He extended a power bar and some boxed milk and gingerly said, "Here you go, Sam. I'm sorry it's not soy milk. But it is kinda of an emergency. I even had to dig into some fudge."

The raven-hair girl smiled weakly at him and accepted the items before she said, "Thanks, Mr. Fenton. And you're right. We do have to act differently in emergencies."

The two males turned to go. But just before they got to the door, Tucker swung around and said, "Remember, you promised to wait, Sam!"

"Alright, alright!" she grumbled as she took a bite of the power bar. Maybe he _did_ have a telepathic connection!

Tucker smiled, turned back around, and headed to the older Mansons' respective bedrooms with Danny's father.

The first room the two males came upon belonged to Sam's parents. And even though the couple looked very pale, their breathing was steady. After propping the two up, Jack and Tucker had tried to give them something to drink. They had been as successful as they had been with Tucker's parents. Even though the two males weren't happy that they couldn't revive them, they knew there was nothing else they could do at the moment except resolve themselves into finding a cure.

Jack and Tucker were about to head to find Sam's grandmother when they heard a terrified scream, followed by a loud crash! They rushed out and headed toward where they thought the sound had originated, which had to be the room directly across from the one in which they were, especially since the door was now opened when it had been closed when they had first arrived at the Mansons' bedroom!

The two rushed in, only to find Sam on the floor near the entrance and a few feet from the bed where her grandmother was obviously lying! And there was glass all around her! They didn't have to guess that Sam had been too worried to wait any longer, and had sought out her grandmother even in her weakened state.

"Oh, no!" both of them yelled in unison as they rushed toward the girl.

They both gently lifted her up and set her in a nearby chair. They could see by the bump on her head that she somehow must have stumbled and fallen and accidentally knocked over a small table with a vase on it near the door when she fell.

"Look after her a moment, Tucker, will ya?" Jack hurriedly asked the boy as he quickly turned away and approached Sam's grandmother.

The man's face paled at what he saw. The old woman…if it weren't for the fact that he could see that she was still breathing—though shallowly so—he would have sworn that she was dead!

"Sam's out cold, Mr. F.," Tucker began, only to gasp when he saw Sam's grandmother. "I-Is s-she…?"

"No, but she needs help _now_, Tucker," the man gravely replied.

"Sam must have felt that, too!" Tucker immediately said. "But what can we do? I don't want Sam's grandmother to be sucked into the Ghost Zone!"

Jack's eyes widened at the boy's words. Why didn't he think about that earlier? There was a chance to help Tucker's and Sam's family now!

"Tucker!" He hurriedly said, "I just thought of a way to help them until we can wake them! I have no time to explain, but please try to get some water into Sam's grandmother, no matter how little, and I'll be back as soon as I can!"

Before Tucker could reply, the man ran out of the room and down the stairs…

Tucker went right to work. He propped up Sam's grandmother and retrieved some water. He gingerly and slowly poured a bit in the old woman's mouth. His heart leapt with hope when he heard a faint swallow! But then he gasped in fear when Millie began to weakly cough right afterward. Nevertheless, the boy was going to chance it and gave her another sip. Once more, the old woman barely swallowed and then hardly coughed again.

Tucker's face puckered in worry and hesitation. But then his eyes drifted over to his unconscious female best friend. He firmed up his face in determination and continued.

Finally, after about a half-hour, Tucker was exhausted with his efforts to hydrate Sam's grandmother. He reluctantly stopped, pulled another chair in the room next to Sam, plopped down in it and accidentally fell asleep.

Even so, his mind was plagued with fear and worry over his family and friends. Even in his fitful sleep, Tucker feared that they wouldn't discover a way to help everyone before it was too late…

* * *

><p>Vlad looked at the monitors after the last program with Undergrowth was completed. The data looked promising—like all the other times—only for Daniel to prove that the readings weren't truly able to predict the status of his mental stability <em>or lack thereof<em>.

Blast! Just when was the boy going to be broken?

The man rubbed his temples. His headache had returned. He inadvertently glanced at the clock and his eyes widened slightly. He had been so wrapped up in this last program that he had lost track of time. He had been up all night with this, and now it was mid-morning!

He squelched a yawn while rubbing his temples again. He knew he needed to get some sleep. But at the same time, he didn't want to mess up his natural biorhythm if he should go to sleep when the day was well on its way. After all, he was a very meticulous and habitual creature. Besides, going to sleep now could interfere with his other plans that were occurring during the day.

Vlad sighed in resignation. He also needed to keep a clear and level head for whatever duration it would take to get the boy crushed to his will. But he really hadn't planned on Daniel lasting this long, either.

Nevertheless, the older hybrid decided to take a short mid-morning nap while keeping Daniel in _delta_ sleep for a bit longer, since he was sure that it wouldn't have an impact on Daniel's being able to fully recuperate_ mentally_. And once he had ordered his computer to wake him in a couple of hours, the man went up to his bedroom to sleep…

* * *

><p>"Test subject still responding to protocol as expected, sir," the female voice reported through Vlad's intercom system.<p>

At first, the computer heard no response.

She finally repeated a bit more loudly, "Sir? You programmed to have me wake you at this hour."

"Thank you, Maddie," Vlad groggily said. "Just keep Daniel in _delta_ sleep for about an hour more and then I'll be ready to check Daniel's full status, alright? I really didn't realize how some of these plans are affecting me."

"As you command," the computer-generated voice calmly replied. "I will reset my program and put the next programs in queue just in case they are needed."

"Thank you, my dear," Vlad half-said as he drifted back to sleep.

* * *

><p>"Sir?.."<p>

"Sir?...Sir!"

Vlad bolted up in bed before his mind could catch up. He blinked his eyes as his mind finally cleared and he replied to his intercom, "Yes. Yes, Maddie, I'm awake. Thank you for your ever punctual alarm."

"Should I reset my program and allow you more time in repose?" Maddie asked.

"No, that will be alright, my dear. I'll be there after I freshen up."

There was a pause and Vlad smirked when he knew that what he had just said was not computing with Maddie. He added, "I will be there in about thirty minutes, Maddie. Be sure to do a full diagnostic on Daniel."

"I shall have everything in order by the time you return," she answered.

Vlad pushed the button to disconnect the intercom and headed right to his bathroom to freshen up.

* * *

><p>"There are three points that should be of concern to you, sir," Maddie quickly reported as soon as the billionaire had entered the control room of the simulation room after having returned a few hours later than the man had first planned.<p>

The man walked up to the side of his female hologram and he asked in anticipation, "And those would be…?"

"First of all, the creature within the containment device is becoming more active. But the containment device is still structurally sound and secure."

Vlad stepped over to the coffin-like container before glancing at its monitors.

Satisfied at their results, he then casually remarked, "Then there is nothing to be concerned about, Maddie. In fact, I hope I won't have to use him in the end, so this might not be a long-term concern, my dear."

The computer blinked in slight comprehension before she continued. "Secondly, should you need to continue what you have planned for your test subject, I need to inform you that activating a few programs all at once will be—I think you call it— 'tricky', sir."

"We've done it before, my dear, so I do not anticipate any difficulty with that," he coolly answered just as he walked over to an intercom and pushed a button on it.

"Good morning, sir," the voice on the other end cheerfully said.

Briefly glancing up at the clock, the man smirked and replied, "Yes, it is still morning—barely. So, good morning, George. I'll have what you normally serve for brunch."

"Derek will bring it to you in no time," George excitedly announced.

"Thank you, George," Vlad simply replied before disconnecting.

The man then turned back to Maddie and she literally picked up where she had ended before Vlad had ordered his late brunch.

"That is correct that we have coordinated two protocol programs at once, but those were simpler programs. These newest ones are much more complex to coordinate because of the multiple levels of power intensity. I am programmed to inform you to be aware of the some statistically probable glitches in the commanding program, which would be your Master Plan 285."

"Yes, Maddie," Vlad said with a smirk. He was glad that he had programmed his computer with multiple fail-proof checks. "I'm aware of that and have taken the necessary steps. That is why I want to be present during this stage because it is as you say 'tricky' and because I hope this will be the final phase needed to 'encourage' Daniel to quit being so infernally stubborn and give in! Not only that, I recently discovered more interesting properties about the special object I'm going to use in this program. I just want to make sure that they are true and what better way to do that than to test it right now?"

"Noted, sir. Then there is the third point of concern," she added.

"And that is…?" he begged the question.

"I have completed the full diagnostic of the monitors on the test subject per protocol, sir," she began.

"And what did you find, my dear?" Vlad casually asked since he had already noticed that the computer was still looking at all the gauges.

"Even though the test subject's stress hormones—cortisol and norepinephrine —levels are _elevated,_ they are not significantly high enough to hypothesize what you would call a 'mental breakdown', sir; and that is because the level of his neurotransmitter known as GABA which, as you know, is also an indicator of mental breakdown—though _falling_ a bit below the test subject's baseline and fluctuating—is for the most part stable. All three elements must be in the critical stage to indicate mental failure."

Vlad frowned. Just how could that be? When he left to go sleep a few hours of ago, the readings were all pointing to imminent mental breakdown. And all that extra rest he let the boy have wouldn't have affected his mental rest—only his physical rest. But just before he commented, Maddie continued.

"I have double-checked the findings, sir, and they are accurate. Though the test subject is in duress, for all intents and purposes, he is still mentally stable—though some preliminary subtests do show some indication that the levels monitoring his mental stability are changing."

Reflexively glancing at all the monitors, Vlad asked, "What do you mean, Maddie?"

The computer-generated image turned to him and replied, "Until there are outward symptoms to completely prove the hypothesis, I can only determine that even though the decline in the level of GABA is slow, the test subject's levels of acetylcholine and serotonin levels are significantly declining, which means that a sharp decline in the level of productive GABA is to be expected. This has a higher level of certainty when you have also not given the test subject the required nutrition to resupply his energy. That might explain these contradictory readings rather than support any kind of mental decline."

"But isn't it very possible that not regularly feeding the boy also increases his stress enough to affect these factors, Maddie?" the man countered.

"Yes, that is statistically possible; but it could also skew any of the other hypotheses we are analyzing about your test subject."

The man paused a moment before he replied, "Are you saying that you think I should feed Daniel?"

"That is your decision, sir," she began before adding, "But if you want clear data to be gathered for those other hypotheses, then the test subject must be given more sustenance."

Once again Vlad paused in thought. The hologram was right that he wanted to find out more about Daniel in addition to getting him under his control.

"Of course," Vlad finally concurred. "Though I'm still tempted to keep on this course of action, I see your point. You can feed him after this program, whether it does the job of breaking him or not. Though of course, I hope it does break him since I do look forward to seeing all those dominoes fall so magnificently!"

Maddie frowned and Vlad chuckled softly when he realized that went over the circuits in her head, "What I mean, then, is that we will do as you say. I was hoping that we would have Daniel at the 'pit of despair' after this last encounter! But we know that we have to still wait. So then, report anything else that you have found, my dear. For instance, what is Daniel's power level now?"

The computer answered him in order. "Whether dominoes fall or not or whether some 'pit of despair' is involved are just unsubstantiated opinions, sir. But the test subject's power level has not changed significantly, though there is some indication that it is increasing again."

"It is? Well, then, even a small increase is significant to me at this stage, Maddie. Make a mental note, er, I mean, record that in your data banks to notify me of any small changes in the key areas we are watching, understand?"

Maddie's face slightly twitched before she pointed to one of the monitors and replied, "Noted, sir. Therefore, I think it is important to share this piece of information with you that I obtained during the last program your test subject experienced."

Vlad walked up right to her side and looked the data over.

"This is better news, Maddie!" he said with excitement lacing his voice. "We're even closer to seeing why Daniel is gaining power much more quickly than I ever did and how he's doing that. Be sure to keep tabs on this!"

The hologram's face slightly twitched again just as she said once more, "Noted, sir."

There was a long pause before Derek came in with the billionaire's brunch and set it up for the master of the house.

Just before he sat down to eat, Vlad said, "Very well, then, we will have to proceed with the next phase of the plan, Maddie."

"Before we proceed with the next phase of the plan, sir, I am still programmed to warn you about any potential sabotage to Master Plan 285," she added.

"Sabotage?" Vlad slightly gasped before the computer rapidly continued without any regards to his reaction.

"Yes, sir. Even though there are two precise definitions, I refer to 'definition two' of the word in the Webster dictionary; namely: 'any undermining of a cause'."

"Yes, Maddie, I understand that. But how is proceeding with this next phase sabotaging Master Plan 285?" he asked, finally sitting down and checking to make sure he had a clear view of the simulation room before he removed the cover off of his food tray.

She turned slightly away from the monitors for a moment and answered, "Up to now, the ghost programs have physically taxed but not truly harmed your test subject. However, your plans from now on significantly increase the risk factor for the test subject. This particularly applies to any future ghost or ghost program you used from now on as well. There is a high probability you will damage your test subject physically—in the concrete sense—because that ghost's power level is significant."

The man replied, "Really, Maddie, why are you bringing this up? We have discussed this before we even began this plan. Each ghost program has to be as realistic as possible, and that includes matching their power levels; otherwise, even Daniel might get suspicious if a particular ghost wasn't fighting him with the correct degree of power. We both also know that the higher the power level of any ghost Daniel will engage from now on until he finally breaks is a risk to the boy."

"That is correct, sir," his female hologram agreed. "The programs have to be as realistic as possible. Your brilliant technique of fusing some ecto-DNA from each formerly captured ghost into the programs ensures that. But the risk for permanently harming your test subject increases as the power level of each ghost increases."

Vlad now paused in slight worry. Maddie would not persist in this line of reasoning unless it was important. After all, he had programmed his computer to analyze and help him keep track of all the details of his plan. She, of course, had a point, but he already knew the risks.

Just as he cut the ham steak on his plate, he finally replied, "I appreciate your input, my dear. You know I don't want to kill the boy. But I also don't think there will be any risk of permanent physical damage. That is why I left using the more powerful ghosts until later; especially when I was hoping that the attrition of the weaker ghosts would have worn Daniel down significantly enough by now for him to break. But since they have not, we have to move on."

"That is correct, sir. But I am still programmed to remark that the risk to your test subject from now on is significant and may also risk Master Plan 285," she continued. "This especially applies using the second of the two ghosts next in the queue."

Vlad smirked a bit and said, "Understood, my dear. But I made a deal with that next ghost and if he betrays me, he'll wish he hadn't."

"But that is my point, sir," Maddie persisted. "The more powerful ghost of the two ghosts you will be using in your next phase is one of the most untrustworthy ones. Remember what he did to you once."

Vlad paused in thought for a moment before he replied, "Point taken, Maddie. Just let me know of the first indication of real danger to Daniel and I'll call off the deal."

"Very well, sir," the computer simply said before adding, "Are you ready to begin the next phase, sir?"

Just as Vlad was taking his first bite of his brunch, he glanced out of the window in the control room. He could easily see that Daniel was still asleep on the cot.

Smirking as he chewed, he said, "Yes, my dear. Activate the next program…"

The computer generated image pushed a few command buttons and right after she did, the lights in the simulation room brightened a bit more…

Suddenly, a portal appeared and shortly afterward, two ghosts appeared right next to the still sleeping Ghost Boy. One of the ghosts was hovering over the other, smaller ghost who was sitting on the ground.

The smaller ghost was a girl who had long, flowing red hair and was clothed in a full-length red dress. She also had her face buried within her hands. And by the sound of it, it was obvious that the girl ghost was crying…

The weeping ghost then glanced briefly upward at the ghost looking down on her and said between her sobs, "But why must you do this?"

"You are not to question me, girl! I am five levels more powerful than you. I could easily destroy you!" the male ghost sneered.

The girl ghost gasped before sobbing even more, but now more in fear.

Clearly annoyed, the other ghost demanded, "Enough! I have a limited time to do this! And I need you to be ready."

"I can see why _you_ want to do this horrid thing. But I do not wish it!" the ghost girl braved to counter.

"Silence! I will not tolerate your effrontery!" the other ghost countered back. Still, he needed to get this ghost girl to cooperate or else his plans would be in jeopardy.

With a firmer and sterner glare, the male ghost sneered, "I will not tell you again, girl! Control yourself!"

She looked up and still said through her tears, "I still do not understand how you expect me to do anything for you after you…you kidnapped me, scared me to within an inch of my afterlife and then demanded from me to do things for you all against my wishes!?"

The male ghost grabbed his face before pulling it and stretching it downward in frustration. He finally sighed, "Your role in this is almost over. And the quicker you do as I wish, the faster you will be in your own lair….However, if you delay me any longer, I will no longer just threaten you…I will annihilate you!"

The red-headed ghost girl's eyes widened in fear before they fell into submission. She did not want to do any of these awful things. But she was also ashamed to admit that she had not been brave enough to resist or refuse what he had demanded of her when he first caught her and even up to now.

Trying unsuccessfully to stay off the water pressure in her eyes, she finally barely mumbled her sudden tearful outburst, "As you wish!"

The male ghost smiled in satisfaction this time before he said, "Now that we have a clearer understanding of each other, did you get what I asked you to retrieve?"

The girl hesitated before she pulled out a familiar ghost artifact, and showed it to the evil ghost.

"Yes…I… stole it from its keeper, as you asked," she struggled to reply through her sobs before sadly glancing over to the sleeping Ghost Boy.

The other ghost grinned and lightly touched the ghostly artifact as he whispered, "Beautiful… This treasure here has more power than anyone can truly comprehend… It is a true euphoria to just have it here before me…

There was a brief pause as the evil specter admired the stolen item before the ghost girl dared to ask, "Why did you not get this yourself? I agree that you are much more powerful than me."

"That is very true, Matilda, but as you probably have learned by now, things are not at all as they are in fairy tales. Powerful ghosts such as I need minions to aid us from time-to-time since we cannot be bothered with mediocre tasks. So, imagine my delight when I heard about you and your abilities! You were perfect for my plans!"

"But you kidnapped me, so that does not make me your minion!" the girl ghost countered again.

The male ghost's face erupted into an angry frown, which startled the girl ghost and she started once more to wail again in fear and consternation. He tried to ignore how she was acting. And he certainly did not want to tell her the _real_ reason why he had kidnapped her….and that was because the last time he had encountered the Ghost Boy, he had lost virtually all of his powers —and had not regained them yet. But that is precisely why he was here: he planned to get them all back —plus to take revenge on that arrogant young half-ghost! Sure, that meant that he currently had to deal with that even more arrogant _older_ half-ghost and…restrain himself; but if that's what he had to do to put his plans in motion, so be it….But then again, there were…options.

"It does not matter what you think, Matilda!" the male ghost finally said before he loomed more threateningly over her.

Matilda gasped before she sniffled, "But you are not going to hurt Danny, are you?"

Though the more powerful ghost was ordered not to hurt the Ghost Boy, he didn't want this ghost girl not to think that he was not in full control of this situation. He then replied, "Hurt him? It depends on your definition of 'hurt'. I have been given a unique opportunity, which I do not plan to waste. To have the Ghost Boy literally handed to me so I can get what I want and need from him is something that will surely not cross my path in the future. But what I want is within his mind and if I tried the direct approach, he would undoubtedly be able to counter me right now. But you, my dear, are my trump card into getting the Ghost Boy under my power. I will not settle for anything less than defeating him!"

"What do you mean?" Matilda prodded. "I will not do anything to hurt Danny!"

"Whether he gets hurt or not will be up to him. Besides, I made no such promise to you, Matilda. Again, that is one of your fairy-tale wishes, which do not apply to me! But if it will comfort you, the Ghost Boy will not even be aware of what is happening to him and may not come to any harm. What I need from him is from another state."

Matilda frowned and asked, "I do not understand."

"And you need not understand. All I care is that the Ghost Boy will be ready for me."

"But you are not going to hurt him?" Matilda repeated, more insistent this time. "I will not be party to that!"

"Oh, but in the end, you have, Princess of Sleep! You have already been instrumental in getting the very object in your hand—the very tool I need to defeat the Ghost Boy. So, his loss to me or any harm to him is very much your doing as mine now!" the ghost clothed in black and purple sneered.

"No! You forced me to help you!" Matilda suddenly cried out as she pulled herself into the air and reflexively conjured up some of her turquoise misty ecto-energy in threat.

After all, the ghost girl would never have wanted to hurt the Ghost Boy because she was not one of Danny's enemies. In fact, they had become friends shortly after Matilda had interfered with Casper High's production of 'Sleeping Beauty'. She had at first conjured up fairy-tale like mischief, which had upset Danny. But after that trouble had in fact made Danny aware that he was more than friends with Sam and understand Matilda's true intentions, the Ghost Boy and the Sleeping Ghost had made their peace.

"Come now, child," the male ghost gently chided, even as he charged up a small ball of blue energy into his hands in equal threat. "Do you really think your powers can subdue me?"

Matilda shuddered in fear before she snuffed out her powers and let her chin fall to her chest in shame.

"That is more like it, Matilda. Now, I will be laying in wait until you prepare the Ghost Boy. And heed well, girl, _not _ to fail me. If you do, I will know right away and I will immediately _destroy_ you. Is that clear?"

Matilda shuddered in fright but then slowly nodded her head in understanding before falling back down to the ground and sobbing loudly once more.

"Very good, then," the male ghost said before he looked toward where the simulation room would be.

His eyes narrowed a bit, but he still nodded in signal to the older hybrid on the other side of the camouflaged room.

"Be ready," he hissed to Matilda before he disappeared from sight.

Matilda stared sadly down at the artifact in her hand and grasped it tightly. Though it was difficult to do since she was still upset, she still managed to concentrate on her task of using this object to change her sleeping powers enough to do her kidnapper's bidding.

She shuddered when a pinkish-purple aura projected out of the object within her grasp and quickly blanketed her. Nevertheless, she concentrated, and then mentally and sadly commanded, "_Infi-Map_…._Make it possible for my evil capturer to go to where he wishes, even if it is wrong to do so. _

Once she had uttered her command, the fuchsia aura dissipated….

Suddenly, a pang of guilt gripped her core. She didn't want to help this evil ghost, but she was too fearful of losing her after-life! And even though she began to bawl once more, she turned around and waited for what she had to do next….

* * *

><p>Danny stirred and reflexively rubbed his eyes when he noticed how unfocused his vision was. But as his memory began to clear, he gasped and quickly inspected his chest. He was unharmed! Was what happened with Undergrowth just a horrible, realistic dream, then?<p>

Or was it just another putrid trick the Observants were playing on him?

But then his thoughts were interrupted by something he had finally noticed. He momentarily stopped and blinked in confusion when he thought he heard the sound of someone softly _weeping_.

Danny blinked again but this time ignored the slight haze in front of them as he turned his head toward the sound.

Just then, the teen's ghost sense shot off just as he saw the ghost who was sitting on the ground not too far from him. He could tell it must be a ghost girl even when she was hunched over and had her back to him.

But then, the young hybrid frowned. Now that his vision had cleared a bit more—if he wanted to call it clear since it was still hazy—that ghost girl looked…familiar. There was only one ghost girl he knew who had a flowing red dress with long hair of the same color cascading down her back.

"Matilda?" he guessed, still groggy but also confused why she was not only here but why she was crying.

But the girl ghost did not answer.

"Matilda?" Danny repeated more anxiously before suddenly startling at his next thought: _Was she here because he was supposed to fight her?_ She was not even close to being a match against him!

Now very worried, the boy pulled himself up and started toward her while hurriedly saying, "Matilda, you need to get out of here!"

He could see that the ghost girl had sat up more erect, and obviously had pulled her face out of her hands. But she had yet to turn around.

She finally but quietly said through a hitched sob, "Yes, I know."

Now more confused and worried even as he continued to approach her, Danny asked, "Then why are you here? And why are you crying?"

"Because of what he is forcing me to do!" she wailed, though she still kept her back to him.

Suddenly angry though still anxious, Danny was just about close enough to see the side of her face when he demanded, "What jerk would be forcing you to do anything?"

"I-I cannot tell you!" she cried through her sobs. "And I am very sorry, Danny! I never wanted to do this!"

Frowning in confusion just as he got close enough to gently touch her shoulder, he queried, "Do what?"

But just as he started to gently urge her to turn to face him, she suddenly twisted around and shot some of her shimmering turquoise mist at him, which quickly enveloped him! Only that, the mist wasn't normal; it was not truly turquoise…it was laced throughout with gleaming and undulating pinkish-purple threads.

Danny immediately succumbed to her powers and fell where he was.

Matilda's face scrunched up when she was seized in regret; and yielding to her tears, fell fully prostate.

But then, she was startled by a hideous laugh. She struggled to hitch in her sobs as she pulled herself up and looked toward the laughter.

The male ghost reappeared and Matilda's face skewed in anguish once more.

Ignoring her histrionics, the male ghost asked in demand, "Is he prepared? And he will not have any memory of seeing you?"

"Y-Yes," the Renaissance ghost girl stuttered through her crying, "D-Danny will not remember seeing me."

"Good. And one more thing, girl," the male said, his tone suddenly dressed in threat.

Matilda gasped at the evil she heard in the male ghost's voice but she still managed to squeak out, "Y-Yes?"

"Were you holding the Infi-Map as you used your powers on the Ghost Boy?"

"Y-Yes," she choked out again.

"And at the same time concentrated on how I wanted his state of his mind to be?"

Once more, since she really couldn't speak much because she was so upset, she hoarsely whispered, "Yes, he should be as you wish."

"Now, hand it over, Matilda," the male said more impatiently as he extinguished the energy in one of his hands and extended that hand to her.

Raising her head, Matilda fearfully asked, "I thought you said I could go. What else will you force me to do?"

"I already warned you not to question me. Now give me the Infi-Map!"

The red-headed ghost girl pulled out the Infi-Map once more and reluctantly gave it to him.

Once he had the object in his possession, the male ghost laughed as he thought, _"If the silly girl only knew what power this __precious __object possessed, she would not be having to do my bidding. No matter. It is time for me to get what I want."_

But he quickly frowned in irritation again and commanded, "Make sure that the Ghost Boy stays like this. Once again if you fail me, girl, I will know right away and I will come back to destroy you. Is that clearly understood?"

Matilda shuddered in fright but then slowly nodded her head in understanding.

"Good! And never doubt my superiority over you. I do plan things; unlike silly girls wasting their after-lives in daydreams, when there are real dreams waiting to harvest! So, now is the time!" the male ghost said just as he grasped the rolled up object more tightly, turned intangible, and slid right in between the closed eyes of Danny!"

"No, Nocturne!" Matilda screamed in dread before she collapsed onto the ground in the grips of her tears, terror, regret and helplessness….

* * *

><p>Danny softly groaned, and slowly became aware that he was coming to again. But he was still groggy and therefore barely comprehended that he was lying down…And then his memory came into some focus…<p>

That's right. He had last been fighting Undergrowth—and lost. He groaned again, but this time in discouragement before he opened his eyes…At least, he _thought_ he had opened them. But somehow, there seemed to be some kind of dark red film over his eyes, like someone had taken red plastic wrap and swaddled his eyes in it. Not only that, his head was still a little muddy. In fact, little did he know that his mind was _supposed_ to be hazy enough for him to have forgotten that he had seen Matilda only moments before…

But then he noticed something very different. He was not lying on a _hard_ surface. In fact, it was definitely soft and _bouncy_. But more than that, he was lying on something _wet_—and _slimy_!

The teen pulled himself up to a stand and looked down at his black-and-white costume. He immediately groaned when he could see that some of that slimy stuff was still clinging to him! Then he noticed that the soft ground on which he was standing was pinkish-grey in color and felt more like he was standing on gelatin or soft tofu.

"Yech! Another creepy place!" he muttered in complaint while trying to wipe the slime off of him.

When he failed in getting the stuff off, Danny then floated upward off of the surfaced, only to groan in chagrin again when strings of that icky stuff still stubbornly held onto him!

But when he looked down past the slime and to the ground, he could see that he had been standing on uneven ground. In fact, there were several furrows and crevices that seemed to litter the pinkish-grey ground. And there was something stranger. There was a net-like series of what looked like red pipes with smaller ones breaking away here-and-there before piercing the slimy ground. All those pipes seemed to be in competition with the undulations and crevices for covering the ground, only that the pipes were _pulsating_.

"Okay, now this is really gross!" Danny grumbled in disgust even as he still tried to pull away from the strings of slime still attached to him.

He floated even higher, hoping that the stretch would be enough to break the strings. But he had not gotten too far when he bumped into something _solid_ just above him.

He twisted his head to face that new development. This 'sky' was dull white in color and interlaced with red streaks. And was definitely _hard_.

"I don't like this even more now!" the boy grumbled under his breath even as he still scanned around him some more. "Where am I? I sure know I would never have volunteered to go to any place like this!"

But then he jolted when he saw several flashes of white light suddenly appear. They looked like streaks of lightning—only that they were not in the air, but were skirting across the slimy ground not too far below him!

What was happening?

"Alright. I definitely don't like this," he said before looking back at the lightning and wondering what he should do—or what would happen next.

As if someone had 'read' that thought, Danny startled when he suddenly heard a hideous laugh just behind him. He violently twisted around and tried to search for the entity who 'owned' that laugh.

But there wasn't anyone there!

Trying not to panic in this very creepy place, Danny half-demanded, "Who's there?"

Suddenly, however, he felt himself being grabbed from behind.

"Hey!" the teen protested even as he instantly resisted the efforts of the unknown force to pull his arms behind him.

But Danny gasped when he could tell that whatever was holding him had turned him intangible and now was forcing him downward toward the pinkish-grey spongy 'ground'!

The Ghost Boy increased his efforts; but before he could break free, he was struck by one of the bolts of lightning that had suddenly moved across the ground.

That was enough of a blow to knock the fight out of him. He was now too dizzy to resist or notice that he and whatever had him under its control had already phased completely into the slimy spongy stuff.

However, by the time the boy had rematerialized, his mind had inexplicably cleared. And his eyes widened in disbelief as he scanned the area. Everything was so different in here…Somehow, this place was…familiar…

In fact, it looked a lot like the Far Frozen because it was covered in snow. But it also was not like any part of the Far Frozen he had even been to since it was completely flat and barren. Was this even a good thing? Nevertheless, his heart leapt a bit in hope; and he suddenly forgot about the red haze still shrouding his vision, why he was here, or how he had gotten here in such a strange way.

When he tried to finally move, Danny was surprised that he could move! He frowned. That was even stranger….wasn't he just grabbed by something and forced to come here? Then why was he now free?

All of the sudden, the young hybrid got a creepy feeling and he didn't want to be here. If he had somehow ended up in the Far Frozen, that might just mean that he would have to fight his friend Frostbite—and he didn't want to do that! Now Danny just wanted to get out of here.

Just as the boy lifted himself upward toward where he was sure he had come, however, he was suddenly blocked by several crisscrossing beams of blue ectoplasmic energy. Danny at once noticed that the beams quickly solidified into ice. Then even more beams crisscrossed all around him until he was now completely surrounded by a cage made of ice!

"What the—" Danny immediately cried before he powered up his green ectoplasmic energy, ready to destroy his makeshift prison.

But then, two more thick ice beams shot through two of the small openings of the cage and encased each of his lighted, fisted hands. In an instant, both of his hands were within one solid chunk of ice and his ectoplasmic energy had been snuffed out.

In shock for only a moment as he looked down at his frozen handcuffs, Danny quickly grew angry. He hadn't done anything wrong and now someone had captured him—again!

Then he was suddenly aware that he not only still had that red haze over his eyes, but that it had flared a deeper red momentarily with his anger. He quickly searched for his captors.

And then he spied them…

Several Ice Beasts of the Far Frozen Folk—which belonged to the race of spirits of the northernmost area of the Ghost Zone that was headed by Frostbite—were rapidly approaching him. And he could tell by what they were wearing that they were soldiers. Each of them was dressed identically. Each of their hairy upper bodies were bare except for blue metal arm bands that adorned their hairy upper arms and a large, loosely hanging dark yellow collar that hung around their shoulders. Long dark yellow loin cloths girded with a black belt and moccasin-like shoes that were also made of a dark yellow material were the only clothing they wore on the lower half of their body.

But Danny could also see that Frostbite was not among them.

Though he was still irritated and confused by their attack, Danny tersely addressed them once they were right next to his ice cage. "Uh, hello. Does Frostbite know about this?"

One of the soldiers stepped forward and Danny immediately recognized him by his purple cat-like pupils embedded within an otherwise yellow eyeballs and his long, pointed ice-antlers. It was Frostbite's second-in-command. Why did he and, more importantly, why did _all the other_ Ice Beasts look so _angry_?

Now Danny was more nervous at their reaction and he replied, "Uh, you're Glacio **(1)**, right? What's going on?"

Answering the boy's first question more angrily and rudely than Danny would have ever expected, Glacio growled, "That is correct, young half-ghost, it is I. And you know very well 'what is going on' as you say!"

Danny's face fell with displeasure. In fact, the Ice Beast's attitude suddenly enraged him! But then, the boy frowned with confusion and even worry at his next unexpected, goading thought, _"Go ahead. Blast out of this cage and annihilate these fools. They do not know with whom they are dealing!"_

Just where the heck did that thought come from? Danny felt his breathing increase with the awful realization. The only time he felt this… incensed…was when Razilo had killed his friend, Johnny 13! But why would he think that and why would he think that especially about any of his friends?

Danny instantly closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to rid himself of other like thoughts that were suddenly bombarding his mind. But when he opened his eyes again, that red haze over his vision was even thicker and redder.

And all of the soldiers tensed when they noticed that.

Nevertheless, Danny tried to ignore the red haze still clouding his vision and the way the Far Frozen soldiers reacted. Instead, since he wanted to defuse the situation, he chuckled a bit and said, "I know I haven't had the time to visit for a while, and I know that you Far Frozen Folk have a more unique sense of humor; but really, dudes, don't you think this is taking it way over the top in making sure that I stay to visit?"

But Glacio's face puckered in indignation as he seriously replied, "We are not here to welcome you, Danny Phantom. We are here to render punishment to you for your crimes!"

"Crimes? What crimes?" Danny suddenly protested. "I just told you guys that I haven't been here for a very long time and you have to know that, too!"

"That may be true, young one, but that does not mean that you were involved not in Frostbite's condition. In fact, your minion already told us that it was under your orders that she acted," Glacio gravely answered.

Danny's eyes flared redder for a moment just as he gasped, "I don't have any idea what you're talking about! I don't have any minions! Would you please tell me what's happening here? What's wrong with Frostbite?"

"You shall soon enough see, though your lie is not convincing," Glacio said, his yellow eyes flaring more in reply. The Ice Beast then turned to the others and almost growled, "Bring him!"

Danny gasped when he suddenly lost his balance and fell hard against one of the walls of his ice cage after it had been jerked forward. He then saw that his cage was being carried by ice beams that two of the Ice Beasts must have created to carry his cage.

Once he had regained his balance, however, Danny's eyes flared red in even more irritation over this whole scene. There had to be some sort of mistake.

"_There is no mistake_," a sudden foreign thought announced to his mind. "_The Far Frozen Folk have turned against you! No ghost or spirit ever allies himself with any other ghost for long. That is their nature, as you can see this from how they're reacting to you! So, get out of this cage and destroy them!_"

Danny shook his head, trying to rid himself of such an evil thought. "_No!"_ he mentally countered himself, "_I'll just find out what happened and clear this up. This all has just been some sort of misunderstanding, that's all!"_

"_NO!"_ the thought in his head insisted back.

Suddenly, Danny felt a bolt of pain shoot through his head and the red haze in front of his eyes grew thicker and glowed more fiercely. And he felt as if more of his resolve had been sapped away.

Nevertheless, the young hybrid shook his more muddled head even as he reflexively cradled his throbbing forehead right afterward.

His thoughts unexpected shifted again, "_They know what you've done, you know. They will hurt you and you can't have that. You must break free and destroy them before they get you firmly within their clutches!"_

Danny all of the sudden gasped when his mind shifted gears with another memory: the one when he was a prisoner of the Observants in the Realm Beyond Time…and Iluzisto!

Suddenly the boy began to panic when all of the stressful forces he had been fighting during this entire new affair brought about by the Observants— fatigue, anxiety, hunger, mental blows, the fear of losing his powers, and now the force of this newest, inexplicable temptation— came crashing together.

And then he felt so helpless that all he could do was listen to this latest temptation's attempt to woo his mind and heart.

"_Yes, your memories are as delicious as your dreams. Give into your instincts. Destroy these beasts before they destroy you!"_

And just as suddenly Danny's eyes fully glazed over and glowed brightly red. He was now unaware of the thoughts of the other ghost who had been able to overshadow him…

"_Yes, Ghost Boy, you're just where I want you now,"_ Nocturne thought to himself as he continued to steady his control over Danny's mind and dreams. "_I want your dreams, for dreams indeed do give me power….And in the past, the dreams I allowed you and the other foolish creatures were happy so that you would not waken from fear or anxiety. That way, I would be able to harvest your dreams indefinitely…However, what you don't know is that dreaming __**nightmares**__ will make me even stronger. But more than that, nightmares coming from __**you**__ are even more powerful because you have more power than me! That is why I had to use that foolish girl ghost. Her powers will keep you asleep no matter if the dream you have is terrorizing!...Yet, since you're still very stubborn even as I try to control your dreams, I must insist that you dream what I want you to dream…."_

Suddenly, one of Nocturne's tentacle-like feet drove itself right into the helpless boy's brain.

Nocturne barely stifled his delighted laugh when he felt the power of the boy's nightmare being sucked up into his ghostly body….

All of the sudden, however, Nocturne's eyes widened in shock mixed with excitement.

"_What is this?"_ he quickly thought at the new sensation. "_There is something here more powerful than dreams this boy possesses which I can harvest! I must find out more about this…But first, it is time to get the boy fully under my control…"_

* * *

><p>"Sir, the monitors indicate a change in your test subject," Maddie the computer suddenly reported even as the current program was still running.<p>

Vlad, who had been either watching in earnest at the sleeping boy twisting and turning in reaction to his dream or monitoring the instruments, half-muttered, "What? Did you say there's a change? But I just looked at the…"

The man stifled himself when he rechecked the monitors. They had significantly changed! And that had to have happened within the last couple of moments since he had last checked on them!

Displeased, the man frowned just as he said, "But these aren't the readings I want to see, Maddie! I had that Sleeping Ghost girl use her powers not just to place Daniel into REM **(2)** sleep but _to keep him asleep_ so he could dream. But we needed Nocturne to guide Daniel's dreams as I had planned it in order to get Daniel to finally break down."

"But," the computer began, only to be cut off by Vlad.

"And this was the only way we could do this. We both knew that ghosts cannot overshadow a half-ghost—only another half-ghost can. That is why we had to use the Infi-Map! As you know, one of our references revealed that the ghostly map could do more than take you around the Ghost Zone! It has more power than I have yet to discover! And that is one of the reasons, I searched years for it, until, thanks to Daniel, I was finally able to discover its location."

The truth was that the Infi-Map had more power than even Vlad could comprehend. But the man had discovered enough about it to know it would be useful to him now. Yes, it could take you anywhere in the Ghost Zone, to any timeline, to any portal, and even show you your destiny, but under special circumstances the Inf-Map was said to be able to enhance a ghost's powers—but only if the intent was in line with what the Infi-Map actually did—which was to 'take you wherever you wanted to go'. And in this case, Vlad had wanted to have Nocturne be able to overshadow Daniel to control his dreams. In other words, _take him into_ Daniel's mind.

Of course, Vlad had needed to make sure Daniel would not startle awake during his encounter with Nocturne. That was where that insignificant ghost girl came in. With the help of the Infi-Map, the ghost girl's powers were enhanced enough to keep Daniel in REM sleep and keep him from jolting awake.

The older hybrid had been very fortunate that he had learned of the sleeping ghost girl. In fact, when he had sought out Nocturne and discovered the ghost hadn't gained most of his powers back from his last fight with Daniel, he had almost foregone this whole thing. But that changed the moment he learned of this ghost girl and what she could do…

Suddenly realizing he had fallen into deep thought, Vlad shook his head, and quickly said, "The point is Maddie that I planned this down to the last detail! In fact, this has to be one of the more complex programs I have devised for my Master Plan! It cannot fail! I invested too many resources into this! Not to mention, as insignificant as….uh, what's the ghost girl's name again, Maddie?"

"Matilda, sir," she quickly answered.

"Oh. Yes. That's it," Vlad remarked with a slight nod. "As insignificant as Matilda is, it took Skulker great effort to track and capture her, and then have Nocturne subdue the girl into casting her sleeping spell with the help of the Infi-Map! And let's not forget the risk involved in stealing the Infi-Map! No, this has cost me too much! It must work!"

He sighed deeply when he realized he was getting too worked up. Rubbing his aching forehead, he continued in a calmer voice, "Forgive me, my dear. I just did not expect Daniel's sleep to waver between REM sleep and being in a coma again. Not only that, there's no change in his stress hormone levels or changes in any of the other levels that would indicate that he was in a range favorable to a mental breakdown."

"Shall I activate the 'abort' program for this ghost, then, sir?" the computer generated image asked as her finger hovered over a red button.

"No, let's wait a few more minutes to see if there will be any more favorable change. As I said, I have put too much effort into this particular program. I am still hopeful it will be successful."

"As you command, sir."

* * *

><p>Now under the total control of Nocturne, Danny's face suddenly darkened with the evil thought implanted within his brain. He knew what he had to do… His eyes were still bright red as he lifted up his hands, which were still in their ice cuffs, and concentrated.<p>

Almost instantaneously, the boy reabsorbed the ice surrounding his wrists. And at about the same time he willed forth more of his ice and his green ectoplasmic energy while keeping both of his hands still clasped.

The combined beam was powerful enough to destroy the ice cage.

The Yeti ghosts immediately gasped at the sudden activity, especially when the boy had been rather docile during this entire time.

They turned to fire upon the escapee.

But Danny immediately twisted around and threw up a green ectoplasmic shield.

The Ice Beasts sneered in triumph. They knew that ectoplasmic shields were useless against their ice beams and would be easily destroyed since their ice powers were at their utmost here in their land.

However, just as the ice beams thrust from the Yetis slammed into the boy's green shield, Danny had morphed his shield into a _blue ice_ one.

The Far Frozen soldiers gasped at that moment of transformation. It had been timed just right so that instead of destroying Danny's shield, all of the Ice Beasts' ice beams were absorbed into the boy's ice shield!

The new ice shield sparkled with the combined ice energy of all the Yeti's and Danny's ice powers…

Chuckling evilly, Danny rapidly shoved the shield forward, as if he were violently pushing the Yetis away, even if he was still some distance from them. At the last second once again, however, Danny transformed the shield back into green energy just at the point where he had shoved the shield the hardest, as if he were shaking off excess water off his hands. That sudden change effectively released and propelled the formally trapped ice beams right back at the Yetis, which ultimately froze them with their own ice energy.

With the boy's solid scarlet eyes still flaring with wickedness, Danny soared over to Glacio. He charged up a powerful orb of ice energy infused with green energy, ready to disintegrate the frozen and helpless Ice Beast who had dared to match power with him!

At the last moment, however, Danny frowned in indecision. His arms shook in uncertainty. Shuddering with the conflict before and within him, Danny reflexively turned away from the Ice Beast and lowered his arms.

Suddenly, another bolt of pain shot through Danny's mind as Nocturne thrust another of his tentacle-like feet into the boy's brain.

Danny's eyes flared as fire an instant before he refocused.

"_No, I will save my revenge for Frostbite!"_ he told himself as he jolted himself up into the cold sky and away from Glacio and the other Yetis he had frozen.

For some reason once again, the teen knew where to go. He soared over as quickly as he could toward Frostbite's village. Once the boy spied Frostbite's abode, he dove straight down to it.

But before Danny could reach it, another group of other Yeti guards—which had been alerted to his presence—swarmed out of nowhere and set up a line of defense right in front of Frostbite's home.

Danny frowned in anger before he sneered in wicked delight just when he shot more of his energy toward his foes and easily encased them in a thick layer of ice.

His triumphant laugh was cold as he entered Frostbite's cave with dark intent.

The controlled boy instantly saw the leader of the Far Frozen, but Frostbite wasn't awake. In fact, Frostbite was in total slumber!

But at the sight of his friend, Danny's flaring eyes dulled quite a bit and an inkling of awareness of what he was about to do leaked out.

"_No! Something's not right… This must be some kind of nightmare,"_ the teen suddenly thought to himself. _"I would never do anything to hurt Frostbite!"_

Meanwhile, Nocturne, who had been busy and eagerly lapping up all the powerful energy produced by Danny's evil dream, suddenly noticed that the energy was not as rich at the moment. And when he turned to finally monitor the boy's dream, he frowned when he saw that the Ghost Boy must still be fighting him.

"Then it is time to take more root," the self-proclaimed King of Dreams decided just as he thrust two more of his tentacles into the teen's brain…

* * *

><p>Vlad's eyes widened when the alarms suddenly went off. He quickly glanced out of the simulation control room's window.<p>

Though he could see that Daniel was still under the control of Matilda's sleeping spell, the boy was violently twisting and turning on the floor.

Meanwhile, Matilda, who had still been sitting nearby to Danny, had also noticed that the boy had dramatically increased in his writhing and she gasped in worry. And more than that, the boy was groaning and moaning. She could only surmise that her friend was trying to fight her sleeping spell—and that could be very dangerous since that would not happen unless she willed it! Not only that, she was now convinced that Nocturne had lied to her and he must be _hurting_ Danny!

Fretfully, the ghost girl propelled herself upward just as she charged up her hands to reabsorb her sleeping powers.

But then Matilda heard some very loud speakers blare at her, "Don't you dare reverse your powers until I tell you, Matilda!"

The ghost girl immediately cowered under the authoritative and thunderous-sounding voice. Though she didn't recognize the voice—especially since they were enhanced by what sounded like loud horns blaring in the background— she was completely afraid of it. She immediately dropped to the ground before breaking down into a fitful of tears again…

Vlad then turned to the computer generated hologram and quickly demanded, "What is going on, Maddie?"

"Uncertain, sir," she calmly began just as she turned off the alarms, "But whatever is going on within the test subject's mind is definitely affecting him."

"That's good, isn't it, Maddie? After all, I want Daniel to break," Vlad replied with a twinge of sadistic hope in his voice.

"Depends on your definition of 'break', sir," she remarked. "All I can tell you is that all the monitors now indicate that your test subject is more than just 'breaking' as you call it… He is losing life energy."

"What? Do you mean he's dying?" Vlad gasped, now not at all happy with the news. "How is that possible?"

"Inconclusive data, sir; especially when our sensors cannot monitor his thoughts because of the special nature of the sleeping spell you allowed the ghost girl to cast upon your test subject. But I can hypothesize based on the falling readings of your test subject's vitals that the dubious ghost you sent to your test subject in this step of Master Plan 285MP is being…distrustful."

Vlad's eyes shot up again after re-reading the monitors. They did look…precarious…Should he do something about this? True, Daniel was very resilient; on the other hand, the boy had been under a tremendous amount of stress—all initiated by the man, of course. Not only had the boy been fighting ghosts almost non-stop in the last several days _and_ nights without adequate rest in any sense of the word, but Daniel was also being deprived of adequate nourishment. All of these factors would undoubtedly be taking a toll on the boy at this point—really, just as the man wanted. Still, he hadn't ever planned to really risk the boy's life while doing that.

Nevertheless, Vlad hesitated….

* * *

><p>Though still within the clutches of Matilda's powerful sleeping spell, Danny grunted at the pain that had just jettison throughout his brain from Nocturne's thrusting more of his tentacles within him.<p>

"What's wrong with me?" Danny moaned within the midst of his dream, instinctively trying to shake away the pain, the sense of helplessness that came with it, and that same red haze hanging over his eyes.

His efforts seem to do it and he relaxed a bit, only for him to tense again when he looked at Frostbite and blurted out, "And what's wrong with Frostbite?"

Ignoring his fuzzy head and vision, the young hybrid headed toward the sleeping Ice Beast.

"Frostbite?" Danny hesitantly queried when he had finally gotten to his large friend's side.

But the Leader of the Far Frozen didn't stir.

This time, Danny grabbed one of Frostbite's shoulders and violently shook him only because a simple nudge would not have had any effect on the large beast.

Frostbite finally stirred. He groggily opened his eyes.

But when he turned to look at the one who had roused him and saw that it was the Ghost Boy, his face dropped into a frown and his yellow eyes narrowed a bit as he almost growled, "Why have you come back, Danny Phantom? What more can you do to us? You have taken already that which is our most valuable possession."

"What are you talking about, Frostbite?" the boy asked in confusion and chagrin since he didn't like the way Frostbite was looking at him.

But Frostbite only sounded angrier as he firmly replied, "You know very well that it is the Infi-Map you have! You were here not one day ago and stole it from us! You do not know what you have done!"

"I-I didn't take the Infi-Map, Frostbite!" Danny stuttered in protest. "I-I would never steal it from you…and those two times I had it don't count as stealing, you know!...Uhm, I had planned to give it back soon after I had gotten them—and I did!"

Frostbite only sadly shook his head and rebutted, "No, have you still the Infi-Map, Danny Phantom. I can…sense it."

"I don't have it, honest!" Danny exclaimed defensively just as he was going to reach into his pockets and turn them out to prove to his friend that he did not have it.

But much to his chagrin, confusion and disbelief, when Danny did thrust his hands into his pants pockets and quickly emptied them, he found that his left hand was holding onto that very object!

Danny could barely choke out in shock, "W-What the…?"

But that was enough of a shock to give Nocturne the opportunity to thrust another of his tentacles into Danny's mind and therefore try to regain control over the boy.

Once more, Danny's face hitched before he groaned in pain while his mind clouded over at the same time. And just as if he had clicked to a previous scene on a DVD, his evil dream returned where he had left off…

Suddenly, the teen's eyes completely glossed over and flared a brighter red before a sudden thought caressed his mind. His face melded into wicked determination as he told himself, _That's right. I have to destroy Frostbite!_

The boy quickly shoved the Infi-Map back into his pants pocket before instantly charging up and aiming his fisted hands. Only that, the aura around them was no longer green... It was blood-thirsty red!

However, a moment later, as if Danny was once again vaguely aware of the internal struggle for control of his dreams—and ultimately his energy—the boy didn't fire upon his large friend. In fact, both of his hands shook even as the energy building in them swelled and as he continued to resist the urge to attack.

Oddly, though, Frostbite had not moved an inch, as if he hadn't even noticed what the boy was doing.

And in the very next instant, Danny, still struggling to expunge his thoughts to attack Frostbite and control his increasing energy, yelled only to himself, "_This has to be some kind of nightmare! I can't shoot Frostbite! I don't want to shoot Frostbite!"_

But then, he felt a wave of weakness and an unexpected darker thought pushed through.

"_Yes, you do!"_ it insisted. "_He's being a total jerk! He has never trusted you and the proof is that he accused you of stealing the Infi-Map!"_

Suddenly, Danny's muddled mind agreed, "_That's right…He deserves whatever I throw at him because not only did he accuse me of stealing the Infi-Map, but also said I lied about it!"_

But then the boy countered himself in confusion, _"But then, why did I have the Infi-Map in my pocket?"_

His 'counter-thought' did not answer him this time, however. Instead, all of the sudden Danny yelled in more pain. He did not know that Nocturne had just thrust another of his octopus-like tentacles into his brain. Still, it was enough of a blow for Danny to feel even dizzier and weaker.

And it was then, that Danny realized that his control over his mind was slipping again. Now panicking, the boy sent out another sub-conscious cry for help….

* * *

><p>Almost three hours had passed when Jack finally returned. He gasped in slight panic when he entered Millie's bedroom and saw that everyone there was unconscious.<p>

"Tucker! Sam!" he yelled as he approached the teens.

"What?" Tucker yelled to alertness while Sam began to moan and move.

However, since Tucker's mind hadn't quite cleared, he yelled again as soon as he saw what the man was holding.

Though Jack was relieved to see that at least Tucker was alright and Sam was stirring, he nevertheless and hurriedly said, "Sorry I scared you and took so long, son! But I had a hard time doing the final calibration for this! I need some of your PDA's magic!"

Just then, Sam groaned again and her eyes fluttered open. "W-What happened?" she groggily asked.

But then, when she saw where she was and why she was here, she gasped in dread and shot out of her chair—only to lose her balance again!

Tucker immediately grabbed her. "Easy, Sam. Don't worry. We're gonna find a way to help your grandmother and everyone else. So, will you please just keep still until you regain your strength?"

Sam nodded, and allowed Tucker to help her get back on her chair. She leaned forward and grasped her head in an effort to try to stop it from spinning. It only got a little bit better, but she still looked up at her male friend and smiled weakly.

However, just as the goth girl had been about to thank Tucker, the two teens were seized by bolt of pain. They simultaneously clutched their foreheads and screamed in intense pain before they swooned where they were: Tucker fell senseless to the floor and Sam fell back against the back of her chair after fainting again.

Jack gasped in fear at this newest development. "This not good! They're still so weak! Maybe they need more food and water!"

He quickly laid the large instrument on the floor and reached for the boy. He easily picked up Tucker and placed him in a nearby chair. And knowing that both of the unconscious teens were safe enough for him to leave, he rushed downstairs to get some food and water for them all.

Little did he know, however, that even though Sam and Tucker were indeed weak, they had not fainted at that moment for lack of food and water…

* * *

><p>"Sir,…" Maddie began, only to be interrupted by Vlad.<p>

"I know, Maddie," he said with a worried frown. Daniel must be in too much danger after all since all of the monitors were going off the scale again. "Nocturne must be overstepping his privileges and boundaries I laid out to him. I shouldn't have trusted him!"

For once, the man was at a loss on what to do. He was sure that Nocturne would not have betrayed him! But now that he did….

The man's thoughts were interrupted by the shrill of another alarm.

"Sir, the life force of your test subject is declining," she reported without emotion.

That was enough to get the man's mind to snap into overdrive. Indeed this program worked! And from what was happening, it had worked _too_ well. But he had truly believed he had been meticulous enough to keep things tilted in _his_ favor—not in the favor of that wretched Nocturne as it was now!

Vlad frowned and glanced at the boy still writhing on the floor. His eyes then drifted to the turquoise mist laced in pink energy still surrounding the boy.

At that moment, the man's eyebrows suddenly arched with an idea. He blurted out, "Maddie, is it possible that another ghost could overshadow Daniel right now?"

"Since your first hypothesis has been proven, then it is indeed more plausible that your second hypothesis could be correct, sir," Maddie agreed. "But it is also very possible that doing so could end the test subject's life immediately!"

Vlad bit his lower lip in hesitation. He had to be sure. But then his eyes brightened again at his next idea as he said, "Maddie, lower the ghost shield!"

She immediately pushed a button.

But before she could report that it was done, Vlad was suddenly bathed in a set of black ectoplasmic rings which instantly morphed him into Plasmius.

The older hybrid quickly transported into the simulation room. With a puff of pink smoke, he reappeared by Danny's side.

Ignoring the small gasp of fear and surprise from the nearby ghost girl, Vlad frowned with even more worry when he could see that Daniel was not only writhing and moaning with his internal struggle. The boy was also sweating profusely; and his normally white aura was flickering between its being white and a very dark red.

It didn't matter to Vlad what Nocturne was doing to the boy at the moment….He was determined to stop the Ghost of Dreams permanently.

Finally, he turned to the ghost girl, who was still looking in fear at this strange and even more powerful ghost that had appeared out of nowhere. She just now knew that she was in deeper danger.

Again ignoring the terror he saw in her face, Plasmius hurriedly demanded, "Will your spell over the boy allow me to overshadow him as well?"

"Y-Yes," Matilda stuttered in distress, though she did not know that she was about to confirm Vlad's hypothesis. "It-It is only because I held the Infi-Map while casting my spell that any ghost can now overshadow Danny. Otherwise, he has some strange ability to block being overshadowed."

Of course the older hybrid knew that ghosts couldn't overshadow half-ghosts. Moreover, he knew that _only_ half-ghosts could overshadow _both_ ghosts and other half-ghosts. In fact, because no ghost could overshadow half-ghosts, he had to use the girl's powers and the powers of the Infi-Map to let it be possible for Nocturne to overshadow Daniel.

However, because of those same combined powers, the man hadn't been certain until he had just been told by Matilda that her spell would not interfere with his ability to overshadow the boy. But, there was more he needed to know.

Making sure he sounded threatening, he growled to the girl, "Will I be affected by your powers when I overshadow the boy?"

"O-Only i-if I wish it!" she answered fearfully.

"Then **do not wish it**!" he emphatically said.

The girl trembled and gasped but nevertheless nodded her head in immediate agreement.

Vlad hurriedly added, "Now listen to me carefully, girl. Do **not** uncast your spell until you hear from me, understand?"

The girl nodded fearfully before daring to ask, "But you are not going to hurt Danny, are you? I fear that Nocturne is doing that right now."

Plasmius paused a moment. He completely agreed with the girl. In fact, he feared that the boy _was_ dying! But he couldn't let the girl know that or else she might fall to pieces.

With his red eyes flashing for effect, he firmly replied, "Do not put yourself into any other dangerous situation by asking any more questions, Matilda! Just await my further command."

With ghost tears already streaming down her face, the girl replied. "As you wish."

She closed her eyes and concentrated. Just then, the turquoise mist laced with pinkish energy parted and cleared a path just large enough for Vlad. She buried her face into her hands immediately afterward.

Without another word, Plasmius turned intangible and plunged right into Danny's still writing body.

Danny's aura flared even more scarlet for a moment before it returned to a softer reddish glow. And his core temperature had risen by several degrees as well, which caused him to perspire even more.

If it had been any other circumstances, Vlad's overshadowing alone would have been enough to have awoken Danny. But since the boy was under Matilda's sleeping spell enhanced by the powers of the Infi-Map, the boy remained within the throes of his ultimate nightmare…

Vlad's vision cleared immediately once he had successfully overshadowed Danny within his dream. And the older hybrid gasped in alarm at what he next saw….

It was obvious that Daniel was being made to dream that he was in the Far Frozen….He could see Daniel in the near distance. And even though the boy was facing him, Daniel was actually looking at the ground….and Vlad could also clearly see what the boy was looking at…

Frostbite…only that the large Ice Beast was lying motionless on the ground and his body was smoldering!

But that's not what upset the older hybrid.

It was Daniel. The boy's eyes were actually so red they were actually shooting out flames….His hands were still aglow. But they weren't aglow with his usual light green ectoplasmic energy. They were blazing with dark green ectoplasmic energy with red electrical sparks crackling from them. Not only that, but his ghostly aura was no longer white…it was blood red.

But there was more….

Nocturne was behind the boy with his now thicker octopus-like tentacle feet wiggling violently.

And still yet, that was not what alarmed Plasmius…What had him in complete fear was how Nocturne's squirming tentacles had plunged so deeply into Daniel that they were jutting out through the boy's head and upper torso! Green energy was not only leaking out of Daniel and then being siphoned into Nocturne's tentacles, but green energy was also being sucked into Nocturne from the entire ground and surrounding atmosphere!

And Nocturne was growing in size by the second, which meant that at the rate he was going, the King of Dreams ghost's tentacles would be able to split the boy in half! And that would mean….

The older hybrid's own red energy now ablaze with his ire, Plasmius soared over to the two conjoined ghosts. As soon as he was near enough for the both of them to hear, he suddenly yelled in demand, "All right, Nocturne! When I allowed you this opportunity to defeat the boy, that did not include going to this extreme. Release him!"

"N-NO!" Nocturne stammered in defiance, as if he were in the midst of catching a breath while drinking —which, in effect, was what he was doing. After all, he was lapping in the effects of Danny's evil dream as well as basting in all of the extra powers he was getting. Plus, there was something even more powerful right for his taking…

"I-I want more…" he continued to pant out. "T-The power is…too delicious!"

Not a moment had passed when Nocturne began to glow more fiercely and grow even larger.

At the same time, Danny screamed in agony as his 'body' was being torn in two while his powers _and_ life energy were being sucked away.

"I said release him, Nocturne, or else I will destroy you!" Plasmius seethed as he raised one of his glowing fists in threat.

Even in the midst of siphoning Danny's energy Nocturne was able to stutter out, "I-If you attack me now, you will kill the boy!...Y-You do not understand that he is more powerful than I had ever dreamed. And don't you know? He has even more that I want. Something special I had never known that he had! I will no longer need another ghost or object to get to anyone's dreams! Taking that special power will make me invincible!"

At this point, Vlad didn't care to listen to the ghost or to know that Nocturne had discovered Danny's telepathic powers when the boy had actually activated it during this nightmare and had caused his friends to faint. And this was the 'special power' that Nocturne had referred to that would make Nocturne invincible. All the older half-ghost cared about was getting Nocturne out of Daniel.

Once more, Vlad threatened the ghost as he drew closer. "I don't care what you want from the boy. What you're doing was not part of our bargain. And I think you're bluffing that you have complete control over the boy's life. So, this is your last warning, Nocturne. If you don't release the boy, I will completely destroy you!"

But all Nocturne did was laugh in triumph as he grew even larger in size. He closed his eyes and lifted his arms up in triumph as he concentrated in lapping up more of Danny's energy.

Danny screamed with even more pain as his life force bled out of him. If Nocturne's tentacles were not imbedded in him, the boy would have fallen to the ground. As it was, Danny's entire body shook under the assault while his red, fiery eyes flared even brighter.

Vlad's eyes opened wider in panic when the ground beneath him began to tremble. Daniel's real body was being affected by this! And he really didn't know if Nocturne was bluffing about being so entrenched into Daniel that Vlad would kill the boy if he attacked the Ghost of Dreams. He couldn't chance that. But he also knew that if he did nothing, Nocturne would probably kill the boy with what he was doing anyways.

Seeing that Nocturne still had his eyes closed, Vlad thought of a desperate plan. And ironically, that plan could serve two purposes. He concentrated and formed a duplicate, which he quickly and quietly ordered to completely leave Daniel's body with its task.

Just as Vlad did that, Nocturne opened his eyes. They were wild with both hunger for more energy and with hatred for Plasmius. Feeling that he had finally retrieved all of his powers—and more—he suddenly yelled, "Sleepwalkers! Form!"

Several dozen of Nocturne's green goons with stitched eyes materialized around Vlad and grabbed a hold of him.

The older hybrid reacted immediately. He thrust a large burst of dark pink energy through several of the Sleepwalkers, which destroyed some and threw the rest back. But when Vlad shot holes right through the central cores of the next set of Nocturne's minions, the green goons filled them in and repaired themselves.

As even more Sleep Walkers formed, Nocturne heaved in glee, "You no longer have any more power here now that I control the Ghost Boy's every thought and dreams. So, I'll say good-bye and good riddance to you now, Plasmius!"

Plasmius frowned. He needed just a bit more time. But even as he had to begin retreating now that several Sleep Walkers were beginning to box him in, he defiantly yelled, "You'll regret you ever double-crossed me, Nocturne!"

The Ghost King of Dreams wickedly laughed at the older hybrid's ridiculous threat.

_Nothing _could stop him now.

Vlad was about to slam into more of the Sleepwalkers when his aura flared a bright pink momentarily. And knowing that his duplicate had finally returned from its task, Vlad knew that his time was up.

The older hybrid quickly yelled, "Daniel!"

Nocturne chuckled at the man's foolishness, "Didn't you hear me, Plasmius? I control him! He is aware of nothing! And he and all of his powers are mine!"

Now actually shoving the Sleepwalkers aside so that he could get as near to the boy as he could, Vlad commanded more loudly and forcefully, "Daniel! This is Vlad! Listen to me!"

Encouraged at seeing Daniel's eyes flare a bit, the man started to chuckle as if he were ridiculing the boy. "Daniel, you foolish little rat. Can't you see that not only does Nocturne have complete control over you, but that **I** put him up to this all? I finally have you! You can no longer resist me, so give up! It is time that you are by my side. Can't you see that you'll never win against me?"

At first, nothing happened and Vlad frowned while Nocturne began to laugh.

Suddenly, however, Danny shakily uttered, "V-Vlad? N-NO!"

Right afterward, the boy's embedded body began to shake and the red aura surrounding his body began to flicker violently. In a heartbeat, his ghostly aura returned to white, only that it was shining so brightly that Vlad couldn't even see the outline of Daniel's body any longer.

That worried Vlad a bit, but he nevertheless continued to yell, "And you are now the son I've always wanted—powerful, yes. But also very, very evil! Worse than me. No, worse than _your future evil self_ because you've killed your friend Frostbite!"

This time, Danny's eyes flared even more in response, only they had suddenly morphed from red to a vivid and solid green.

"NO!" Nocturne screamed in protest as he felt younger hybrid resist him strongly enough that his tentacles were actually moving away and out from the boy without his permission—along with the retrieval of the energy he had stolen from the boy! And as Nocturne began to shrink against his will, he cried, "This is impossible!"

Vlad, however, smirked in triumph, even as he recognized the irony of it all. He had told Daniel mostly the truth on how he felt about the boy. He did want him at his side as his son. And not only had it jolted the boy to his senses, but it also proved to Vlad that Daniel had not yet mentally broken down yet.

But before the man could think about it any longer, total blackness suddenly blanketed the entire scene. And before Vlad and Nocturne knew it, they were being violently shoved out of the boy's mind with his defiant and piercing scream ringing in their ears.

"NO, NO, NO!" Danny screamed out loud at the top of his lungs before panting heavily about his emotional ordeal. His whole body was now drenched in perspiration, but Vlad's words had done the trick of jolting Danny awake and out of his nightmare.

Though essentially awake, Danny was not quite with it yet and didn't comprehend the sound of Matilda's scream of alarm that he had heard right after he had screamed himself awake. For one thing, Danny was still lying down because he was still very dazed by his energy's being drained by Nocturne and by the entire very intense—and real—nightmare.

Vlad took that opportunity to quickly replicate into four. All four Plasmiuses surrounded and grabbed Nocturne before the entire group transported into the simulation control room.

"Quick, Maddie, put Daniel into _delta_ sleep!" Vlad commanded as soon as he appeared with his duplicates and Nocturne.

The hologram quickly activated the necessary switches and Danny's head fell to the floor before he had even started to recover from his ordeal.

His eyes burning red in anger and hatred, and with the same emotions ringing in his voice, the original Vlad seethed, "Now it's time for you to pay for your stupidity, Nocturne! I could destroy you right now, but that would be too good for you!"

With his three duplicates still firmly holding Nocturne secured, Vlad quickly punched in some coordinates into the mainframe. He then turned back to the other ghost and angrily continued, "I'm going to send you to a place where you will never escape. But more satisfying than that, the creatures there will tear at every one of your ectoplasmic fibers for what you did, fool. Not because I want them to, but because that is the very nature of them!"

Nocturne's eyes widened in dread at the realization. He was fairly certain to what the man was referring. But before he could object, Vlad had ordered his three duplicates still restraining Nocturne back to the simulation room.

Once the group had transported back and rematerialized, Matilda gasped in alarm once again.

But the four Plasmiuses ignored her as they increased their hold on Nocturne before all four drove several bolts of their pink electrical energy right into the ghost.

Nocturne's body shuddered violently and he screamed in pain with the attack.

Just afterward, a portal that Vlad had programmed a few moments ago opened. Vlad and his three clones didn't hesitate to throw the dazed Nocturne into the portal before it almost instantaneously closed.

However, a moment later, another portal opened up.

Vlad reabsorbed all of his duplicates before he walked over to the still trembling ghost girl, who had pulled herself over to Danny.

Now having gotten a hold of himself, Vlad sounded much calmer than he had moments ago with Nocturne as he said, "You have done well, girl. Once you released Daniel from your spell as my duplicate had commanded, I was able to startle him out of his dream. Or I should say, his nightmare."

Though he was not frowning anymore, the man wasn't exactly all smiles as he pointed to the swirling portal beside him and directed, "You may go now."

"W-Will D-Danny be all right?" she still managed to stutter.

"Like I said before, Matilda: that is not your concern. You may go," he replied, his voice suddenly sounding a bit more irritated as he pointed more firmly at the portal.

Matilda's eyes widened in more fear before she quickly darted into the portal that would bring her to her lair.

But as the portal was closing, Vlad could hear the ghost girl's loud wail of woe….

He glanced briefly back at the boy still lying in sleep on the floor. Knowing that the boy wouldn't be able to respond at all, the man addressed him nevertheless, "This was not how I planned this part to end, Daniel. And I do wish you would give up!..." The older hybrid paused and then sighed, "Though, this time, I'm glad you didn't."

Without another word, the man teleported back into the simulation control room.

Once he saw the hologram of the love of his life ever vigilant at the controls, he quietly remarked, "You don't need to tell me that 'you told me so', Maddie, for me to know that I almost destroyed everything I worked for."

Turning slightly toward him, she replied without emotion, "I am not programmed to say 'I told you so', sir; but I can tell by your own biological readings that this will not become a habitual part of your future plans."

"No, I hope not, my dear. But I also hope that Daniel will finally yield so that I can spare him from any more risk to his actual life. We will have to plan some safeguards from keeping other ghosts from overstepping what I have allowed…."

He paused and added with slight discouragement, "Still, because Daniel is so obstinate, really, I may have to push the boy more, even when it could become more dangerous."

She calmly pointed out, "That is your decision, sir. I am merely programmed to remind you of those risks."

"Yes, my dear…so you are…."

* * *

><p><strong>(1) 'Glacio' is Esperanto for: 'ice'.<strong>

**(2) REM is Rapid Eye Movement, which is one of the signs that you're dreaming.**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, gang, now you know who that mystery level 2 ghost was—you know, the one that had a question mark in the place of her name for such a long time? If you want to know more about her, feel free to read my story, "Sleepover Nightmare", okay? Heh-heh. Shameless, I know! **

**And, of course, I hope you had your hands up in the air in one of the plunges of this very long, wild ride! I purposely built in some slight incongruence in the nightmare scene, because, well, because it's a dream! And did you catch the first part after Nocturne overshadows Danny when Danny wakes up on that sponge, wet, slimy surface that Danny was actually standing on his brain? Heh-heh. Of course you did because y'all are very clever readers! And you're so clever, I bet your dying to tell me all about your thoughts about this chapter, right?! It would give me only fluffy dreams rather than nightmares! Heh-heh!**

**But before you review—and you know that you want to know—the Fantomos Ecto-Scale continues:**

**LEVEL ONE-289-level 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King. **

**- ******289-level 2-**_**Eta—Matilda**_**— truephan's original character from her story, **_**Sleepover Nightmare**_

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, TrueHeart**

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**289-level 6-**_**Gamma**_**—Ghost Writer**

**289-level 6-**_**Beta**_** —Walker**

**289-level 6-**_**Alpha**_**—Skulker**

**LEVEL SEVEN GHOSTS—Difficult to defeat. Would have been evenly matched with Danny at age 14. They usually have only one way of being defeated and can be defeated only after discovering that flaw. Also, Danny could only defeat them at age 14 after he picked up new skills to defeat them.**

**289-level 7-**_**Epsilon**_**—Undergrowth**

**289-level 7-**_**Delta**_**—Nocturne**


	36. Chapter 36-Level 7 Ghosts--Knight Fears

**A/N: Happy Fourth of July holiday weekend, y'all! I hope you're having a great weekend. I sure am because I love—well, okay, I love celebrating **_**anything**_**— but I especially love celebrating the birthday of this beloved country. Uh, heh-heh, yep, I'm done now. It's time to get back to this story, which is not as happy for our beloved hero. Even still, here is chapter 36. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 36—Level <strong>Seven<strong> Ghosts—Knight Fears

Danny was suddenly aware that he had a tremendous headache, which was definitely worse than what he had been having all along. He opened his eyes and groaned just before he pulled himself up off the hard ground.

He looked around and sighed in frustration. He was back in the Time and Existence Chamber.

The boy groaned again when his headache pounded a bit more. But then oddly, he felt his hazy mind clear and the first things he remembered were…Vlad…and Nocturne, and then…Frostbite!

He swallowed hard and reflexively shuddered at his next thought even when he was unsure of it. Nevertheless, it unsettled him enough that he found himself uttering it out loud, "Man, I sure hope that was a nightmare! It was more than horrible…it was…I don't even know the right word to describe how horrible it was…But it felt so…_real!_"

He glanced down nervously at his hands now that he was worried about all the details of all those…awful…thoughts that pushed forward. He_ couldn't have_ done that to his friend. Then he frowned. His headache had gotten worse…Still, he wanted to make sure that he _hadn't_…destroyed Frostbite.

Addressing whom he hoped would be listening, Danny suddenly yelled up into the cosmos, "That was just a dream…a nightmare of some sort, right, Justeco?"

Nothing...

Danny frowned a bit but still muttered just to himself, "As if this _whole thing_ isn't some kind of a nightmare."

Wait.

He relaxed a bit when he realized it _had_ to be a nightmare. After all, Nocturne wouldn't have been able to gain any power unless he was harvesting _dreams._ Besides, with what the boy could remember, lots of things that had happened had made no sense whatsoever, like his having the Infi-Map or having Vlad appear in it so randomly…

But then, Danny frowned again. If it _was_ a nightmare that was caused by Nocturne, then why hadn't he woken right away?

He tried to shake away the confusing thoughts. It had to be a nightmare, because he couldn't remember most of it. He didn't even remember what Vlad or even Nocturne had said. He swallowed hard. But he did remember….killing Frostbite! And then getting upset…

The boy scrunched his brow at trying to remember what had upset him other than killing Frostbite…He shuddered. Doing that was enough reason to get him upset and it was probably why he woke up…He tried to throw it out, though the vague memory was still making him shiver in dread. It felt _so real_, yet he silently prayed that it was only a nightmare.

But before he could dwell on it any longer, he heard a thud nearby. When he turned to it, his heart's turmoil lessened and his mind focused on another thought.

There was a table with food on it! And right now, he was so hungry he could eat a shoe!

Danny didn't care in the least that there were only sandwiches on the table. In some ways, that was better since he knew that the Observants never gave him enough time to enjoy any meal they remembered to give him. So, sandwiches made the most sense for eating in a hurry.

He also knew better than to sit on the chair that was under the table. He grabbed a sandwich with each hand, sat back down on the ground, and woofed down the first one. Food never tasted so good! He practically inhaled the second one before he jumped up to get something to drink. He filled the large cup to the rim with lemonade and quickly downed the precious liquid. He poured out even more and chugged that down. Once more, he filled the same cup to the rim with more lemonade and grabbed three more large sandwiches before he sat back down on the ground and dug into one of them right away.

Finally, the boy was satisfied and he wasn't even aware that he had leaned against one of the legs of the table in relief. But just as he closed his eyes and sighed, the table disappeared and he almost fell backwards and onto the floor.

"Nice!" he said sarcastically addressing the Observants. "I suppose that you'll just follow that up with pulling the floor out from under me, huh?"

At that precise moment, the room seemed to bend unnaturally as it began to do its 'kaleidoscope trick'.

"Sorry I asked!" Danny yelled as he braced himself just before he was sucked into the middle of the multi-colored vortex.

The boy felt that he might throw up as he whirled around out-of-control like all those other times. But just before he thought he couldn't take the centrifuge any longer, it abruptly stopped. But the momentum was strong enough to slam his body into a very large and hard object that had appeared out of nowhere; and with a grunt, the boy was knocked out cold…

* * *

><p>"Maddie, what is the meaning of this?" Vlad demanded when he saw what happened to the younger hybrid.<p>

But instead of turning to the hologram, the man suddenly twisted around when he heard a very loud screech followed by a loud thud. What he found was a very angry—and hissing—cat!

"'The meaning of this' is that somehow your cat made its way into here against your specific orders, jumped on the console before I could stop it, and managed to hit each of the buttons for the next two programs at the same time while the current program was being enacted," the computer began.

Vlad could tell by the tone of the hologram's voice that she was not pleased; but before he could comment, she continued, "The feline caused a malfunction in the program that had just begun and your test subject was hurled into the wall of your simulation room as a result. I had to remove the perpetrator from the console immediately before more damage was done."

"Don't you think calling Maddie a 'perpetrator' is a little too harsh, my dear?" Vlad calmly began as he approached his pet. "After all, she is but an innocent animal, and can't help but want to be with those whom she loves."

The cat slowly calmed as she felt her master near and she allowed him to scoop her up.

Petting her lightly on the head, the billionaire added, "After all, accidents do happen. But I will speak to Derek about being more careful about shutting the door behind him."

Maddie the hologram had frowned soon after he had picked up the cat that she had harshly pushed off the console only moments before. But her computer-generated face relaxed a bit when she could see that the man was heading toward the still partially-opened door.

Vlad pushed the door a bit more, gently put the cat on the floor outside the room, and quietly closed the door tight.

Once the older hybrid turned back toward the window of the control room, he asked, "Is Daniel all right? And what about the programs?"

Answering his questions in order, the hologram replied, "Yes, sir. Your test subject was not significantly harmed. In fact, the monitors indicate that he is regaining consciousness. And I have already rebooted all the affected programs."

"Good," the man replied, "Then carry on with Program 289-7-_Gammas__, _my dear."

"Right away, sir," she merely replied as she pushed the correct buttons….

* * *

><p>Trumpets blared loudly in the young half-ghost's mind. He frowned momentarily unawares. Somehow, it seemed as if the<em> very<em> loud notes blasting out of those horns _weren't_ demanding his attention. Instead, their noise seemed to be heralding some kind of affair…

Danny softly groaned and slowly opened his eyes, only to wince immediately when a slit of bright light seemed to attack his blurry vision. He quickly closed his eyes again, since his mind was even more muddled than his vision. And his headache was worse!

"Ugh!" he finally uttered and he didn't notice that his voice had sounded a bit hollow. "Where am I? And what is that noise?" He scrunched his nose at the next sensation and complained, "And what is that _smell_?"

Suddenly, however, the horns stopped, and instead he heard muffed yet loud buzzing of some sort.

Once more, Danny opened his eyes but immediately squinted when the bright light smashed into them again. But this time, he didn't close them. Yet, his brows furrowed with confusion when it looked as if his vision was literally limited to a thin line of light! And he was breathing in stale, hot air, as if his face had been crammed into a very small space…

Then, he was suddenly aware that he was standing up…but_ —somehow —_not really! In fact, when he tried to lift one of his legs upward in anticipation of taking a step, he couldn't! Both of his legs, though he was pretty sure he was standing, were captured in some kind of square contraption at the end of each of his feet that was both hard and soft!

And when he finally moved his arms, for some reason, they….squeaked! And they felt heavier and hotter than usual—and for that matter, so did his legs now that he thought about it.

His mind finally cleared enough to notice another volley of trumpets belting out their four-note song over and over again, as if, once again, they were announcing something.

Then, all of the sudden, he felt something _under_ him _move_! And then _snort_!

But before he could fathom what that could be, a commanding voice suddenly called out.

"Lords and Ladies of the court!"

The buzzing instantly stopped.

Danny's mind snapped to full alertness with that. What was going on? And it was then that all those strange sensations melded together and made some sort of sense…

He frowned even though he was now thinking that he was somehow covered in some kind of…armor. And he was _not_ standing, but _sitting_ on…a horse!

He reflexively reached up to his face and pulled the face plate of his helmet upward. Light poured in, which momentarily blinded him again. But at least there was fresh cool air wafting up his nose.

Just as Danny's vision began to clear, that same authoritative voice rang strongly out again.

"We will commence with the festivities to celebrate my sister's wedding in short order. In fact, we will begin with a favorite event sure to please everyone. It will be a special treat for all."

A bevy of chattering excited voices peeled slightly before silencing.

Once more, the voice announced, "We have the privilege of having the greatest knight in our entire realm to fight for the honor of the Lady of the Castle!"

This time, the crowd roared with approval.

Danny's eyes finally adjusted to the light; and the first thing his line of vision recorded was what looked like a man dressed entirely in silver armor trot up on a horse and stop about eighty or so yards from him. There was a 'SK' emblem hand-painted in black on the chest plate.

But then, Danny looked toward the voice as it continued. But he still could not see who it was because of the way that his helmet was on his head.

"Our Silver Knight has had more victories than anyone else in our Kingdom, and he is also the intended of the Lady of the Castle, my sister! And he is eager to fight our greatest foe, the knight in grey armor…also known as…Danny Phantom!"

Danny jolted at hearing his name and all the 'boos' that had erupted from the crowd, and at the fact that he had finally recognized that voice! He turned his head once more in search for that voice.

But that slight shift in movement caused his horse to turn slightly to the left.

And then Danny finally saw who owned that voice!

The blue-skinned ghost was tall and thin, with shoulder length thin grey hair. He was wearing a glowing green crown surrounded by a ring of green spikes. His purple shirt was long and falling low on his thighs before ending at a pair of grey tights and ankle-high black boots. At his waist was a grey belt with a sword hanging from it. Finally, his outfit was entirely covered with a rough-edge black cape drawn around his shoulders by a skull clasp at his right upper shoulder.

Sitting next to the medieval prince was a lady ghost with green ghostly skin. Her long, blond hair was neatly pulled back into a thick braid which fell between her shoulder blades. A simple blue headband surrounded her head at her forehead and matched her blue long-sleeve and floor-length, simple gown.

"Yep, that's him! Just great!" Danny muttered.

But his thoughts were interrupted by another round of trumpet blasts. But this time, their tune sounded ominous.

Danny's horse snorted at the sound and shifted back toward its right again.

Aragon then continued, though his cadence was slow and deliberate, "Each knight is eager to fight. And theirs will be a fight to the other's…utter destruction!"

The crowd roared in approval.

That sudden loud noise spooked Danny's horse a bit and it unexpectedly reared up.

Danny barely kept his balance, but in the process of righting himself, something clanged to the ground.

Danny strained to look to what had fallen and saw a glint of light reflecting off of whatever that something was.

"Great!" he first mumbled. He had the definite feeling that whatever that was, it was probably something important. But he then shrugged his shoulders as best as the armor would allow him and said, "Oh, well, no sense worrying about something that I don't even know what it is much less can retrieve or _even see_ at this point."

He then tried to pull his feet out of his stirrups to see if he could twist himself to have a better look at what he had dropped, but they were stuck.

"Of course!" he muttered under his breath. It figured that his metallic boots were wedged firmly in place.

Once more, he heard a trumpet shrill.

"On my mark, the joust will begin!" Aragon said with glee.

"Joust?" Danny gasped. "I don't know how to joust!"

He then strained to see his opponent and startled at the size of the Silver Knight, and more importantly, his weapon!

"Hope he can't see any better than me," Danny gulped when he saw how scuffed up the knight's armor was. "And I hope that 'more-victories-than-anyone-else-in-the-Kingdom' thing was just a lot of hype!"

"Knights! Ready yourselves!" Aragon's strong voice commanded.

Danny turned and strained once more to get a glimpse of Aragon, but the helmet refused to yield to any of his peripheral vision, even with its face plate lifted. He then turned to face the Silver Knight dead ahead again and saw that his foe already had his silver lance poised for attack.

"_Wait a minute! Where's my javelin thing_?" Danny thought in a panic.

The boy jerked in his saddle as his eyes desperately searched for his weapon that would oppose the Silver Knight's. But then, he yelped a bit when his horse suddenly shifted from side-to-side since it was antsy to charge.

Trying to control his steed, Danny pulled slightly on the reins while commanding, "Whoah!"

But since the horse had shifted a bit to his left, Danny's eyes drifted slightly over to that direction and he once more spied Aragon, who was holding up a white handkerchief over his head.

The white cloth popped slightly in the steady wind.

Danny knew that the round was about to start at any second!

He twisted and turned in his saddle as best as he could as he searched more earnestly for his weapon. Where was it? But then, he spied it in its receptacle, which was within an arm's reach!

But just as he reached for it, Aragon dropped his white kerchief and several horns blared out at once!

Danny's stallion neighed in a startle at the signal and reared up on its hind legs. The faceplate on Danny's helmet slammed shut just as he leaned forward in an effort not to fall backwards off the steed. A heartbeat later, the horse bolted forward without Danny's urging it to.

And because his armor was so bulky and heavy, Danny barely had time to counter his sudden shift in balance between his horse's rearing up and charging forward, much less grab his weapon as his steed quickly passed it!

However, much as he tried to correct his position, Danny knew he was lurched to his right even as his horse galloped toward the charging Silver Knight.

Now more worried about falling off of his horse than being weaponless, the teen fought to right himself in his saddle. He didn't even care at this point that his steed was increasing its speed.

All the while, the Silver Knight held his silver lance steady and sure. He was determined to impale his opponent on the first round.

Danny had just about regained his full balance in his saddle when he finally caught sight of the Silver Knight's narrowing the gap between them and the sharp, slender tip of his silver lance closing in even more rapidly!

The boy gasped and reacted instinctively. He pulled himself backward until he was lying flat upon the horse's bobbing rump just as the silver lance skimmed over the armor at his chest. But the sharp point still made some contact and its screeching sound sent chills up the boy's spine as sharply as chalk moved awkwardly over a chalkboard.

The crowd booed its disapproval of Danny's desperate tactic even when the boy was able to finally right himself and rein his horse to a quick stop.

Aragon loudly hissed, "Bad form to the Grey Knight! His penalty is to lose one hundred points!"

"_Points?"_ Danny thought in confusion. He didn't remember the arrogant ghost saying anything about earning 'points'. Still he thought, "_Hey, I'll take it! I'm used to getting bad grades. Better that than having that very huge and __**very bad**__ silver point driven right through me!"_

This time, the crowd cheered in approval at penalizing the Boy Knight.

However, only one person in the crowd barely responded—and that was Dorothea, the Lady of the Castle and Aragon's sister.

"Now, Round Two!" Aragon quickly commanded.

Danny suddenly felt his horse being tugged by its harness. He looked down and slightly ahead and saw a green-skinned ghost in a black hood. The head cloak stopped just short of and yet draped over his shoulders. Under that cloak was a tight-fitting grey shirt that fell below what would have been the thighs of his green spectral tail. The Grey Knight caught only short glimpses of that ghost's green skull-like face as the ghost continued to lead Danny's steed.

The large green ghost finally steered the steed into a quarter circle until the animal was aligned in the jousting range once more.

Before Danny knew it, a long grey lance was harshly shoved into his left hand. It felt as heavy as the combined weight of his full body armor but with his ghostly strength, Danny was able to balance it. He hooked it up under his elbow and pressed it into his side in an attempt to steady it as best as he could.

Now a bit more focused, Danny narrowed his eyes and peered through the eye slit of his helmet. From this angle, he could see Aragon holding up that little white handkerchief again, only that the Medieval prince was to his right this time. But the Silver Knight was still dead ahead.

Danny's horse impatiently raked the ground with one of its front hooves.

"I'm just as antsy, but not with excitement, fella!" Danny said to his horse before reaching over and gently patting the side of its neck.

The steed neighed in response and edgily shifted from side-to-side in anticipation.

"Whoah, boy, steady!" Danny commanded as he pulled on the reins slightly in order to control the horse.

His eyes then shifted back to Aragon when the Medieval ghost announced, "On my mark, Knights!"

Dorothea's face tensed even while the crowd held its breath in excitement and anticipation.

Danny saw the white cloth fall just as the horns trumpeted again.

This time, Danny was ready when his horse reared up on its hind legs before it lurched forward.

Two thundering sets of hooves dug into the dirt, though their sound was all but muffled by the teen's helmet. But Danny could definitely feel every vibrating shift in the horse's full gallop countering the weight of his armor and lance as he unwittingly charged toward his opponent.

But just when it looked like lance was going to meet silver chest plate, Danny's horse violently shifted its weight when its front hoof found a wayward stone. Danny momentarily lost control over his weapon.

And the Silver Knight was about to take full advantage of that! He strategically readjusted his lance.

In the next heartbeat, Danny heard a loud crack before he felt an intense pressure to his chest plate that violently raked against it and moved immediately upward along it. That force continued upward until it clipped his helmet before snapping it and his head backward and sending the helmet flying off while riveting the boy out of his saddle at virtually the same split second of time.

Danny fell roughly to the ground and ended up stunned and flat on his back. At the moment, his mind couldn't comprehend the roar of the excited crowd. All he was aware of was that his head, chest and legs were searing in pain; and he had no clue that green ectoplasmic blood was sliding down the side of his head from a new wound.

Seconds later, however, Danny was suddenly aware that the roar of the crowd had swelled and the trumpets blared in triumph. Wondering why, Danny pulled up his spinning head up even in the midst of his confusion.

The young hybrid's stomach tightened uncomfortably from both his blurry double vision and what looked like several looming monsters dressed in silver stomping steadily toward him. And the trumpet sounds were so distorted, the boy could swear that all of those monsters were snorting loudly at him as they continued to slowly approach him.

But then, Danny caught sight of something being kissed by sunlight. He frowned until his double vision finally cleared enough for him to realize two things: the gleam reflecting off a very large sword and the 'monsters' had melded into one; namely, the Silver Knight, who was raising the sword upward and preparing to give him a swift but definitive final blow!

That was enough for the boy to be fully jolted back to reality and his aching head quickly cleared.

Danny struggled to pull himself upward and was slightly relieved that he was able to get to an unsteady stand. He then stumbled when his right ankle suddenly protested under his weight and at another bout of dizziness. Nevertheless, he wondered why he actually felt lighter than he had just moments before. He glanced downward and noticed that he had hardly any armor on! In fact, all he could see that was left from his violent blow and fall were his hand gauntlets, a small bit of mail around his waist, and spiked armor barely covering his right shoulder.

And that only meant that he was now essentially unprotected! But then, he spied what must have been his chest plate a couple of feet to his right. He could easily see that his 'DP' emblem had been hand-painted on it.

His mind now on high alert with a surge of adrenaline, which helped push his pain and dizziness away, Danny dove into a roll to his right and grabbed his chest plate while just avoiding the first blow of the Silver Knight's sword.

The crowd stood up and yelled in protest at the boy's ruse.

Nevertheless, Danny ended up in a half-kneeling position before blue energy surged through his eyes and charged outward. His ice power formed a solid handle on the inside of his chest plate. A moment later, he willed an ice sword, and lifted his makeshift shield quickly above his head just in the nick of time to parry the Silver Knight's own sword before Danny counter-struck with his ice sword.

The boy's cold weapon made contact and cleaved the armor surrounding the Silver Knight's right leg.

The older ghost grunted in pain, but backhanded another swipe at the boy with his sword, which, because the knight was still off-balanced to his left, only skimmed over Danny's shield and did no damage.

This time, Danny took full advantage of his foe's misstep and rolled away from the ghost before pulling himself to a stand. But once again, his right ankle pulsed in pain and refused to hold up his weight. Grunting with the pain and in frustration, Danny floated upward. He maintained a ready stance with his raised shield and ice sword while gritting his teeth in both determination and defiance.

The Silver Knight snorted in both anger and resolve as he pulled his sword into a threatening pose. He was ready to cleave his enemy in half at the next charge.

But Danny was also prepared as he could be as his opponent neared.

Ice met metal as their blades collided and tried to swipe the other.

Onward they fought; and each grunted and panted with the effort as the fight intensified.

Seconds passed like hours for Danny as he struggled to counter his powerful opponent. Nevertheless, he was successful in blocking and counterattacking every blow or tactic the medieval knight threw at him.

All the while, the crowd cheered in glee. This fight was the most exciting one they had ever seen! Usually the Silver Knight barely worked up a sweat in the mist of his swift and definitive victories over all of his foes—until now.

But this 'Danny Phantom' was undoubtedly the most impressive foe they had ever seen in any of their festivities of skill.

However, after several more minutes, Danny—still suffering from that blow to his head and with the lack of adequate sleep catching up with him again—was finally tiring from the effort. Still, he wouldn't give in and was still somehow able to match every one of his adversary's jabs, even as he was unwittingly being shoved back in retreat.

"You fight well, urchin," the Silver Knight began with a grunt before he was able to hook the boy's ice sword with his hilt and shove both blades close enough that Danny could feel a sharp pressure against his right cheek.

"It is both a shame and honor to defeat you, then!" the older ghost continued as he pressed harder on his sword until ectoplasm began to ooze out of Danny's cheek.

Suddenly charged with determination even as his arms struggled to counter the opposing force, Danny panted through gritted teeth, "We'll see about that!"

He then pushed his own sword forward and successfully shoved his opponent and sword away from him.

The Knight stumbled backward at the jostle.

Holding his sword as if he were ready to swing a bat, Danny flew right back at him; and once he was near enough, he swung hard at the ghost.

The ice blade bit into the Silver Knight's left arm plate and rent it open before it finally tore into the ghost's arm at the end of its arc. Green ectoplasm immediately seeped out of the limb's wound.

Gasps erupted from the crowd and they all stood up in shock. But no gasp was louder than Dorothea, whose face was now etched in worry and dread.

His left arm now useless, the Silver Knight struggled harder to right his now very heavy sword, since it usually took two hands to wield it.

Danny could see that he now had the advantage, and now more determined to end this fight, rushed toward his adversary.

He took a firm swipe at the silver sword, which knocked it further toward the older ghost's _right _side.

This time, the Silver Knight yelled out in pain when his right wrist was wrenched awkwardly by the blow before it inadvertently dropped the sword.

Danny quickly followed up with an upper cut to the knight's chin with the hilt of his ice sword which knocked the ghost backwards.

The Silver Knight stumbled backward for only a couple of steps from the addling blow to his jaw before he inadvertently fell flat on his back because he couldn't counter-balance the weight of all of his armor.

Danny soared over to the fallen ghost, placed his left foot upon the ghost's chest plate and brought the tip of his ice sword under his foe's helmet until it pressed into his ghostly neck.

The crowd gasped before coming to a quick hush of dread.

"Give up?" Danny seriously asked as his sword put a bit more pressure on the ghost's windpipe to make certain to his foe that he meant business.

"Danny, NO!" a shrill voice suddenly sounded in the stillness.

The young hybrid jerked his head toward the familiar voice. Why did she cry out like that? He wasn't actually going to destroy the ghost!

But the Silver Knight used the most of the boy's momentary distraction, grabbed the boy's right ankle that was still suspended in the air, and violently jerked it downward.

Danny yelped as the pain shot up his still injured ankle and at his sudden loss of balance. He lost his grip on his ice sword and shield as he fell to the ground.

The next thing Danny knew, his and his foe's positions had swapped and now the boy was not only pinned under the Knight's heavy foot against his chest but his own ice sword was also pointed at his throat.

"Yield?!" the Silver Knight both asked and demanded with his voice ringing a bit in triumph and glee.

Just as Danny's eyes flared a bright blue, he growled in defiance, "Never!"

The medieval ghost gasped in shock as the ice sword in his hand suddenly dematerialized before its ice make-up was reabsorbed by its master.

A moment later, the knight ghost yelled when the face shield of his helmet was suddenly encased in ice. But before he could even reach up and try to break the ice with his gauntlet, he felt his foot— the one that had been on his foe's chest—being yanked to the side which threw him off balance. He yelled again as he repeated his downward track to the hard ground.

But that didn't happen because Danny had never let go of the Silver Knight's foot. Instead, Danny shot up into the air with his foe in tow.

When Danny had reached a good height, he stopped in midair. But not for long. He leaned and heaved back even harder on the larger ghost's leg before twisting and then pulling his foe into a tight spin.

And just like a hammer-throwing athlete, Danny continued to spin on that tight axis until he was satisfied with the force. He then let go of the Silver Knight.

The medieval ghost flung wildly up into the air.

The crowd gasped as they watched their champion's arc of movement. A moment later, they were scattering just before the Silver Knight's body came crashing into the stands and lay still.

Danny hovered in place and crossing his arms in front of him, he said with irritation, "There! I win! Can I go now?"

"Never!" a raspy, threatening voice hissed from behind.

Danny whirled around, only to be swiped by the green spiked end of a black dragon's tail!

It was Aragon, now in his ghostly dragon form!

Danny was pummeled to the ground and his body instantly plowed a long, deep channel until his momentum stopped.

Shaking off his dizziness, Danny threw himself back up into the air. His hands instantly ignited with his green ectoplasmic ire as he challenged the black dragon.

"How did you get your amulet back, jerk?" the boy growled through gritted teeth as he closed the gap between him and the dragon. He could plainly see that large green amulet swinging from a gold chain around the dragon's neck.

"I did not!" Aragon forcefully sneered back before pouring out a stream of hot flames, which Danny deftly avoided. He then snorted, "It was destroyed, but I bartered with my sister for hers just for this occasion!"

Danny quickly glanced down and over to Dora, who looked very distraught over the situation. He could tell by her facial expression that the female ghost had not intently given up her amulet.

Squaring his chin in annoyance and grit, Danny angrily replied, "I thought I was only going to fight one jerk, not two! So, it looks like cheating is a prerequisite in your putrid kingdom!"

Now livid, Aragon took another swipe at the boy with his dragon tail.

Danny easily avoided the attempt and was even able to grab the extremity as it swung by.

Quickly pulling the tail upward and then whipping it down as if he were chopping wood with an axe, Danny yanked the large dragon toward the ground.

Aragon's dragon body shook the ground under him at the hard blow.

Aragon's subjects then screamed in fear and ran away. They had every intention on leaving the battle to their leader and the Grey Knight.

But the dragon prince's red eyes flared in anger as he huffed and then hurled another large stream of molten fire at the teen.

Danny immediately brought his fisted hands together before answering the assault with a strong beam of ice energy that had formed between both of his hands.

Ice slammed into flames and a large, hissing cloud of hot steam erupted form the impact site right in the middle of the foes.

But Aragon poured more hot fury into his assault as he pulled himself off of the ground.

Nevertheless, since Danny was still hovering in the air, he saw what the ghost dragon was doing. He immediately drove even more of his ice energy downward and steadied it with the thrust of his body behind it.

An even larger cloud of hot steam bellowed from the two forces colliding until neither foe could see the other!

Danny was just about to decide to disengage so that he could get a better visual of the dragon ghost when all of the sudden, he was yelling in pain. Strong, angry talons had wrapped around his upper torso from behind, which effectively pinned his hands to his sides.

Before he could do anything else, the teen was forcibly rammed into the ground.

"Ugh!" Danny moaned with the instant dizziness from the hard blow. But he yelped when he opened his eyes to another set of large talons headed his way, which were undoubtedly eager to tear him apart!

Danny reflexively thrust out a powerful beam of frigid energy from his eyes which quickly encased the dragon paw in a big ball of ice.

Danny turned intangible just in time to avoid the large ball of ice that would have smashed him instead. And now he was also free from his dragon shackles!

But much to the shock of the boy, as soon as he rematerialized, his arms were grabbed from behind before they were twisted and pinned against his back this time.

Danny yelled at the pain in both of his shoulders and elbows as the strong hands increased their pressure on keeping his arms slammed hard against his back.

"Yield?" the voice asked again, its tone triumphant.

Recognizing the Silver Knight's voice, Danny defiantly spat back, "Didn't you hear me the first time, dude?"

Not caring about any kind of answer, however, Danny instantly produced his wulf claws. He smirked a bit when he could tell that they had hit their mark since the Silver Knight had yelled in pain upon getting that unexpected stabbing. He unwittingly released the boy.

Danny then twisted around and slammed his angry fists into the medieval ghost before sending him up into the air once again.

But that only opened Danny to another swipe by Aragon's dragon tail! But when the tail made contact, it whipped around the boy before wrapping him up within its hard-scale rope like a boa constrictor.

Once satisfied that the boy was secured in his grasp, Aragon brought Danny up until he was face-to-face with the boy.

"And now, Danny Phantom," Aragon hissed, smoke blowing angrily out of his nostrils, "I will not have you ruin these festivities."

Struggling against the dragon's tail, which was tightening its hold, Danny growled back, "I never wanted to crash your lame party, jerk!"

"Then you will not object to my permanently disqualifying you from the games!" Aragon darkly replied just before he jerked his mouth open widely and displayed his salivating fangs.

Danny reflexively concentrated and quickly encased himself in an aura of cold energy, which quickly spread outward and engulfed the huge dragon before Aragon could carry out his intent to snap off the boy's head.

His dragon body now frozen and too heavy to hold up, Aragon plummeted downward and unwittingly carried Danny with him. Once the tail hit the ground, the ice burst away and the dragon's body actually cushioned Danny's fall just after its tail released him.

Danny grabbed the unmoving tail; and using it as leverage, he pushed himself upward and into the air in escape.

Now realizing how exhausted he was, Danny landed on the ground quite a bit away from the fallen dragon leader. He hunched over and braced himself on his knees, all the while trying to control his panting.

But then, he pulled himself up and taking in a deep breath in an effort to control his breathing, he yelled up into the air in anger and exhaustion, "Aren't I finished with this test yet, Justeco?"

"No, I think not!" came a reply from right behind him!

Danny gasped and twisted violently around. He yelled in alarm when he barely ducked out of the way of the awkward swing of a large blade. But part of the blade managed to knick his unprotected left shoulder.

The Silver Knight had finally returned and even though his left arm had not fully recovered, he had retrieved his sword, and attempted to stab the boy!

Ignoring the sting in his left shoulder, Danny charged up his green ectoplasmic energy and shot the Silver Knight.

The ghost knight was sent flying several hundred feet from the boy.

Danny fell to one knee after that effort. He was nearly completely spent.

"Darn it, Justeco! Can't we just stop?!" he panted out.

"Not until I am done with you!" another voice yelled out from behind him!

Danny twisted around when he felt the temperature all around him precipitously rise. And he saw the reason why: Aragon was rapidly closing in on him with a huge stream of fire from his dragon mouth leading the way!

Instinctively Danny whipped up a large ice shield. But he yelped in fear when he could instantly tell how exhausted he was: the shield was quickly melting under the fire beam!

Nevertheless, the boy poured more energy into the shield and then in desperation, flung it at the dragon ghost as if were a large Frisbee.

The shield cracked in two when it smacked into Aragon's fiery face, which only enraged the dragon more.

Danny immediately soared upward and to the left of the dragon. He tried to ignore the fact that he wasn't flying as fast as he should be. Nevertheless, he readied his ice rays with the hope that he could at least keep from getting fried.

Aragon had already turned toward the teen when he had bolted away. He smiled wickedly when he could see that the young hybrid wasn't going very fast.

The large black dragon pulled himself into a slightly higher arc before he twisted and charged sharply downward on a trajectory course that he was sure would soon intercept the Ghost Boy's flight path.

Aragon laughed as he neared and taunted the younger ghost, "My Silver Knight did the job of tiring you to the point that I can defeat you, Danny Phantom! Even though Dorothea disobeyed me and fell in love with the Silver Knight, I would not accept him until she gave up her amulet and he proved himself to me! Though I hoped he would have slain you, he has done just as well in weakening you enough for me to finish the deed! He is now worthy of my sister's hand! And your doom will be my victory!"

"You're literally full of hot air!" Danny defiantly spat back.

Although the boy agreed that the Silver Knight had weakened him significantly and that he probably wasn't going to be able to thwart the dragon's power on this round, he wasn't going to let his enemy know that. And he sure wasn't going to give up.

Just then, Aragon breathed out more fire toward the slower-moving teen.

Danny yelped but managed to twist his body enough to avoid the attack. He quickly countered the ghost with more of his ice energy.

But Aragon was able to just as deftly alter his flight and the ice beam completely missed him. The dragon immediately renewed his charge and swooped down with his large clawed dragon feet ready to dig into the boy.

Danny gasped when he saw that, yet turned his body upward so that he was flying more head-on to the dragon before extending his arms forward and whipping out his own wulf claws.

Seconds later, claws entangled claws. But the boy's own talons couldn't counter the dragon's larger ones and Danny screamed in pain when several of his claws broke under the strain.

At that moment, Aragon's tail wrapped itself around the boy's waist again and fiercely tightened its hold.

Danny felt dizzy from the sudden squeeze to his lungs; but he immediately grabbed the tail and tried to pry it off.

But as the boy struggled with this newest tactic, Aragon soared downward. And just when the dragon landed on the ground, he thrust his tail—along with the boy— violently into the earth.

Danny was too stunned from the blow and lack of oxygen to resist at the moment.

One of Aragon's upper dragon arms suddenly pulled out a sword like the one the human Aragon kept strapped to his waist. The dragon quickly breathed on it until its blade was bathed in angry fire.

"Finally, I have my revenge!" the dragon king hotly breathed as he raised the fiery sword.

All Danny could do at first was scream in intense pain as the searing blade plunged into the boy's abdomen.

Though in pain and panting and sweating profusely, Danny reflexively grabbed the flaming blade with both hands and began to try to pull it out. But then suddenly, he felt a tremendous loss of energy and his arms unwittingly fell limp to his sides.

Danny's surroundings suddenly spun like a centrifuge before the boy's eyes just before they rolled up and a black curtain came falling down on them….

* * *

><p>Alarms were screaming hysterically just as Vlad jerked his head toward his computer and cried out, "What is happening, Maddie?"<p>

"The test subject's physical vitals are dropping precipitously."

Vlad felt his stomach lurch as he commanded, "Then stabilize him and deactivate that program!"

"I am in the process of doing that," came the unemotional reply.

After several tense moments, the computer was successful and Danny was placed back into _delta_ sleep.

Vlad stared at the boy in worry. True, he knew that any program he activated from now on would have a stronger element of realism in them. But he had instructed his computer to design more safeguards into the programs. After all, he didn't want to kill Daniel physically, only mentally. He finally said, "I thought you had fixed the programs, Maddie!"

"The programs have been altered, sir, but the margin of risk has to be balanced enough for it to be believable. Otherwise, your objective will not be obtained," she reported. But she continued even as she kept most of her attention to the monitors, "Your plan calls for an intact test subject who you can in turn subject to your control, is this not correct?"

"Yes," he simply confirmed.

"My logic-based computations with which you programmed me must therefore inform you that even though your test subject has not sustained any significant physical harm in all the past confrontations, the data obtained from last two consecutive episodes have shown that his current vitals indicate that he _is __mentally accepting_ the simulated challenges as being real. As a result, his body is reacting as if it were truly being physically harmed."

Vlad paused in thought. But then he turned to the hologram when she further explained.

"The test subject believed he was dying even though there was no physical indication that he had truly been impaled as he had thought. Yet, all the monitors reached their peak and beyond again just before they dropped to dangerous human levels."

"So you think that Daniel had actually been really harmed physically from the encounter with Nocturne that he was too weak to endure this program?" Vlad asked.

"Inconclusive," Maddie simply replied. "His body has been regenerating adequately each time you allow him to go into _delta_ sleep. But, the current data may imply that he may not be able to recuperate when placed in that state of sleep any longer."

Vlad paused in thought again. What could this mean?

"Explain, Maddie," he finally said.

"The parameters you have set on him have taken more of a toll on him, not to mention that the programs themselves do not have complete safeguards against injury."

Suddenly, Vlad's face brightened. He had researched the nature of sleep thoroughly and there had to be only one explanation to the boy's incredibly strong—and more physical— reaction to this program. After all, though Daniel had been 'stabbed' numerous of times in past programs just like this one, the boy's physical vitals hadn't reacted this drastically once the program had finished. Vlad's face puckered into a slight frown before it brightened once more. It had taken the boy long enough to get to this point. Most humans would have shown evidence like this long before now. But of course, Daniel was not like 'most humans'. Still, that wasn't important now that it looked like the boy must have finally gotten here!

The man finally commented, "Then, there is only one explanation, Maddie! Daniel must be breaking mentally."

Vlad now believed that depriving Daniel of true and unaltered _beta_ sleep was finally taking its toll. True, the boy had thought that all of what he had been put through so far was real. And some of it, of course, was real since Vlad made sure that the boy had to fight real ghosts in some of the encounters. But so far, the boy's physical reactions were typical of someone who was under stress. However, now that the boy was showing actual physical effects from these programs, the only explanation would be that Daniel must be beginning to truly mix up what was real and what was not.

"The monitors are leaning toward that conclusion. But the test subject has negated that conclusion in several incidents already, as you know," she answered. "And I hypothesize that this may occur again in further programs and could prove disastrous to your original objective. I recommend caution in using any further programs, unless you wish to eliminate your test subject."

"I see," Vlad agreed before falling in thought again. But then he said, "But as you say, we can't be sure it is the final blow that we want."

The man walked over to the observatory window and sighed when he saw the unconscious teen lying on his simple cot. His mind had fallen into slight turmoil soon afterward. He couldn't admit that he really was relieved that the boy was out of danger, especially when he truly didn't want to cause any actual physical damage. Then again, he wanted to make sure that Daniel would be broken to the point that he could control him—and he knew that it would take extreme measures to accomplish that. But he didn't think that the realism he had programed into his plan would actually harm the boy _physically_—unless what he guessed might be true: the boy was about to break. But then again, he couldn't be sure of his guess unless he pushed the boy even more.

He re-focused on the slightly pale boy; and not aware that he was addressing the boy, he mumbled, "Why do you have to be so exasperatingly stubborn, boy? Give up! Don't you see that you will leave me no other choice but to _make_ you yield, Daniel?"

He turned to his computer and quickly commanded, "Start the next program right away, Maddie. I will not afford Daniel any rest right now!"

And without any hesitation, the female hologram did as directed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, dear readers, I always liked a picture of Danny in a quasi-knight outfit drawn by an artist named Cindre called "Thou Humblest, Sir Danny." I think I saw that pix on deviantart, but I'm not sure. But since I saw it, I really wanted to peg a story to that pix, and this did the trick for me! Thanks, Cindre! **

**Now getting back to this chapter: it sure does look like Danny is getting worse and worse, doesn't it? But will this mean he will finally be broken? Gee, heh-heh, I guess you'll just have to wait and see. But in the meantime, be sure to whittle away your time by sharing your thoughts in that large square below!**

**Also, you just knew that the Fantomos Ecto-Scale would continue, didn't you? But then again, I just knew how clever y'all were!**

**289-LEVEL 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-_Eta—Matilda_— truephan's original character from her story, _Sleepover Nightmare_**

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, _TrueHeart_**

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**289-level 6-**_**Gamma**_**—Ghost Writer**

**289-level 6-**_**Beta**_** —Walker**

**289-level 6-**_**Alpha**_**—Skulker**

**LEVEL SEVEN GHOSTS—Difficult to defeat. Would have been evenly matched with Danny at age 14. They usually have only one way of being defeated and can be defeated only after discovering that flaw. Also, Danny could only defeat them at age 14 after he picked up new skills to defeat them.**

**289-level 7-**_**Epsilon**_**—Undergrowth**

**289-level 7-**_**Delta**_**—Nocturne**

**289-level 7-**_**Gammas**_**—Aragon and Dorothea**


	37. Chap 37 Lev 7 Ghosts: Mayhem in the Air

**A/N: I sure hope your summer is going well. Mine has been good, but there have been too many lazy days where all I've done was play video games. But, hey, I beat the games in the end. Wahoo! **

***hears crickets***

**Ms. Hyde: Meh-heh. You can see that the readers aren't interested in that, dearie. especially when it took you months to beat a game that would take savvy gamers only days!**

**truephan: Yeah, yeah, I got it. Don't rub it in!**

**Ms. Hyde: But it's my specialty to make you squirm, dearie. As well as the readers!**

**truephan: *squirms and fumes* Uh, that's true. But, you should…uh, I better not go there! Oh, I know! Let's not forget to do the disclaimer like we've both been doing for a while, you know the one that I don't own any Danny Phantom characters but I do own this plot. Here is chapter 37. Enjoy!**

**Ms. Hyde: *rolls eyes* Whatever!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 37—Level 7 Ghosts—Mayhem in the Air<p>

Meanwhile, back at the Manson home, Sam and Tucker were still unconscious after being subjected telepathically to Danny's own pain.

Jack, however, had left Danny's two friends in search of food. He was about half-way down the hallway when he abruptly stopped at his next thought.

"_What am I doing? I don't know where the heck I'm going! I've only visited this house one time and even then, it was limited to the front room." _

But then, thinking that he should just try to blindly search for the kitchen, Jack continued forward. After all, he knew that Tucker and _especially_ Sam hadn't eaten as much as they should in order to regain their strength. And he really needed Tucker and his PDA as soon as possible. Not only that, he needed to keep his own strength up and that meant he needed to eat soon as well.

Time was of the utmost now!

The large man hurried downstairs and started opening all of the doors that came his way. He gasped in awe at some of the elegant rooms he had discovered in his search for the kitchen. At any other time, he would have been sidetracked from his task; but he threw his impulse aside and continued in his quest.

Finally, he reached his designation. He immediately started opening cabinets and just as quickly closed them when they didn't reap any food. Then he saw a full size door near the stove and headed to it.

He opened the door and knew he hit the jackpot when he had found the pantry. This time he stood in slightly stunned awe at the size of it. For a brief moment he had thought he had died and gone to heaven.

But then he mentally chided himself for getting distracted. He hurriedly scanned the foodstuffs and shook his head in frustration. He needed something quick to give the teens and even himself. He began to pull unwanted items out of the way.

"Isn't there anything here that's full of sugar? This is an emergency!" Jack grumbled as he continued to push 'organic' food upon 'organic' food aside in the large pantry.

At last, he saw something pushed into the way back of the shelf he was now exploring. He sighed in relief: fudge! And cookies!

"So, there _is_ a little bit of sanity in this household, after all!" The man said in triumph before suddenly frowning in chagrin as he picked up the package of the chocolaty confectionery. "Well, okay, so the fudge is on the offense this time around, begging me to take it…"

He grabbed the plastic covering it. And just before he tore the box open he vowed, "And after this is all over, I'll swear it off again…But for now…"

He suddenly crammed a large piece of the delectable confection into his mouth, even as he found and gathered up other energy and nutritious packaged foods and drinks that he felt would pump quick calories into him and Danny's friends.

Finally, he headed back up the stairs and was careful not to drop anything on the way up. He soon made it to Sam's grandmother's bedroom, which was where he had left the teens.

Once he entered the room, he relaxed a little when he saw that at least Tucker was stirring.

"Are you all right, son?" Jack quietly asked as he placed the food down and neared the boy.

However, Tucker's head was still spinning enough that he didn't quite hear the man, much less respond to him.

Now a bit more fretful at the teen's poor response—and the fact that he could see that Sam hadn't recovered yet—Jack repeated a bit more firmly, "Tucker!"

"Huh? What?" Tucker cried out with a start as he frantically searched for the source of the voice.

But then the dark-skinned boy immediately groaned when all that sudden movement did was make him dizzier; and he reflexively brought his hand up to his forehead.

"What happened?…" the teen began, only to gasp at his next immediate thought. "Danny! Sam!"

Jack's eyes widened in slight fear. He had never seen the boy look that upset. He understood that, of course, but they really didn't have the time to dwell on their worry. The man retrieved a boxed drink and a protein bar and hurried over to the boy.

Shoving the drink and protein bar into the boy's hand, Jack said, "Here, son, drink this and then eat that."

Tucker looked up and even though his eyes weren't focusing well, he immediately took the items and began to eat and drink.

Grabbing another drink box and power bar, Jack went over to Sam. As soon as he was at her side, he knelt down on one knee beside her. He suddenly became slightly embarrassed about being in her space. But he hesitated only briefly about that. After all, this was _still_ an emergency. Trying to rouse her, he gently shook her.

At first, Sam didn't respond. But the man knew he had to get her to eat and drink more or else she might be in as much trouble as her grandmother was.

Suddenly, Jack's heart jumped at the thought: _Sam's grandmother_! He had to get the teens well enough to help with what he had planned to help their families—and Amity Park as well.

Now throwing his reluctance aside, he shook the girl a little more firmly, though he still quietly called to her, "Sam! You need to wake up! We all need your help, so you have to get up and eat!"

This time the man relaxed when the girl began to softly moan. A few moments later, Sam's eyes were weakly fluttering before they opened.

Jack slightly bit his lower lip when he could plainly see that the girl wasn't focusing on him or anything in particular. Still, at least she seemed to be waking and he had to get something of sustenance in her.

But then, it looked as if the girl was going to slide back into unconsciousness!

Jack gasped and he impulsively went with his next desperate thought. He steeled himself and firmly commanded, "Samantha! C'mon! Snap out of it! We all need you!"

A few moments later, Sam's face frowned. Her eyes then snapped open. Though there was more spirit behind her violet orbs, she was barely able to say, "D-Did y-you j-just call me Samantha?"

The man relaxed before he softly chuckled in embarrassment, "Well, heh-heh, it sure did the trick better than the meat one, doncha think?"

Sam wanted to feign a displeased frown, but couldn't make herself do that. Instead, she smiled weakly and simply replied, "Yeah."

One of Jack's eyebrows rose in slight surprise at the girl's response, but he quickly offered her the boxed drink and bar and added with more seriousness, "Please eat and drink something, okay? I've got an idea on how to help your grandmother and parents and I need you and Tucker to be able to help."

Sam's eyes widened with realization at the man's words. _Grandma!_

She shot up to a straighter position, only to fall back into her chair with the sudden dizziness. She closed her eyes and tried to steal herself. But in the end, she knew that Danny's father was right. She needed to drink and eat right now. If she didn't help herself at the moment, she wouldn't be able to help anyone else who needed her.

She slowly opened her eyes and when she did, they accidentally looked right into Jack's. She didn't even realize that she had slightly frowned in understanding when she could clearly feel how worried her boyfriend's father was about her and everyone at that precise moment.

She finally reached for the food and drink and said, "Thank you, Mr. Fenton. Just give me a few minutes, okay?"

When the man had handed the items to her, she could tell that he looked as if a hundred pounds had been lifted off of his shoulders.

Jack said, "Sure, Sam. Uhm, I think I need a bit more food myself. I'll, uh, just go over to that chair over there and just let me know when you're ready, okay?"

"Sure," she simply replied as she slowly drank from the juice box.

Several minutes of silent eating and drinking hung over the room.

Finally, all three were through and sat quietly after feeling a little bit better.

Tucker, who had been able to eat more than the other two since he had begun to eat before them, was the first to speak after he had caught sight again of the object that Danny's father had put done shortly after he had returned from Fenton Works. Now very curious on how that could help his and Sam's families, the bespectacled boy pointed at the Fenton device and said, "Hey, Mr. F. Didn't you say you wanted me to help fix that to help everyone?"

Jack's eyes brightened as he replied, "So, you're feeling better I hope?"

"Uh-huh. So, how can I help?" Tucker answered as he began to stand.

Sam, meanwhile, frowned in confusion when her eyes also glanced at the device. How could that thing help her grandma—or anyone else for that matter? But especially since she was still fighting some of her lingering dizziness, she didn't say anything at the moment.

Jack also stood up and approached the long, heavy object. After picking it up, he replied, "Well, I have been able to change the polarization, but I don't think it is calibrated to do what I want it to do. I think you and your amazing PDA can help me with that."

"And what exactly will it do after we calibrate it?" Tucker asked.

Jack smiled weakly and said with a bit of embarrassment, "Why don't you help me with the calibration part first and we can see for ourselves. I, heh-heh, usually mess up this part and let my wife take over from here…" He suddenly gasped and added, "Uh, that didn't sound right! Uh, you know that I don't think of you as my wife, but…"

"Hey, I know what you mean, Mr. F.!" Tucker interrupted him with a slight chuckle. "Let's get to work, okay?"

The man smiled weakly again and replied, "Okay!"

Jack quickly went over to the Fenton device and put it on a nearby table. Tucker quickly commanded his PDA to interface with it and the two went to work.

Meanwhile, Sam was still feeling very dizzy from the recent blow to her head. Not only that, but she really hadn't yet recovered from being weakened as a result of the sleeping potion or the subliminal effects of her telepathic powers. Nevertheless, she knew she had to get her strength back; and all the while the two males were busy at work, she had been forcing herself to eat and drink a little more of the stuff that Danny's father had brought.

But she also stopped intermittently whenever she glanced over at her grandmother. The girl was still very worried about her and was barely relieved when she could see that her grandmother hadn't changed. But then again, so far, the older Manson hadn't gotten worse, either. And so, Sam made herself focus and continued to force herself to eat and drink so that she could soon be able to help her grandmother.

Finally, after what seemed like forever to Sam but was only a couple of hours, Tucker said, "Hey, you know that this might work, Mr. F. And I think it's about as ready as we can make it."

But as soon as the boy had said that, he and Sam yelled and reflexively wrapped their arms around their stomachs! They could both feel what had happened to their half-ghost friend when he had been seemingly stabbed by Aragon!

This time, however, neither of the teens was knocked unconscious by the event, though in some ways they wish they had been because the pain was so intense! But no sooner had the pain attacked them than it was gone; and it left the two teens weakened, panting and sweating.

Thinking that the two had reacted to what he had brought them, Jack anxiously cried, "Oh, no! Did I give you spoiled food?"

Tucker managed to say, "I-I don't think it was the food, Mr. F. T-This felt like I was being stabbed out of the blue, but now it's gone."

Sam's eyes were watering when she weakly added, "T-Tucker's right. I-It's not the food…Something bad's happening to Danny!"

Jack's eyes widened in alarm and he blurted out, "Is he alright?"

"I don't know!" Sam cried out in distress. But then she gasped and then frowned at her next thought. That was strange. First she was feeling pain, and then felt it was coming from Danny, and then nothing shortly afterward. But now, only a few minutes later, she sensed more.

Of course she didn't know that Vlad had ordered his computer to rouse the boy immediately after his incident with Aragon. Nevertheless, she blurted out, "Wait….I'm-I'm not sure, but I can feel him again! He's-he's not really hurt but he's not totally alright, either."

The man squared his chin and raised up the Fenton bazooka and said, "Then it's time to use this thing and hurry with finding him!"

* * *

><p>Danny gasped at something that definitely had nudged him hard enough to wake him. As his mind slowly began to clear, he gasped and immediately threw both of his hands up to his abdomen before hastily and blindly inspecting himself at what he had last remembered. Though he was somewhat relieved that there wasn't even one thread askew on his costume, his stomach still felt…sore! And his head was still achy as well. And not only that, he was still panting from the intense experience he had with Aragon. He really thought he had been a goner that time, especially when the pain had been the most he had felt throughout this entire ordeal!<p>

The young hybrid sighed in slight relief, though he didn't feel that much better. In fact, his mind suddenly—and unwittingly—drifted into contorted thoughts. They seemed to stab at his mind as much as Aragon's sword had seemed to do to his body! He grabbed his face, twisted his body to the side and groaned with the mental pain. He tried in vain to make sense of the conflicting thoughts and feelings; but all he could do was lay in a quasi-stuporous funk for several minutes…He had to be losing his mind!

But then, the uncontrollable feelings mysteriously passed and he rolled onto his back. And it was then that he actually became aware that he was lying on his back because he could feel the hard coldness under his entire body. He finally looked all around him without getting up and groaned. His mind groped for some sort of explanation as to why he was surrounded by silence and blackness. But then, a possible answer came to him.

He had to be back in the Observants' Dimensional Room.

"_Not again!"_ he mentally whined, even as he winced with the pain that was still gnawing a bit at his abdomen and clawing his brain. "_I just want this to end! Why are they this cruel? I really thought that was...it for me just now. But now that I know it isn't, why don't those jerks just let me and my mom go? I really don't know what's up or down, real or not real anymore…" _

Danny drew his arm up and draped it over his eyes as he mentally cringed at his next thought, _"If I didn't see Iluzisto being destroyed right before me, I would swear that he was behind all of this! But then again, it might as well be Ilu-__**sicko**__ since it's his old bosom buddies who are controlling all of this."_

Suddenly, another thought drifted in his partially-lost mind since he still wasn't fully alert and he still had that blasted headache! _"Does Clockwork know what they're doing?" _He then chuckled sadly_, "Even if he did, he may not do anything about it. But I sure wish he would before I get to the point where he needs to step in—well, I hope he will….But then again…"_

"Ouch!"he blurted out as he pulled his arm away from his eyes when his thoughts were interrupted by an even harder nudge.

That was enough of a goad to snap the boy to more mental clarity. Only two beings had actually nudged him awake since he had come here. And they certainly weren't on his 'favorite' list. Up to now, just the thought of them had made him angry. But this time, as he slowly pulled himself up—and inadvertently groaned when the pain in his abdomen and head increased from the movement—he thought more dismally, "_Why don't they just leave me alone? I can't even think straight! And I don't care what they have to say!"_

But then, Danny heard a sound that sounded as if someone had impatiently cleared his throat.

The sound might have well been a fingernail raking down a chalkboard. Danny suddenly felt an even more intense feeling swell within and he mentally growled, _"So, might as well use all that scrambled thinking to scramble a few more things up!" _

Once Danny had come to a full stand, he frowned in irritation when an area a few feet in front of him lit up before the two Observants appeared.

"Oh, it's you—Bert and Ernie!" the young hybrid sarcastically said with a scowl.

"Beg your pardon?" Justeco quizzed. His large green eye was obviously conveying confusion at Danny's remark.

"Never mind," Danny crankily said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you want this time? To watch me get worse than skewered in the next round? That puts you right up there with the mega-sickos of our world, especially when you constantly step over the line!..."

The teen paused slightly when he realized that he was suddenly more focused in spite of how badly he was feeling. And he ran with his next thought. "Hey, wait a minute! Just how much stepping over the line _can you_ _do_? I already feel that you're about to pushed me past my limits, but you won't stop. So, who's _observing_ what you are doing and gonna tell you that all of this crud is too much?"

The two Observants narrowed their eyes in irritation, but Danny didn't give them an inch to object as he hotly continued, "And in my book, you also have stepped into the 'moral depravity' cesspool." He suddenly scoffed at his next thought, and asked sarcastically, "Are we even in the Realm Beyond Time anymore? Because it seems to me that I'm stuck more in like, 'The Realm Beyond _Justice_!"

"That is enough, young half-ghost," Konsilisto warned.

"Hey, I'm just getting started, egghead!" Danny bitterly countered. "And you didn't answer me yet! Why do you both get to call all the shots when I've gone above and beyond in these lame tests and…"

Suddenly, a small portal shoved itself right into Danny's face and he had to step back to keep it from getting hit by it. But when it finally opened, the boy gasped with what he saw…

His mother was sitting on the same chair in that room, only that she was now bound and gagged against it! And, of course, she didn't look happy in the least.

"Why did you…" Danny angrily began with his eyes flaring at the two spirits before he was cut off.

But the boy could not have known that he was actually looking at a faux projection of his mother. After all, Vlad would never really make himself treat the love of his life like this and so he had his computer design a sub-program like this one just in case he needed the 'Observants' to heighten their threats at the boy.

Justeco calmly said, "We find the action distasteful, but you have left us with no choice…"

"**Me**? **I** left **you** with no choice?" Danny hotly and indignantly interrupted. "What about **my choices**?"

"A ghost under examination has no choice," Konsilisto said without any emotion.

"Then what about **my mom's** choices? You know she's **not a ghost**!" Danny spat back even as he fisted his hands in anger and felt his heart rate and breathing beginning to race.

The Observants momentarily paused with that comment.

But then Justeco replied, "Once again, we find it distasteful to involve a human in this matter; but as we told you in the beginning, we require your full cooperation. Otherwise, we will take even further measures!"

Danny's eyes widened in slight disbelief before he narrowed them again in anger and disdain. Nevertheless, he relaxed his hands and tried to slow his breathing down even as he said with a controlled hiss, "I know you don't believe me, but _I am_ cooperating. You said it yourselves. I don't have a choice. You two have the upper hand, so there's no need for you to reduce yourselves to something so despicable!"

"Noted, young half-ghost. Now, shall we continue?" Justeco simply said before the portal, he and his brother disappeared in a bright and sudden flash.

And Danny knew exactly what that meant. Still, even though he expected it, he wasn't quite ready for a sudden change in the atmosphere….

Instead of getting lighter when all of the churning began to slow, this time the surroundings grew darker. Also, every once in a while, flashes of bright light would shoot across the spiraling cluster of muted colors even as it continued to slow down.

Finally, the atmosphere stopped and the boy suddenly knew why the colors never got lighter and why there were flashes of light...

It was storming wherever here was—and he was up in the sky in the middle of it while it easily batted him with its winds and rain! In fact, the storm was so violent that Danny was drenched in a matter of moments of arriving.

"Great!" he grumbled, pushing his wet bangs out of his eyes. "Just the way I'm feeling right now—totally washed out! I don't think I'm going to be able to do this…But I have to do this 'cause my mom's safety depends on it! But how can they expect me to fight a ghost in all of this?"

He gritted his teeth in determination and scanned through the torrent for some kind of refuge.

He finally spied a small overhang jutting out from under a boulder.

"It'll have to do," Danny begrudgingly told himself as he soared downward to the small niche—as best as he could, that is, because the strong winds made it very difficult for him to fly straight or quickly.

The teen was actually surprised and relieved how dry his little makeshift shelter kept him. And it wasn't as small as it first looked, so he would even be able to lie down if he needed —which, now that he felt even more tired, was exactly what he wanted to do. He just had to get more rest and he knew he wasn't getting enough sleep.

As he tried to get more comfortable, Danny grumbled to himself, "C'mon! I'm sure that those jerks can't possibly expect me to look for whatever ghost they want me to fight right this second, do they? Heck, not even a dolphin would have a ghost of a chance in this storm!"

He suddenly chuckled at his pun before he tiredly muttered, "Yeah, it's lame, but I do get punchy when I'm tired. And man, am I still tired in spite of whatever sleep those morons let me have!"

"And speaking of sleep, might as well wait out the storm and get some 'zee's' at the same time," he decided, half-smiling with his tiredness and anticipation of getting some much needed rest.

The teen quickly laid down on his back and put his hands under his head as an improvised pillow. He closed his green eyes and tried to relax. But he was having a harder time getting to sleep than he thought he would because of all the intense thunder that rattled his crude shelter on occasion.

At last, the thunder lulled—or maybe he was just able to succumb to his exhaustion—when Danny was finally able to drift off. But no sooner had he fallen asleep that he began to twist and turn fitfully. And then he began to pant a bit and unconsciously wiped his brow before he suddenly bolted up at the realization.

The young hybrid was no longer drenched in rain; he was drenched in _sweat_!

And not only had it stopped storming, but it was now extremely hot and dry. In fact, Danny was so hot that his sweat suddenly steamed right off of him and he felt as if he were now lying on a frying pan and it was rapidly searing him!

He jolted up off the scorching ground and floated in place as he peered out of his small alcove.

The land! The land was now _parched_—as if it had _never_ rained!

The area in front of him was wide and flat, with boulders that were strewed about as haphazardly as marbles thrown by a child. It looked as if grass had once covered most of the places which did not have a huge boulder on it, but now most of that grass was now brown in decay and simmering under the hot sun.

"What gives?" Danny wearily asked himself.

He really wanted more than ever to get back to sleep, though obviously that would be impossible right now.

He floated from out of his shelter, only to dart back under it. The sun was so hot he felt as if its rays had been focused upon him and he might as well be a dry leaf under a magnifying glass. So, it was obviously just a bit cooler in this niche—but not by much.

Still, the teen knew he couldn't stay in here for too long, either, unless he wanted to relate to a rack of meat roasting in an oven. Besides, he suddenly realized that he was thirsty—_very_ thirsty.

"Man, I could really use some of that rain right now!" Danny complained with a groan.

But then, as if his wish had been granted, the sun clouded quickly over and it began to storm once more.

Though irritated by the sudden violent change, Danny was nevertheless thankful for the water. He reached out and cupped his hands. He easily captured the liquid and sucked it in. Even though it was warm, it tasted better than a kiwi fudge milkshake right now as it slid down his dry throat. He drank to his heart's content.

He sat back down in his little shelter and watched the torrent just a few feet in front of him. In some ways, the storm was like a natural fireworks and water show, which seemed to caress his mind as he lay back down and began to drift off again.

No sooner had Danny fallen asleep, however, when he bolted awake. He was soaked again! But not from the rain—not directly anyways. But it was still raining so hard that the ground was more than saturated. It was now _flooding_ and the water had risen enough to flow into Danny's niche and had filled it partway before it had awoken the exhausted teen!

Nevertheless, Danny floated upward and out of the water.

But, the water was still rising and at this point, it would be only be within a few short minutes before his shelter would be completely underwater.

"Better soaked and breathing than be worried about drowning," Danny groggily grumbled as he floated out from under the boulder's small cavity and right into the still-raging storm.

Because he was so tired, Danny had not been prepared for just how intense the wind was and was having more trouble fighting it than he normally would have.

"Arrgghh!" the woozy boy immediately yelled when he was suddenly pushed helter-skelter by the wind as soon as he left his small sanctuary.

By the time Danny gained control in his unplanned flight, he was several hundred yards from the boulder under which he had sought refuge and was now out in the open.

"Just great!" Danny mumbled in frustration as he continued to counter the wind even though he was soaked to his ghostly bones once again.

The upset teen searched through the thick sheets of rain that almost seemed to glitter in the dull light for that shelter, but to no avail. In fact, the rain was now coming down so violently that not only could he not even seen two feet in front of him, but he half-felt that he _was_ underwater. But, of course, he knew he couldn't be because he was still breathing—well, barely, since he had to constantly spit out the water that was practically pouring into his mouth.

But then, all of the sudden, everything seemed to quiet. He looked around. How odd. It still seemed to be raining since he could see thin sheets of….He gasped. That _wasn't_ rain. _It was ice_!

Danny thrust his hands toward, both freaked out and enthralled by the phenomenon. He immediately felt something hard meet his hands. He twisted violently around, scrambling to inspect all around him. He gasped again. This was impossible! The thick rain had suddenly frozen over! Now it seemed as if the area immediately around him was a giant block of ice—and he was encased in it!

His fatigue now swept away by irritation and a surge from within, Danny quickly charged up his ice energy within his eyes and hands. A huge bolt of ice energy solidified before it grew and penetrated the frozen atmosphere, twisting violently forward as if it were a giant ice drill made of strong, rock-hard ice. And then with a determined grunt and a hard final push, the ice that had once encased the boy shattered as easily as a mirror under an angry hammer.

Danny panted a bit with the effort, but he was thankful that not only was he now free, but he was no longer soaked. In fact, he was completely dry, though he could tell that it was now very cold here, especially when he could hear and feel a steady cold wind caressing him and the land.

He sighed, both in fatigue and for being somewhat irritated with himself. If he hadn't been so tired in the first place, he would have guessed sooner than right now what this was all about...He chuckled quietly with his next thought…. Well, at least he had to admit that it finally _ did_ dawn on him, rather than his being as clueless as he had been when he had first gotten his powers.

Nevertheless, Danny half-frowned and half-smirked before he began to slowly _clap_ before speeding up its rhythm a bit and dryly yelling out loud, "Well, I have to admit that I'm impressed with your show, Vortex! But it's a bit too long and you could really work on the winter weather. That ice trick was way too thin!"

"You really think so?" a wheezing voice answered the boy before the cyclone-like ghost materialized several yards away from Danny. His red eyes flared like lightning as he added, "Because you know, I have to practice using my powers like any other ghost and who best to practice with than with Danny Phantom?"

"I'm flattered," Danny sarcastically replied. "But I think 'playing catch' requires both parties agreeing to it, and I know I wouldn't have volunteered to help you out."

"I agree, Ghost Boy," Vortex puffed out a bit too gleefully. "I just jumped at the chance offered to me to hone my powers using you as my target!"

Before Danny could respond, Vortex charged up a rather large whirlwind within one of his black-gloved hands and threw it at teen. But then a few moments later, the weather ghost aimed and infused the cyclone with a bolt of electricity!

The tornado crackled and shook for a few moments before the tornado actually quickly _petered_ _out _just shy of a few feet from Danny.

Danny frowned but was somewhat relieved that the tornado had not even touched him. He could only guess that Vortex hadn't perfected that stunt yet. After all, the ghost had said he was going to _practice_ on him! And that just lit a fire in him.

The fuming teen charged up his powerful green energy within his hands as he soared to meet his foe. And just before he reached the ghost, Danny replicated into four who quickly surrounded Vortex before pouring their angry energy into the weather ghost from four sides at once.

Reeling in pain, Vortex screamed as he was quickly thrust away from the boy and his duplicates. The weather ghost's power immediately withered and he shrunk to a much smaller size because of the blows. But Vortex just as quickly shook it off and roared in anger. Knitting his lightning bolt-like eyebrows, he charged right back at the boy, who had already reabsorbed his replicas shortly after assaulting his opponent. Vortex reared one of his arms back. A cluster of clouds and lightening rapidly formed at his glowing fingertips as he closed the gap between him and the ghost punk.

Danny's eyes widened a bit before he narrowed them in determination. He immediately formed his own giant ball of green ectoplasm bubbling with several balls of white super energy within it which were eager to get out and pummel his arrogant foe just as the boy charged in a counter-attack.

Right away, the warring parties threw their weapons at each other.

The two orbs of opposing, aggressive energies slammed right into each other. A loud explosion erupted and bellowed outward and actually expanded into a newly formed force! Long, thick bolts of electricity also immediately charged outward from the widening greyish-green ball of energy which unexpectedly crashed into the nearby foes!

Danny and Vortex both yelled at the painful bolts as they drove their sting into the two ghosts and brutally shoved them into the ground.

Shortly after that, the smaller ball of energy floated away while leaving the two stunned opponents below…

Danny groaned as he pulled himself off of the ground and drifted upward and toward the weather ghost. Though he still felt slightly woozy and achy from the bolts of lightning, he readied himself for another round with Vortex.

Vortex, however, had a little more difficulty recovering since he had lost even more power and dwindled even further in size from the blows.

"Had enough?" Danny said, crossing his arms over his chest while trying to sound smug though he still hadn't fully recovered.

Vortex, however, growled in annoyance as he threw himself up into the air and defiantly rasped, "No, Danny Phantom! I have been preparing myself for far too long for this! Now, get ready for even more climate change!"

Danny rolled his eyes and quipped, "Uh, don't you mean 'weather', jerk? I never did buy into all that 'climate change' stuff, you know. Too many of my wonderful dates with my girlfriend were ruined because the weather guys couldn't even predict all that 'climate change' for a day or two in advance. So, how could I believe that they could predict that stuff for decades? Please!" He then chuckled at the pun just as he was saying it, "Oh, I know! 'Weather' really means that those weather guys squirm waiting to find out _whether_ they're right or not —which is often a big 'NOT'!"

"It doesn't matter what you think, Ghost Punk!" Vortex countered with a wheeze. "I have been perfecting a special 'weather' cocktail just for you!"

Danny's jaw tensed and he said through gritted teeth, "Whatever, Windbag! The best you've got is being full of hot air!"

Vortex's hair and spectral tail spun wilder at the insult.

"Grrhh!" the weather ghost then erupted as he charged up a ball of ice which he quickly infused with lightning.

Danny rolled his eyes again as he charged up his own ball of ice, infusing it with green ectoplasm and ignoring the noticeable drain of energy with the effort. He knew he was still hurting and weak from that last round —not to mention still tired from his lack of sleep —but he also knew he was going to push himself no matter how badly he was feeling. Besides, he had planned to make a shield once the two forces collided—just in case.

Once more, the enemies threw their spheres of energy at each other.

But in the next instant, Vortex puckered his ghostly lips and blew a gust of wind behind his flying frozen ball, which altered its course!

Danny hitched in his gasp. He had not expected the literal curve ball as Vortex's force veered in an arc to Danny's right.

But then, the weather ghost also sent another whiff of air toward Danny's ice ball, which immediately sent it _back_ to the boy, which curved in an arc to Danny's _left_!

Knowing that he was now literally in the crossfire, Danny reflexively reacted to his quick idea.

He charged up his ectoplasmic energy rays in both hands while spreading each of his arms outward so that his arms were nearly fully extended out from his sides. He immediately shot at the two large balls of ice heading right at him!

But that was what Vortex was hoping for. Now that the young hybrid was fully exposed, he shot a bolt of lightning right at Danny's chest!

Danny gasped when he saw that and immediately formed a large blue dome of energy all around him to buffet the combined blows. But the force of the two large ice balls filled with energy combined with the bolt of lightning also sent by Vortex was enough to shatter Danny's energy shield.

Danny screamed as the remnants of his shield and all of the forces penetrated his body. He immediately plummeted to the ground and lay stunned.

Vortex laughed as he wheezed in triumph, "There you go, Ghost Boy: the perfect storm! How's that for a bag of hot air?"

Danny could only groan as he struggled to get back up..

"What's that? Not enough, Ghost Boy?" Vortex asked innocently before his eyes literally sparked with red electricity. "Then how about a bit more _hot air_…"

Danny rolled onto his back in time to see a wave of smoldering hot air come at him. He raised his hands up over his head and barely conjured up an ice shield. But since he was even more exhausted, the heat of Vortex's powers was too great.

The teen gasped as he literally saw the world around him turn into a _fire_ storm, and the only thing keeping the raging inferno from devouring him was his quickly melting ice shield.

"No… Please, no," he panted out as he clenched his eyes, and his hands began to feel the heat radiating just outside his rapidly thinning dome.

And in the next instant, the dome was no more, and Danny choked on a cry of pain as he felt his ghostly flesh stinging under the blaze. He just knew that in the next few moments his entire body would be afire.

He could feel his lungs burning under the assault and just when he was sure all of the oxygen within them was jumping to feed the flames, he could feel his breath totally snuff out.

* * *

><p>Vlad cupped his chin and tapped the side of his cheek as he observed the incapacitated and unharmed younger hybrid. He just didn't understand it. He was sure that the boy was defeated and would have shown signs of it shortly after he had started this round. In fact, he thought he wouldn't need the Observant program for the rest of the duration; but then again, he begrudgingly decided to continue it for a while longer. After all, it had always proved to be the real indicator whether the boy was truly broken.<p>

Unfortunately, he was right, for the boy's response was not _the_ exception. It was all too clear that the boy had mentally rallied shortly after 'speaking with the Observants'.

Blast the boy and his infernal willpower!

Still, the data _did_ indicate that the boy's readings were staying more in the critical ranges than not when it came to his mental health.

The man frowned a bit more when he felt a twinge of pain in his forehead. He immediately pinched the top of his nose… But just _when_ was he going to reach his objective? After all, he didn't want to use any of the more dangerous programs if he didn't have to.

"Has Daniel had any changes from the results of this program, Maddie?" he finally asked.

"Marginally, though the targeted stress hormones and neurotransmitters are definitely not improving," she replied. "However, there is some more promising data that you are having me track."

But the older hybrid hadn't really heard the last part because a bolt of pain had shot through his head. He suddenly groaned and grabbed his forehead that had just as suddenly throbbed.

"Sir, have your vitals been compromised?" the computer asked as she pushed a few buttons.

Vlad drew in a deep breath before slowly exhaling. He then quietly said, "No. I'm fine. I don't think I've allowed myself to get enough sleep between trying to finish up the plans I have with Daniel and the other plans that must be well in the works by the time Daniel does break."

"Are you certain of your state of being?" the hologram asked before she suddenly picked up a scanner and brought it nearer to the man.

Vlad knew that she was going to check his vitals with the device. He half-smirked and said, "Yes, my dear, I'm certain that I am well. But I think I'll lie down for a bit. I just haven't gotten enough rest with everything that is happening. And when I get back up, I'll have to check on those other plans. After all, it has been a while since I've done just that. In the meantime, be a good girl and keep Daniel in delta sleep, hmm? And remember to…."

"To alert you of any significant changes, sir," the holograph said, completing his thoughts.

The man smiled tiredly. He certainly knew his Maddie would let him know if something unusual happened; though really, he didn't think it would since it was obvious that Daniel was still fighting. But then again, he didn't expect any _less_ of the stubborn boy to somehow goad himself with the same tenacity, determination and resilience that would make him the perfect son. Those same qualities would serve Daniel well…once he was broken…

He sighed a bit at his next thought just as he turned to go and head to his bedroom. He didn't really want to go through any more programs, but he would if necessary…He paused. Somehow, he just knew that it _would_ be necessary. After all, it was still obvious that Daniel had a lot of spitfire left in him; and the man wouldn't be able to control the boy unless he had truly broken his will to fight…

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, looks like our poor hero is still fighting uphill—just like Vlad has planned.**

**Ms. Hyde: Did you just mention my Vladdie-waddie?**

**truephan: 'Vladdie-waddie'?**

** Ms Hyde: He looks so cute when he puckers his face after I call him that!**

**truephan: Okaaay. Whatever floats your boat. But in the meantime, as you'll see soon enough, readers, we're still adding to the Fantomos Ecto-Scale.**

**Ms. Hyde: Vladdie-waddie would love it!**

**truephan: *rolls eyes* Whatever!**

**289-LEVEL 1—_Omegas—_shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as _Malfortas. _Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the _Malfortas._**

**289-level 2-_Iotas_—Derek and Sarah_—_truephan's original characters from her story, _TrueHeart_**

**289-level 2-_Theta—_Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-_Eta—Matilda_— truephan's original character from her story, _Sleepover Nightmare_**

**289-level 2-_Zeta_—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-_Epsilons—_Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-_Deltas_—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-_Gamma_–Cujo**

**289-level 2-_Betas_—Mutant Animals from the episode_, Maternal Instincts_**

**289- level 2-_Alphas—_All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-_Zeta_—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-_Epsilon_—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-_Delta_—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-_Gammas_—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-_Beta_—Kitty**

**289-level 3-_Alpha_—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-_Zeta_—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-_Epsilon_—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, _TrueHeart_**

**289-level 4-_Delta_—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-_Gamma_—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-_Beta_—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-_Alpha_—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-_Gamma_—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-_Beta_—Technus**

**289-level 5-_Alpha_—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-_Epsilon_—Desiree**

**289-level 6-_Delta_—Danielle**

**289-level 6-_Gamma_—Ghost Writer**

**289-level 6-_Beta_ —Walker**

**289-level 6-_Alpha_—Skulker**

**LEVEL SEVEN GHOSTS—Difficult to defeat. Would have been evenly matched with Danny at age 14. They usually have only one way of being defeated and can be defeated only after discovering that flaw. Also, Danny could only defeat them at age 14 after he picked up new skills to defeat them.**

**289-level 7-_Epsilon_—Undergrowth**

**289-level 7-_Delta_—Nocturne**

**289-level 7-_Gammas_—Aragon and Dorothea**

**289-level 7-_Beta_—Vortex**

* * *

><p><strong>Don't forget to throw some written thoughts in that box!<strong>


	38. Chapter 38 Touching Base

**A/N: Hiya, everyone! I'm finally back from all my vacation adventures, which were the reasons why I didn't update last weekend. Hope your summer is going along swimmingly. And thank you again for all your reviews, especially all you mystery reviewers who have no email to which I could PM you. I really appreciate all of your thoughts.**

**Now, back to the story. As you can see by the title, I'd like to tune into what's happening to Danny's family and friends right now—and Vlad's second phase of his evil master plan! You know that disclaimer that I don't own Danny Phantom (though I wish I did!). Here is Chapter 38. Enjoy, and see you down below!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 38 Touching Base<p>

As with all of the maids' regular visits, Maddie Fenton kept a well-rehearsed smile on her face while the maids performed their tasks. Underneath, she was glad that they kept such a rigid schedule because Maddie knew that the end of this visit would mark the longest interval of uninterrupted time before dinner…

In addition, the human woman had figured from her makeshift 'clock' and the routines of the maids that it had been a couple of days since she had managed to 'poke a hole' into the human shield that was surrounding the room to her door. And she had made the most of all that precious time in between. Since then, she had widened that hole until it was a little more than three inches in diameter. It had to be that big to get the device she had made—which would help her see the code box to the shields—under the door and through to the outside of the door. Once she had located the code box, she had plans to figure out the code from the short little musical 'tune' it emitted when the ghost maids had punched it in. True, she could wait until her final plans for escape to puzzle out that tune. But she knew that once she had escaped, she would have to punch in the code right away. So, it would be best for her to find out now, if she could.

After bidding the three ghost maids a cheerful good-bye, the amethyst-eyed woman's smile fell as soon as they left once again…

It was time to go to work.

Maddie scurried to the large walk-in closet and quickly turned the light on. She didn't hesitate to pull back the row of gowns hanging against what seemed to be the back wall. Only…there was no wall behind them. Instead, the row of gowns had blocked a small enclave that was used for storage….and it had been the perfect place for her to work on her two-fold project, one of which was to make a prototype to visually check the code box's location; and the other to make something far more important…

As it was, she had just finished her prototype that would help her figure out the code to the shields and was going to test it as soon as the maids had left. She had already been able to get the items for her device as well as some other useful items from the maids earlier on the ruse that she was going to do some art projects to pass the time. In fact, she made sure that she kept one of those 'projects-in-the-works' in plain view in the main part of her 'prison' to 'prove' it to any watching eyes.

Maddie grabbed the tall very slender tube connected on top and bottom by a smaller tube—which she had fashioned from the inside cardboard tubes from a few rolls of toilet paper and paper towels—and checked it over. Its overall shape looked like a child's homemade periscope, only that instead of its being shaped like the letter 'z', it was roughly shaped more like the letter 'c' without the curves.

She had already gotten and embedded two small make-up compact mirrors within each of the ninety-degree intersections and then taped the tubes together so that in the end, the device was a primitive periscope that would allow the viewer to see _behind_ her versus in front of her.

Maddie had also threaded a long and thin block-angled c-shape rod—which she had made from two unwound clothes hangers—through the tube. However, the ends of that metal rod stuck a few inches out of the tubing and could move freely within the tubing.

The human female carefully exited the closet and slinked toward the door. She fell silently to her knees with the end of the metal rod and cardboard tubing securely in her hands.

Twisting just enough to see the small bundle of wires that she had 'planted' into the human shield, the woman gently grabbed the wire in the middle of the bunch. And as if she were playing a kid's game whereby pulling an object too quickly from another would cause the collapse of all, she carefully pulled out the wires from the middle, one-by-one. At the next successful pull of another wire from out of the middle, she was glad that the arch into which the outside wires had settled was as strong as she had hoped.

Finally, the auburn-haired woman felt that the hole surrounded by a canopy and bed of circular-formed wires was big enough. With the same care and gentle speed in which she had made the tunnel through the wires, she slightly flattened the tube and then thread it and its embedded rod and mirrors through the opening under her door and then through the opening in the shields until her hand butted against the ninety-degree turn of the rod and tube remaining on her side of the door. She had already planned to use the tube as a handle as well as for her to peer through its internal hole.

Then, she pushed that small 'handle' in such a way that the other end ended up being upright against the door on the other side. She pulled back on the rod a little to make sure that it was indeed flush with the outside of the door while also trying to straighten out the tubing a bit at the same time.

Maddie smiled. It was in the place she wanted it to be. So far, so good.

Now would come the hard part. She peered into the tubing that was still on her side of the door. She frowned when she didn't see the code box right away, though, really, she hadn't expected to be that lucky. Nevertheless, she slowly yet firmly pulled on the metal rod to change the angle of her primitive periscope as she scanned for that box.

Finally, her heart leapt a little when she found it! And it was well within reach of her periscope! Once again, she slowly yet firmly brought the tube toward the numbers on the code box. Then when she could see that the end of the wire was near enough to the numbers, she pulled back on the rod.

The human female hit the first number, and a single sound rang out. She frowned. That was not one of the notes she had heard. But she knew it was only a matter of time at this point. She continued striking the next numbers one-by-one before she made sure to hit the 'reset' button that was abutting the numbers.

Finally, Maddie had gone through all ten numbers. Once satisfied of which note corresponded to which number, she then hit the four numbers that had formed the little 'tune' of the code one more time to re-check her conclusion. The woman sighed.

Nothing happened!

The human and ghost shields were still on! But she didn't panic. She maneuvered her crude periscope and scanned the code box again. She unconsciously nodded her head in acknowledgement as to why the shields had not been deactivated: there was an 'enter' button on the fourth row. She could also see that it had been near where the 'reset' button had been on the other side of that row.

She held her breath as she maneuvered her little periscope and prodding device toward that 'enter' button. She slowly pushed the button and the blues and greens of the shields vanished!

She hitched in a gasp. She was now certain of the code and made a mental note of it.

But, of course, she couldn't leave the shields off or she would be discovered. She quickly yet carefully re-entered the code and pushed the 'enter' button again. The human and ghost shields instantly rematerialized.

Maddie sighed in both relief and triumph. Now all she had to do was to get the key to the door!

She was about to pull her 'periscope' in when, suddenly, the end she was holding jerked out of her hand!

Something had purposely moved the periscope from the opposite side!

Her heart now thumping and her mind searching for multiple reasons for what was happening, Maddie reflexively began to pull in her device in more earnest. But she was having a hard time of it since whatever had accosted the periscope was tugging back!

Nevertheless, the woman persevered and finally, she pulled in the device. She frowned in confusion when she could see that it had been torn in multiple places and pieces of it were barely attached to it! But then, eyes drifted to the white piece of paper still mounted just under the crack of the bottom of the floor just as its color changed from greenish-blue to a more bluish-green, which indicated that the human shield was at its strongest. Suddenly, she heard a screech!

But it didn't sound human.

Now a bit worried about that sound, Maddie hurriedly gathered up her ruined periscope, pulled away from the door, and quickly retreated to the closet to hide the device.

After hastily throwing it into her secret work area, the woman slowed her pace and exited the room with a forced calm.

Once she had re-entered the main part of her room, she relaxed.

No one had come in and all was quiet.

She walked to the bathroom as casually as she could, sat down at the vanity and waited anxiously. After a few more minutes, she concluded that nothing had come out of the mysterious attack on her device. She would simply act as if she had no idea how any piece of it had ended up on the outside of her room. After all, she got what she needed and she had other things to do.

The human female finally emerged from the bathroom and walked to the nearby chair. Though she was still confused at what happened, she quickly dismissed all thoughts of the incident. She couldn't waste any more time.

After all, she couldn't have known that Maddie the cat had found and played with that strange 'toy' that doubled as Maddie the human's periscope…

* * *

><p>With the Fenton Bazooka balanced upon his shoulder, Jack Fenton hurried over to where Sam's grandmother still lay. But once he had come to her side, he slightly hesitated. He sure prayed that this would work. If not….<p>

But he tried to throw those thoughts away. After all, he had to at least try to help Sam's family and Tucker's family until a cure for the sleeping sickness could be found.

Once more, he squared his chin in determination, raised the Fenton Bazooka and almost barked out, "Okay, Sam and Tucker, it's time to let this baby rip!"

Even though she knew that the man and Tucker had modified the device, Sam immediately objected, "Wait a minute! 'Let it rip'? That doesn't sound good. What is that supposed to do?"

Tucker immediately interjected when he saw Danny's father put the bazooka down on the ground and cringe at his unintended pun, "Just trust us, okay, Sam? This will help _both _of our families. If it makes you feel better, I'll let Mr. F. try it on me, first!"

Both Jack's and Sam's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Nevertheless, it was enough of a statement for Sam to calm down. Besides, she could feel that her friend was sincere with his offer—and more importantly—confident that what he and Danny's father had done to the device would work.

The girl finally replied, "No, that's okay, Tucker. I trust you. Just tell me what you want me to do."

Both males smiled in relief and this time Jack sounded more sensitive to the girl's feelings as he explained, "Thanks, Sam. I know this is hard for you and all of us. But this is how it's going to work in a nutshell. As you know, the Fenton Bazooka is able to form temporary portals to suck ghosts back into the Ghost Zone. But Tucker and I were able to change its polarity and calibrate it so that it would create a sort of reversed portal and actually suck _out_ a small part of the Ghost Zone and pull it into the Real Word, and thereby create a sort of bubble…"

Sam frowned. The man's explanation about 'sucking stuff out' still sounded kind of creepy, but she continued to listen because she still wasn't catching his drift.

But then, Tucker, who was actually still somewhat excited about the entire thing, interjected, "Yeah, and this is the cool part! All of us know that humans are the 'ghosts' in the Ghost Zone. That means we need very little food and water to survive in the Ghost Zone; just like the ghosts don't need to eat or drink in our world…"

Jack continued, "And so if we can create a protective shell made from the fabric of the Ghost Zone, then,…"

Finally, the Goth girl was catching on and she blurted out, "So, are you saying you're going to put my family in a sort of suspended animation by placing them in some kind of case that is essentially surrounded by the Ghost Zone?"

"Yeah," Tucker added, "And that's because that case will be _made out_ of Ghost Zone stuff—inside and out! But because the bubbles are so much smaller than the whole Ghost Zone while really being here in the Real World, we'll know where our families are. Not only that, no ghost will probably notice the slight outward bulge in its membrane that would be surrounding your grandma or anyone else. And so, our families will be as safe as babies that haven't been born yet!"

Sam didn't know that she had sighed in relief. It was very possible that her family could stay asleep indefinitely in the Ghost Zone and not…die. Still, she had one more question, "So, how are you going to keep these…bubbles from collapsing? After all we know that the Fenton Bazooka only make temporary portals!"

Tucker's face suddenly fell. He hadn't thought about that!

But Jack put his hand into one of his pockets, pulled out a fist full of objects and triumphantly raised them up as he said, "With these! I call them the Fenton Portable Portal Stabilizers, and I made them just for what we want to do!"

Tucker smiled; and Sam was able to resist the urge to roll her eyes at the latest lame name of one of the Fenton's inventions because she was just too relieved at the news.

Tucker hurried to the man and took the devices from him before placing all but one of them on a nearby table. Meaning to both inspect and admire that single stabilizer, the boy quickly turned it in his hand.

The small glowing green device was shaped like a three-dimensional multi-pointed star; and all of its points were of the same length. Tucker immediately spied a small black button close to its middle. He was very tempted to push it, but didn't. However, and even though he was careful not to activate the device, its glow pulsated slightly each time the boy turned it over to examine another part of it.

But just as the boy was about through with inspecting it, he turned to Danny's father when he heard the man add, "But for now, I only have enough of them to use for Sam's grandmother and parents, Tucker's parents and…"

"Valerie and her dad?" Tucker quickly asked in anticipation and hope since he had immediately thought about his girl at the mention of the others. But then he added, "Uhm, that is, if we can't wake them, right?"

"Yes, Tucker! I hadn't forgotten about them!" Jack replied with a weak smile. "I wish I had enough for the whole town, but that's where our finding a cure for the sleeping sickness comes into play. We need to get started as soon as, uhm, as soon as we have our f-families, safe."

The man suddenly choked down a lump in his throat because, of course, most of his family _wasn't_ safe.

At first, the teens fell silent when they had heard the partial distress in the man's voice at the end of what he had said and could see it in his eyes.

Sam finally said in a bit of hesitancy, "Uhm, thank you, Mr. Fenton, for, uhm, doing this for us!"

"Yeah, Mr. F.! You're the best!" Tucker interjected.

The man sheepishly smiled but still managed to say, "Thanks, kids. Nice to know that sometimes I get things right!"

The threesome smiled weakly at each other before Jack cleared his voice and added, "Now, let's get to work! I need for you two to keep an eye out on how big the pouch that surrounds Sam's grandmother and everyone gets. We want each of those shells to just cover them so that it won't take up too much power for the stabilizers to keep them from being sucked back into the Ghost Zone, okay?"

"Okay!" Tucker and Sam said almost simultaneously.

"Okay," the adult agreed just before he continued, "Here we go. I won't make the bubble grow too quickly so it'll seem to take a long time to get to the right size. You're going to have to tell me when it's big enough like we want it since I'm going to be watching the portal and not Sam's grandmother, okay?"

This time the teens nodded in acknowledgment before they walked to either side of Sam's grandmother. They turned and looked at Danny's father while silently and patiently waiting for the man to make the next move.

Jack swallowed thickly, picked up the bazooka and aimed it close to but just above Sam's grandmother.

Though Sam's heart leapt instinctively in fear, she didn't say anything. She turned to her grandmother in anticipation and gave her a quick yet gentle squeeze of her hand.

Not a second later, a bright green, swirling portal opened just above the old woman's abdomen. And a few moments after that, the glowing black and green atmosphere of the Ghost Zone started to ooze out of that portal and fall toward the incapacitated old woman. As soon as the first part of the membrane of the Ghost Zone touched Millie, it began to spread out and cover her just as surely as someone spreading icing on a cake.

Finally, Tucker and Sam instinctively glanced up at each other when they both felt that the glowing sac had just covered the old woman's body in entirety, while a thick strand of Ghost Zone's membrane was still attached to the portal. They could immediately tell with that silent glance that they both agreed that it was time for Danny's father to stop.

Sam swallowed thickly and said as quietly as possible, "We think it's big enough, Mr. Fenton."

The man pulled his finger away from the trigger and slightly commanded, "Okay, Tucker. Turn on one of the portable stabilizers and place it right on top edge of the portal.

The boy quickly retrieved the small star-shape pulsating device and did as instructed. He gasped slightly when the little mechanism seemed to melt as soon as it touched the portal. But in reality, it had shot a beam of light from its bosom so that in the end, the light had molded around the portal and the thick strand of membrane from the Ghost Zone still attached, which, in turn, secured and stabilized both.

Jack walked over to the portal and inspected it briefly before he turned to the teens and said, "Looks like it's working, kids. Let's get to Sam's parents now, okay?"

"Okay," responded Tucker, but Sam merely nodded, even though she hadn't taken her eyes off of her grandmother.

Both males could tell that the girl was still apprehensive about leaving her grandmother.

Jack bit his lip in worry. He understood how the girl must be feeling, but they had to get going. But then, he relaxed a little when Tucker reacted.

Without saying a word, Tucker went right over to his friend. He put his arm around her shoulders and quietly said, "C'mon, Sam. She's going to be alright for now. We got to get everyone else safe, okay?" He then began to gently prod her away from her grandmother before softly adding, "C'mon, Sam."

The raven-hair girl took a few halting steps before she gave into her friend's urging and started walking toward the bedroom door.

As they continued forward, Tucker swallowed thickly when he could suddenly sense that the girl was inwardly crying. It upset him just as much, and for a brief moment he thought that maybe this 'telepathic thing' wasn't that good to have…

Jack, meanwhile, had waited patiently for the teens to join him. And when they had silently passed him as they headed toward where Sam's parents were, he followed them without another word….

Finally, the trio secured the protective bubble around Sam's parents just as they had done to Sam's grandmother.

Once they were through, Jack said, "Okay, kids. It's time to get into the Fenton RV and head on over to Tucker's house."

But then the man frowned in confusion when the boy suddenly smirked while pulling out his PDA.

"No need to waste time, Mr. F.," Tucker began as he punched on his PDA.

No sooner had Tucker said that when a beam shot out from his wondrous little machine and a large portal formed.

Jack's eyes widened in surprise.

But before the man could say anything, Tucker quickly said, "Yeah, uh, I know. More stuff to explain. And I should have used it earlier, but I wasn't thinking that clearly because of everything. But like you said, we gotta get going."

Tucker motioned for the three to enter the portal, which they did right away.

Upon arriving at the Foley's, they headed right to the couple's bedroom. They had no difficulty forming similar capsules made from a pocket of the Ghost Zone for the sleeping couple and then securing the portal.

This time, it was Tucker's turn to hesitate to leave, but he paused only a moment because he knew that his parents would be safe for the time being.

Finally, Jack and Sam waited patiently while Tucker formed another portal, which they all knew would lead them to Valerie and her dad's home…

The Grays had been living in their new apartment shortly after Valerie had been working for Vlad. They could now afford a nicer and bigger apartment in Amity rather than the rundown one they had in Elmerton…

Once the trio arrived there, they didn't hesitate to call out to the girl and her father. And even though they were not surprised that the Grays didn't answer, the trio still didn't like it. With Tucker leading the way, they headed to where they had already guessed the girl and her father would be.

And sure enough, the Grays were in their respective beds just like the Foleys and the Mansons had been. And since the trio had reached Valerie's room last, they all instinctively knew that they would begin their work here.

Jack and Sam stopped shortly after entering the girl's room while Tucker approached his incapacitated girlfriend. The boy fought the lump in his throat when the girl wouldn't rouse from his gentle shaking or his calling her name.

"C-Can w-we try giving her something to drink?" he couldn't help but choke out as he looked to his companions. "A-And the only thing I know she hates is peanut butter, but I'm sure there isn't any here."

While Sam went to get a glass of water, Jack walked over the boy and placed one of his hands on Tucker's shoulder and said, "Of course, we'll try to give her and her father something to drink. But then, since we can't wake them, let's get them protected as soon as we can, okay?"

Tucker silently nodded and quickly wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve and turned back to Valerie.

Even though he knew she couldn't answer him, he bent down close to her and whispered, "I wish you would wake up, honey, but I'll make sure you're safe until you do, okay?"

The boy followed his comment with a light kiss on the sleeping girl's lips before he stood back up and turned toward Danny's father again. By that time, Sam had returned with a large glass of water.

She help Tucker try to give some of the water to Valerie. And like everyone else affected by this horrible sleeping sickness, Valerie was able to drink just a few sips of water before she couldn't do it anymore.

Finally, Jack softly asked, "Are you ready to get going, Tucker?"

Tucker hesitated a moment before he nodded.

The trio took no more time to form a protective shell around Valerie and secure the temporary portal as they had done to their other loved ones. Then the man and teens headed to Damon Gray's bedroom, gave him as much water as they could get into him, and finally placed him in his suspended animation capsule.

Once Jack and his son's friends were through, the man asked, "Okay, are you ready to go to Fenton Works? We still have lots of stuff to do."

Sam glanced at Tucker and the bespectacled boy immediately started to program his PDA to form a portal from where they now were to Fenton Works.

But just as Tucker was about to push the 'activate' button, the little machine inadvertently slipped from his hands when he suddenly and violently gasped and grabbed his throat.

Sam, too, had also reacted similarly. They both felt as if they were on fire and having the oxygen in their lungs being sucked out at the same time!

Jack yelled in alarm, "What's wrong?"

But all he could hear was the choking gasps of the teens.

After succumbing to the feeling what their best friend was experiencing at the hands of Vortex at that moment, the two collapsed to the floor a few seconds later.

"Oh, no!" Jack yelled as he rushed to the fallen teens.

* * *

><p>Vlad woke feeling more refreshed than he had as of late.<p>

He pulled himself up and rubbed his eyes and forehead. He really had needed a good night's sleep. He got up and headed toward the intercom system. But before he got there, he just about saw what time it was: nearly noon!

After telling George to prepare his brunch, the man hurried to get prepared for the rest of the day.

Once he was ready to eat, he pushed another button near the intercom system and said, "Maddie?"

"Yes, sir?" came the reply from image of his computer, which had appeared shortly after he had pushed the button.

"I really need to go and check on what is going with my other plans. I think I'll do that right after I eat and check on some necessary business matters. Just keep Daniel in _delta_ sleep until I return to the control room, alright?"

"As you command, sir," she said just before she disappeared.

The man went downstairs and ate his simple brunch. Right after that, he retreated to his study and turned on his computer. Much as he hated to do so, he knew he really had to look over some paperwork concerning several of his business interests. He had already delayed in them for far too long.

Finally, after a few more hours, the man finally looked at the time. He pinched the top of his nose and sighed. Now he wished he hadn't allowed himself to sleep that long. It really threw his master plan off. Still, Daniel was secure and the kind of sleep the boy was getting really wouldn't be enough to cause any concern.

But the man was also more worried about the second phase of his master plan right now. And he hadn't checked on it for longer than he had expected.

He turned into his alter ego, Vlad Plasmius, became invisible and intangible, and flew right through the roof.

Once the older hybrid was outside, he rematerialized and soared toward Central Park...

As he drew closer, Vlad could hear the rhythmic noises that had become the ritual for the past several days.

The half-ghost increased his speed and once he saw the fountain, he flew down right to it. He landed right at the mechanism that he had activated several days earlier.

He opened the box and glanced at the readings on the device he had installed in there. He frowned. It was losing power again!

The man soared over to another similar, yet larger, device that he had been working on a few days after the first one had been installed. He cursed under his breath. It wasn't quite ready to activate! Things were moving _slower_ than he had planned. He _should_ have come sooner than this!

As he glanced around the park, he suddenly calmed himself. He really should only expect so much given the fact that he had been using a lot of his _own _ectoplasmic energy to keep things under control and running on some kind of schedule. But he knew that once the newer device was activated, he wouldn't have to do much of that any longer.

Vlad went over to the fountain and placed both of his hands on a rather large and partially-glowing receptacle. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Two large balls of pink energy charged into his hands before he carefully let them flow into the receptacle. He did this several more times until the receptacle was full.

The man stepped back and lost his balance slightly. Blast! This process had drained him as badly as the last time and now he was feeling a bit dizzy from it.

And with that slight lightheadedness, his thoughts inadvertently drifted back to the younger hybrid still in _delta_ sleep. The way it was going, the current schedule of the newer, more powerful device the older half-ghost was planning to use in his two-fold master plan might as well mirror the time it was taking to break the boy. Though that thought irritated the man, he shook the thought and his dizziness away as best as he could. He knew that everything would fall into place in due time….

And speaking of time, he didn't have much of it to check a few more things over before he would want to return home.

Finally, after a few more hours of Vlad's making sure things didn't have any unavoidable snags, the noise surrounding Central Park slowed as the day was finally coming to an end. The man knew that the lull in the noise would only be temporary until the next wave of drones would be put to work…

Now as satisfied as he could possibly be at this point, Vlad headed toward the purples and pinks of the retreating sun. He would soon be back at his home to resume Daniel's 'tests'…

* * *

><p>Maddie Fenton was about to head to her secret work area when she heard the lock on her door click. She quickly glanced down at the piece of paper that abutted the door and the small crack under the door and saw that the ghost and human shields had been turned off.<p>

She rapidly searched her mind and could only guess that it must be dinner time, since she had lost track of time after all that fuss with her makeshift periscope.

The woman took in a deep breath and tried to compose herself just in case the maids would ask any questions about the partial mess she was sure was outside of the door.

The maids came in with her dinner and immediately began to do their evening chores.

Maddie ate in silence as the maids scurried about in just as much silence. But that only made the human woman more nervous.

Finally, she decided to beg the question, "Looks like we're all a bit on the quiet side tonight. Is there anything wrong?"

The oldest maid stopped with her work and replied, "Oh, no. Nothing's wrong, madam. We just had extra chores today and that always makes us more preoccupied than usual. Is there something you wish to speak to us about?"

Maddie hesitated. Did they know about the mess, then? Really, though, it didn't matter if they did or not. She still couldn't let them know that she knew anything about it. She finally replied, "Oh, no. It's that you all are always so chatty and kind, I just thought it odd to have you so quiet. But don't worry about that, alright? You just go ahead and take as much time as you need to finish up."

"Thank you, madam," the youngest maid replied before she continued in her task.

But then the third maid said, "Oh, here are the things you requested, madam."

The ghost maid reached into her apron pocket, retrieved the items, and handed them to the human female.

"Thank you," Maddie simply replied as she placed the items on the table next to her dinner tray.

Finally, Maddie was finished eating and the maids were finished with their nightly chores.

Just as the ghosts were lining up to leave, Maddie put on a friendly smile and said, "Have a good night, everyone."

"You, too, madam," the ghostly trio said at once before they turned to leave.

Once Maddie heard the lock click and the faint tune being punched into the shields control box, she sighed in relief. If there was any kind of mess outside of the door, the maids sure didn't let on. But then, of course, the auburn-hair woman wouldn't have known that the maids were used to random 'messy' areas that were frequently made by their master's cat.

After waiting a few moments more to make sure that the maids had left the area entirely, Maddie grabbed the items the maids had brought and headed to her secret work area again. She knew that she still had at least an hour or two before she would need to retire for the evening.

Once the woman had reached the very back of her closet, she placed the new items next to some other things. She smiled as she inspected her hoard. She had already smuggled most of the materials she needed for her more important project from the unsuspecting maids. She had done that little-by-little so as not to raise the maids' suspicions. Of course, some of the stuff she used on her faux 'art project'. The other things she had scrounged from whatever she could find in her bathroom or room: tweezers, a fork, several bobby pins, a small butter knife, nail clippers, wires from the TV, a hair blow dryer, and a few other things.

Her mind now awhirl yet as taut as a finely tuned violin about to perform its well-rehearsed showcase solo, she mentally finalized the preliminary plans about what she was about to do. Glancing at the blow dryer—which she had earlier taken apart and pulled out all of its guts—she mused, "This will not be as good as the first prototype, but it'll have to do."

Maddie went right to work. She knew in the back of her mind that even though she could only work on it for a couple of more hours, it would still take her several more hours after that to finish. After all, she only had those snippets of time and crude materials to work with—but she definitely had the know-how to make them work. She smirked. Even better than MacGyver!

The woman worked in silence, her brow furled in concentration. Finally, she was too tired to go on.

Reluctantly, she got ready for bed. But as she closed her eyes, her mind drifted back to her project. And now she wasn't even aware whether she was asleep or awake when she vowed to herself that she would _make_ this work! She _had_ to!

* * *

><p>Jack began to panic! He had nowhere immediately in sight to put the kids so that they would be comfortable.<p>

"_I guess I'm going to just have to take them to the living room until they wake up. Maybe they need something to eat? It's really been a while since the last time we ate, uh, hasn't it?"_ he thought as he scooped Sam off of the floor and headed to the small living room just a few feet from Damon's bedroom.

Once he placed the girl upon the couch, he headed back to retrieve Tucker.

The man reached down and grabbed Tucker's PDA and carefully placed it in one of his pockets before he reached for the boy.

Now that Tucker was safe on a lounge chair, Jack thought, _"I know that they're still weak, but I thought they had recuperated enough."_ But then he jolted at his next thought. "_Wait! Maybe they felt what was happening to Danny again!"_

Jack puckered his face in worry_. "Maybe, or maybe not. But when in doubt, try to get your strength up again!"_

He headed to the kitchen and searched for anything quick like all the other times.

Finally, he found some juice and some chewy snacks. The man grabbed them and returned to the living room.

He shook Tucker at first while calling his name and smiled weakly when the boy began to rouse. He carefully poured some of the juice into the boy's mouth.

Tucker immediately coughed on the drink and woke fully. When he saw who was forcing him to drink, he grabbed the cup and weakly choked out between coughs, "Uh-uh, thank you, Mr. F. I think I can handle this myself."

Jack then went over to the girl, propped her up, and repeated the same technique he had done to Tucker.

Sam, too, began to cough a bit from being forced to drink some of the juice given to her by the large man. But, it was enough to help her come to.

Once the two teens had been fully roused, however, they were able to eat the food and sip the drinks Danny's father had brought them.

Jack also started to eat and drink something once he was satisfied that his son's friends were able to take their nourishment themselves.

Finally, after they all had had their fill, Jack said, "So, are you two all right now? Was what happened to you like all those other times when you must have somehow, uh, connected with Danny?"

Tucker nodded but Sam didn't respond at first. She still had a pounding headache, which she thought had actually not gone away since she had first woken from her sleeping sickness—though she had to admit that it was not as intense as it had been just before she had fainted the first time.

In the meanwhile, Jack had noticed that the girl still looked pale and drained. Though he was hesitant to press her, he knew he had to. He finally quietly repeated, "Sam? Are you sure you're all right?"

The man cringed a bit when her face flushed in response, but it wasn't because she was upset with him for asking. She just didn't like anyone making a fuss over her or drawing any attention to herself when she knew she didn't feel totally well yet.

Nevertheless, she softly replied, "I-I think so. I just have this…headache."

"Yeah, me, too! But it's getting better," Tucker quickly replied.

Jack blinked at them both before offering a little more boisterously than he should have, "Uh, maybe what you need is some sugar, then? After all, we all know that this situation is not normal. So, have some fudge!"

He quickly thrust a small chunk of the sweet stuff at the girl.

Tucker's eyes widen at the man's enthusiasm…But they widened even with more amazement when Sam actually took the fudge and readily ate it!

"B-But,…" the boy began in disbelief, only for Sam to dryly interrupt him.

"So, okay. Fudge isn't that bad. Besides, like Danny's dad said: this is an emergency!"

Both of the males smirked but didn't comment as the girl continued to enjoy the confectionary delight.

The sugar bomb did help Sam feel just a little bit better a few minutes later. And overall, she was feeling stronger after having the simple meal Danny's father had provided for her and Tucker.

"Thank you, Mr. Fenton," Sam finally said after eating another piece of fudge. "I'm feeling better. And all I want to do right now is find Danny….And find the cure for whatever this sleeping sickness is."

Jack weakly smiled and replied, "I was kind of hoping you were going to say that, Sam!"

Then briefly glancing at Tucker before he looked back at Sam, the large man added, "So, do you two think you're up to getting to Fenton Works? Remember, that's where the samples of what I think is the 'sleeping sickness' stuff is."

The two teens slowly nodded before gingerly standing up. But much to the chagrin of the threesome, both teens felt their legs wobble uncontrollably and they promptly sat back down.

Jack knew that this latest 'telepathic attack' must have really affected Danny's friends more than the other times.

Smiling weakly and taking Tucker's PDA from his pocket, Jack suggested, "Uh, Tucker, maybe this would be a good time to activate that portal so we won't have to walk all the way there. After all, we did leave the Fenton RV at Sam's house."

"Uh, right!" Tucker weakly said as he reached for the small device. He then gasped, "Oh, no! It's almost out of juice!"

"What, did you say you need more juice, Tucker?" Jack asked.

"No, my PDA's battery is about drained," Tucker clarified. "I don't think there's enough left to get us to your house, Mr. F. But we might make it to Sam's since it's closer to us right now. But we had better hurry once I open the portal because I'd hate to get stuck in no man's land if my PDA dies before we get there."

"Alright, son. Let me help you both get ready and then let's do it," Jack replied as he walked toward the boy.

Mr. Fenton waited for Tucker to try to stand again. The man immediately wrapped one of his large arms gently but firmly around him in support. The two males then stepped over to Sam.

They helped her stand and Jack made sure he was between the teens and supporting them before Tucker activated the portal and they all slowly headed into it.

But once the trio had exited the portal, Tucker's PDA died and the portal disappeared.

Though glad that they made it through the portal in time, the threesome knew they now needed to head to Fenton Works.

When they began to walk toward the front door of Sam's house, however, she and Tucker were already feeling stronger and so gently pulled away from the man.

Jack smiled weakly, encouraged that his son's friends must have been feeling better. Still, he knew by how long it was taking them to reach the Fenton RV that they hadn't fully recovered. Not that he didn't understand; after all, he still hadn't fully recovered, either. Not only that, but the day was growing short and soon it would be dark; and eventually they all would need to get some more sleep.

Still, he was worried the most about the girl. She seemed to get paler each time she had one of those telepathic spells. But he kept quiet as he got into the Fenton RV's driver seat and waited for the teens to get into their seats.

As the RV made its way down the vacant streets, the three riders still felt drawn to scan the neighborhood for any signs of life. Jack bit his lip when he caught a glance at the chagrin on the faces of Danny's friends when they had seen for themselves that at least this part of town was so…dead.

Finally, the three made it to Fenton Works. Jack frowned when Tucker immediately scurried up the stairs.

The boy came down a couple of minutes later and said, "I thought I had another charger in Danny's room, so now I'm ready to help you analyze that black stuff, Mr. F."

But before the two males headed down to the lab, they both insisted that Sam stay in the living room and rest on the couch—over her objection, of course….

After several hours, Jack and Tucker had already reached a stalemate in analyzing the black, gooey stuff.

"I wish Maddie was here," Jack said with tears in his eyes, upset for more than one reason, and not just because he was stumped. "She would know what to do."

He slowly turned to the just as frustrated boy and uttered, "Sorry, Tucker. It's just that…"

"Hey, it's okay, Mr. F.," the boy gently interrupted him. "I understand. But maybe we should just take a break, okay? I'm kinda hungry for more of that fudge."

Jack chuckled slightly before quickly wiping the tears from his eyes.

Tucker then added, "Besides, I want to see how Sam's doing. She still didn't look like she felt all that hot even when she said she did. Otherwise, I think she would have been down here with us."

Jack weakly nodded since he had to agree that his son's girlfriend still looked piqued in spite of her saying she was fine. "I think you're right, son. But we did tell her we would check on her when we had some news. I was just hoping it wasn't discouraging news."

Tucker sadly smirked but neither of them said anything else as they made their way back up the stairs. As they passed through the kitchen, however, they could see that night had already fallen. They looked at the clock and saw it was much later than they had thought. They should have paid attention to their stomachs way before now! Still, they continued right into the living room where they had left the girl.

But once they saw the girl, the two males gasped.

Sam looked even more deathly pale! But there was more. Her eyes were closed and she was frowning and…

"S-Sam?!" Tucker gulped in worry, which startled his friend.

"What? What?" Sam frantically asked in reply, though she quickly reacted. She had practically jumped to a stand before she had promptly lost her balance and plopped right back to the couch. "Don't ever scare me like that again, Tucker!" she added in slight annoyance.

But when she looked up at her friend and saw that he and Danny's father were staring wide-mouth at her, she repeated more firmly, "What?"

It was then that she noticed that her immediate surroundings were bathed in a fuchsia aura for a few more moments before they returned to their original colors.

Jack blinked in disbelief again before uttering, 'Didn't know you could do _that,_ but it is kinda cool, Sam."

Sam blushed and then said more like herself, "Uhm, sorry?"

Tucker then sighed in relief and said, "Well, I can see now that you look and definitely now _sound_ more like yourself."

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused by his remark when he had emphasized that last part. She understood that she would 'look more like herself' now that her 'Jiva complication thing' had dissipated. But what did he mean when he said that she 'sounded like herself'?

"Well, besides that cool fuchsia aura going away, your voice no longer…echoes. Honestly, Sam, for a few moments there, you sounded like a ….ghost!"

This time Sam blinked in disbelief.

"I did?" she asked, her eyes quickly scanning both males almost simultaneously.

When they both nodded, she smirked and replied, "Cool!"

All three laughed slightly, which helped them to refocus.

"So, what happened, Sam?" Tucker finally asked.

The girl glanced at Danny's father with brief uncertainty before she answered her friend, "You know. I was trying to reach Danny, uh, 'our way'."

"And?…" Tucker asked encouragingly.

"Well, I think that's why you saw and heard all that stuff that happened. I was really concentrating because when I just used, uh, our thing the 'normal way', I couldn't connect. But then…Uh. You know me. I concentrated harder…"

"And?..." Tucker still pressed on.

"I know we might be rusty, but darn it, Tucker, I can't get through—sorta."

"Sorta?" Tucker echoed.

She glanced nervously at Danny's father and when she could see that he was 'all ears', she relaxed a little and added, "Well, I think I've reached him, but there was something blocking me from making the connection, uhm, stable."

"Well, you did mention before that strong emotions block you and Danny's powers. Do you think that's the reason?" Tucker queried.

"Yes, but this is different than that, Tucker," she answered before hesitating. She didn't know how else to describe what she was feeling and didn't want to sound crazy to the two males. Still, under the circumstances, she had to throw her feelings aside about it. "I do kinda feel that it might partially be the reason, because I can sorta, uhm, feel that Danny's emotions are all over the place. But what's blocking me from reaching him is more like a physical shield of some sort. I really can't explain it, since I never felt like this before."

Her male friend frowned in worry before he asked, "Do you think it might be a ghost shield? Maybe that's why your powers don't work."

"Maybe, but I don't think so for some reason," the girl replied.

She didn't know why, but somehow she felt her spirit powers could penetrate ghost things…And indeed, she was right, but only partly. Spirit powers were superior to ghost powers, but some ghost affects, such as ghost shields, could…delay the power's effects from reaching their target.

But now that she was more determined, Sam's eyes suddenly and briefly lit up with a purplish-red glow before she firmly said, "But I think I can break through if I try harder. I just feel like I can."

Tucker's eyes had widened at seeing his friend's eyes flare that same fuchsia glow for a couple of seconds. It was both spooky and very cool. But he was also now very hopeful that she would find Danny because he saw a lot of Sam's determination under that glow.

Nevertheless, he quickly egged her on, "So, then what are you waiting for? Do your thing!"

Sam smiled weakly and softly said, "Thanks, Tucker. I really needed that. And I will. But did you find out anything about that black stuff?"

Though touched at hearing her sound so, well, sweet, Tucker's face fell at the question and he turned to look at Danny's father for the first time since he and Sam began this short discussion.

He startled slightly when he could see that the man looked like he was almost in a trance.

Sam, too, had seen that and gingerly asked, "Uh, Mr. Fenton, are you okay?"

Jack immediately shook his head as if he had 'snapped out of it'. But, then the two teen felt as if he really _hadn't _snapped out it when they heard his reply. "Yeah. I'm…fine. It's just that…Heh-heh…Wow. It's been frustrating at not knowing what or how that stuff I found in the sink works yet…But, gee, I just couldn't help but be kind of shocked on how you two, uh, work things out...and…Sam with your….well, you know…and Danny…and Tucker…But, don't get me wrong…It is cool...But, uh, gee, I had NO IDEA!"

Slightly embarrassed but also relieved, Sam and Tucker chuckled before Tucker reached up and touched the man on his arm and said, "Hey, that's okay, Mr. F. We kinda have no idea about some of this stuff, either! And now you know even more and seem to be cool about it is even better! Uh, you are cool about it, aren't you?"

Jack paused a moment before he replied, "Of course I am, Tucker! It's just a lot to take in….And speaking of 'taking in', don't you think we should all get something of more substance to eat? After all, we just had a quick meal and lots of sugar. That might help you even more to do your, heh-heh, way cool thing. Uh, right, Sam?"

Sam bit her lower lip. Though she had to admit that she still felt weak, she really wasn't that hungry. She replied with some hesitation, "I'm all right. I want to still try to find Danny."

Jack frowned in concern because the girl still looked very drained and very pale—even for a Goth. Though he was still uncomfortable and reluctant to counter her, he still quietly replied, "Uh, look, Sam. Uhm, I know how…heh-heh..Well, you see…"

He stopped when the girl's face scrunched up in confusion at his essentially incoherent sentences. He smiled sheepishly and continued, "Ahem. What I mean is that I agree with you. I want to help everyone, too, but we all still are a lot of calories shy from what we all lost in the past several days…And if you're going to, uh, use up your energy—uhm, you _do_ use energy when you do that purplish-red glowy thingy, don't you?"

Sam weakly nodded. _Now_ he was finally making sense.

Still smiling nervously, Jack then added, "Right. Right. Okay. Heh-heh…Well, then, since you use energy, you need to keep up your, uh, energy. So, I kind of insist that you get some more to eat…"

But getting a little spooked when the girl suddenly scowled, the man blurted out, "Hey! You know we all need to eat more!"

Somewhat amused at Danny's father's hesitance to cross Sam, Tucker stifled his laugh and quickly jumped in, "C'mon, Sam! Mr. F.'s right! Being without food and drink for all this time has even affected you, you know. You have to admit that. So, we have to make sure we all keep our strength up…"

He paused a moment when he finally noticed something. He added with a chuckle, "Whew! And we all need to hit the showers right after we eat. I don't think even my 'Foley by Tucker Foley' body spray will smell bad right now."

Sam smiled weakly, while Danny's father looked clueless.

Tucker smirked before he unconsciously rubbed the nubs of soft, sparse hair on his face and proudly added, "And, of course, a couple of us have to shave."

"You have to shave again, Tucker?" Mr. Fenton gasped in disbelief.

Tucker scowled a bit and dryly replied, "Uh, thanks for not noticing that, Mr. F.!"

This time Sam chuckled and commented, "Aw, c'mon, Tucker! Now you have to admit that you certainly can skip a few days and even then we think you need to just wash what we thought was your dirty face!"

"Hey!" Tucker objected before chuckling himself, "Well, okay, you kinda have a point. But, hey, at least my beard at this point doesn't look like it could have a flock of birds nestle in it like Mr. Fenton's!"

Jack frowned before walking over to a mirror on the wall. He gasped again when he saw himself, since he had forgotten about his beard. He then chuckled in embarrassment and said, "Well I think I can see a robin settling in. That does it, then! Time to become "Jack Fenton' again rather than looking like some crazy old mountain man or something!"

"_Yeah, or __**something**__,"_ both Sam and Tucker thought at the same time before reflexively looking at each other in surprise before grinning slightly with their 'in-the-know'. After all, they both thought that the man was still almost as big as a mountain in spite of his fairly recent weight loss.

"You kids can freshen up, too, you know."

"But we don't have any change of clothes here," Sam objected.

"Hey, that's no problem!" Danny's father said to the girl. "You can borrow some of the clothes Jazz has outgrown and Tucker can borrow some of Danny's clothes."

Sam scowled at the man's suggestion and Jack's eyes widened. "What?" he loudly asked, completely clueless about it.

Tucker smirked and said with a slight chuckle, "Hey, c'mon, Sam. I won't tell anybody that you had to wear baby blue—or even pink! Like you said, this is an emergency!"

"That's not it!" Sam objected. She was more upset that the man had said she was small! She was as tall— or even a bit taller—than Jazz was at this age. But then, all of the sudden, her thoughts were interrupted. She had felt something…odd.

But Jack immediately apologized, "Uh. Oh. Sorry, didn't think of that 'bright colors' stuff, Sam. But let's get something to eat before we do anything else, all right?"

Hoping not to get the girl anymore upset, the man turned right away toward the kitchen. She really looked very weak and definitely needed more to eat.

"Okay!" Tucker said, but then turned to see why Sam hadn't agreed. And when he saw his friend, his eyes widened in panic. "Sam? What's wrong?"

Jack spun on his heels when he heard the boy's comment and when he looked at the girl, he hitched in a breath.

Sam was clutching at her heart. She wanted to cry out, but she felt the oxygen had already been twisted out of her lungs like the most recent incident, only this time the pain didn't burn.

But at the next beat of the three hearts, Sam couldn't take it any longer and screamed in agony, feeling as if someone was suddenly squeezing her entire body and she collapsed to the floor, not at all aware of the cries of panic from her frantic companions…

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><p><strong>AN: Meh-heh. Yeah, another cliffie, but darn it, I LOVE them so! And I really wanted to get us up to speed with what was happening to Danny's friends and family before too much longer…But I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will spill out some of your thoughts and let them drip into that box below! Until next time, dear readers!**


	39. Lev 7: Ancient Town, Ancient Creature

**A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you again for your reviews, especially all you mystery reviewers. I appreciate them all. Now, it's time to get back to Danny. And as you recall, we left him defeated by Vortex. *Sniff* But in the meantime, remember that broken CD: I do not own Danny Phantom, but this story is all mine and so are some of the OCs. So, here is Chapter 39. Enjoy.**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 39—Level Seven Ghosts—Ancient Town <strong>[1]<strong>, Ancient Creature

The next thing Danny remembered was raising up his left hand and cupping his aching head in it. And then he followed that with sliding the same hand down before placing it on his still burning chest.

He felt awful!

The boy opened his eyes and saw the unfocused green and black blurs of what could only be the Ghost Zone hovering above him.

Or, maybe it wasn't the Ghost Zone since everything looked so fuzzy right now.

The boy closed his eyes at his next thought.

So what if he was in the Ghost Zone or not? He felt so bad right now that he wasn't even sure if he had the strength to fight anymore…

He was so tired…physically, mentally, and even spiritually. Just how much longer were these tests going to go on? Was there any more hope that he would be through soon? Or even that he would actually succeed in any more of these tests?

Suddenly, Danny didn't care. What was the point of his winning or losing? He felt as if the Observants were going to make sure he came out a loser in the end anyways.

_Loser_.

How he hated that word!

Was that it, then? Did the Observants want him to be so broken that when they called him a loser, he wouldn't argue—or fight— back?

The young hybrid felt his muscles ripple reflexively in defiance though he was so tired and discouraged, he didn't want to counter the thought of being a loser. If in the end that's all that the eggheads wanted—since he didn't doubt that they were keeping score—they should've figured out by now that they were pretty close to getting it…

Somehow, however, that didn't sit well with the boy. A counter feeling gnawed at him.

"Well, how many more tests _are_ there?" he suddenly yelled up into the still fuzzy sky.

Danny frowned. Besides the familiar silent answer, something wasn't right. He tried to shake the dizziness in his head that had been there since he had awoken. His vision wasn't clearing as fast as it usually did by now. And he felt so drained, as if he hadn't had enough…

All of the sudden, he didn't want to think about it. And that was enough time for his mind to clear well enough. All he wanted to do right now was to let the Observants know exactly what was on his mind.

He angrily called out into the vastness above him, "Hey! Didn't you eggheads hear me? I asked how many more tests are there?! And how do you expect me to do well in them when you haven't let me sleep that much?"

"Or even eat regularly," he said more quietly to himself when his stomach's growling had interrupted his rant.

He scrunched his brow up with more concern when he noticed that odd thing again, especially when he had not yelled out his last comment. Not that what he had just said wasn't odd. But _how_ it sounded was.

"_That's weird,"_ Danny told himself. _"No one's voice has ever echoed __**in**__ the Ghost Zone before."_

But then, once again, he noticed that silence was still surrounding him.

Now a bit more peeved that he still had gotten no answer, the young hybrid yelled up into the atmosphere once more, "Well? Aren't you going to answer me?"

This time, the echo seemed louder and hollower, as if he was taunting himself for not knowing the obvious answer.

Of course, the teen shouldn't have expected a response. But in truth, he would have said it anyways because he didn't want to go through another 'test'. He just didn't think…he could go on.

But he knew he had to…His mother's safety depended on it.

Still, Danny wasn't finishing saying his piece, "And, hey, just how much more information about me that even I don't want to know do you need?"

Once more, his words chased after the earlier echoes of what he had said that were still lingering in the air. And the boy was suddenly aware of a very creepy feeling slithering up the back of his neck.

Of course he didn't like this one bit.

But then, Danny also suddenly noticed something that he hadn't been aware of when he had first come to. The platform he was sitting on was _moving. _

And there were more disconcerting things he just noticed.

Danny quickly jumped to a stand and scanned all around him.

This part of the Ghost Zone was totally foreign to him! He had _no idea_ where he was!

There was nothing else around him save for this grey platform. Nothing. No lairs. No other floating platforms. No floating doors. Nothing. Even the atmosphere looked…duller.

"Now what?" he unconsciously whined, this time purposely ignoring that his words' echoes seemed to slap him right in his face.

The boy floated up off the platform to try to give him a wider view of the horizon, but he also made sure he flew above the platform at the same speed…

Again, there was nothing around!

Feeling his heart and breathing rates increase, Danny searched more frantically for something, anything.

But then, the teen tensed a bit when he spied a spot in the distance. And it was getting bigger by the moment.

He alit on the grey moving platform and kept his eyes glued to that spot of hope. He relaxed a little when he saw what could be some kind of small town—or at least some buildings anyway—floating upon a flat black platform with a thick craggily base.

As Danny's gliding grey platform drew nearer, he could see that the cluster of buildings looked ramshackle; though, oddly, there was an _orderly_ sort of dilapidation to them. In fact, the buildings seemed to be huddled around a single stone archway that centered the black platform on the side he was facing.

Strange.

The position of each building seemed both inviting if he looked at them one way _and_ hostile if he turned his head a bit and looked at them another way. It was almost as if he was looking at one of those holographic-like morphing 'wiggly' or 'flickering' kiddie card pictures known as lenticular printing.

Still, he felt drawn to it. He hoped to find at least one friendly ghost in there that might tell him where he was.

But then, his mind focused on why he was here. Darn it! The _Observants_ had sent him to this place and that meant that he probably _wouldn't _find even one friendly ghost in there!

Nevertheless, Danny felt he really had no choice since his flat grey 'limousine' —

He gasped.

His platform! It was still steadily moving toward the little town and had suddenly _sped_ _up _! In fact, it was so close, the boy now realized that he was right on a collision course with the larger piece of floating real estate!

The half-ghost threw himself upward into the air just as the edge of his platform collided into the town's own platform. The grey platform shattered into a thousand pieces from the impact.

Danny gulped. Now he really had no choice as he flew forward.

Once he landed at the edge of the craggily platform, the teen looked up at the buildings again.

Now that they were closer, they seemed—_very_ different from when he had first seen them. Though they were still scrunched together, they no longer looked hunched over. Instead, they were standing more erect; though this time it was almost as if they were slowly yet _actively _stretching upward in competition to the stale, dark green sky above them, not unlike the _very _ slow-motion replays of racehorses straining their necks to be the first to cross that finish line.

Danny reflexively rubbed his forehead at the sight. His headache must be making him imagine that these _inanimate_ objects were actually moving on their own accord.

Nevertheless, the young hybrid urged himself to approach the archway that was dead ahead. He stopped momentarily to look up when he spied some writing at the top center of the curved structure.

"Welcome to _Aon Ainm._" [2]

"'Ah-on Aim'? What kind of name is that?" the boy asked with a shrug before he passed under the archway.

From here, the pathway which began at the archway seemed to go straight through the heart of the town.

"_Must be its 'Main Street'_," Danny thought as he continued to walk down the cobblestone pathway, which was slowly widening as he moved forward. His boots slapped on the stones in such a way that it sounded as if he had flippers on instead. It would have been funny if he were here on less mysterious circumstances.

But, of course, that wasn't the case.

He glanced all around him and as he continued to walk, he uttered, "Hello?"

All that answered was his own voice becoming hollower as time passed.

Okay… So, no one was in…this area. That could be good because he didn't want to fight any ghosts. But that also could be bad because he still didn't know where he was—and more importantly—whether he was going to get back to that stupid little Observant Dimension Room.

Danny continued to walk onward. A few moments later, he noticed something else.

That was odd.

His footsteps were no longer making _any _ sound. And everything seemed darker in this area.

But there was something even…stranger.

The buildings. Now, some of them seemed newer—well, not exactly new, but kind of built differently than some of the others. And then other buildings seemed to look like they were very old—_ancient _old— as if the pictures of buildings he had seen throughout his history books had been purposely preserved here. In fact, from what he had seen so far, he would have to say that the town's architecture was a mish-mash of buildings from radically different periods of _time_…

But then as the young hybrid slowly altered in his path to take a closer look at each building even as he continued to pass them by, something in his gut told him that nothing about the mute structures was right. For one thing, the buildings 'obviously had been constructed too close together, nearly on top of one another, greedy for ground.' [1] Also, their walls were colorless, as if any semblance of life had been drained out of them. And several of their doors and windows were boarded up.

It didn't help that the wrought-iron streetlights were also very…off. Like from a distance, they flickered, but varied in intensity. Yet, as he neared any one of them, he could only see a very diffuse, though intense, light emanating from them. And yet, that kind of light was not doing a good job at illuminating the streets or the nearby buildings. Or, at least, it seemed that way. But then again, the light had to be strong enough since it just _had _to be the reason why the structures seemed to cast long dark shadows on him no matter which direction he was moving.

But then again, maybe it was the way the light —if you wanted to call it 'light' — bathed the buildings that made the structures also seem so…strange. Sometimes the angle was such that the buildings seemed to lean out over the street and toward him, as vultures tower over their dying prey. 'Or maybe an angle was off here or a proportion that wasn't quite possible was there' [1]…But then, when Danny would do a double-take, they would then look perfectly normal —well, as 'normal' as ancient-looking buildings could look.

In a way, Danny was kind of glad that the buildings cut off most of the light because the way it was cast upon them played tricks on his eyes. Especially how the light fell on most of the large, opaque, dead windows that weren't boarded up for some reason. The light's reflections on the windows seemed to create dull, white pupils on the otherwise vacant eyes, pupils which tracked him no matter which direction he moved, as if they were watching and waiting for him to make a mistake…

It was very creepy.

The teen didn't even try to go up and check any of the boarded up doors or windows, especially since they were barred with roughly hewed boards, haphazardly nailed in place, as if the former residents were rushed and anxious to get away from the buildings.

Danny suddenly wondered that if the rest of _Aon Ainm—_or whatever-its-name-was_—_was like this, he didn't blame its former citizens from leaving, either.

Still, for some reason, the boy felt compelled to continue moving further into the town, even when he felt the hair on the back of his head telling him to turn back.

Finally, this straight road narrowed once again and the streetlights became sparser. And then, he came upon this street's dead-end which was at a grey, moldy wall. He looked down the dark, imposing pathway, which was also made up of cobblestones; and frowned when he couldn't see the end. Was this an alley or just a very narrow street?

He shrugged with irritation. Who cared? Still, if he wanted to continue, he would have to turn either left or right on—

Danny craned his neck for some kind of street sign. He saw the small crooked wooden sign posted nearby and read:

_Calliste. _[2]

It pointed in either direction, too. Okay, so it was a very narrow street. But then when he looked down the cramped street again, Danny unconsciously stepped back. Did the darkness seem to actually _reach out _ to him? He could feel a chilled wind blow out from the darkness and swirl around him. He shivered at the uncomfortable caress. It seemed to try to snuff out all…hope.

Suddenly, Danny wanted to turn around. The town's 'Main Street' seemed more welcoming than this lane right now.

This time he gave into his gut feeling and made a full about-face…

But the young hybrid had walked only a few yards when he found himself at another corner—one he was positive he hadn't seen on the way to that small street he had just left behind. It, too, was a very narrow street, which had dead-ended at this intersection.

Once again, the boy looked up at the dilapidated street sign posted there:

_Áit-ar-Bith._ [2]

Danny frowned. Another weird word. But somehow, that just didn't sit well with him at all. Something inside of him screamed for him to leave. Now.

Still, at the same time, the teen felt strangely drawn to the place. And even though he was getting more spooked, he found himself blurting out, "H-Hello? A-Anyone here?"

This time, however, he thought he heard footsteps to his left, down _Áit-ar-Bith_ Lane.

"_Footsteps? How can that be?"_ the boy asked himself with a frown, since he had yet to hear any sound in this part of this spooky place. Still, he didn't care. The thought of maybe meeting _anybody_ had already started to calm his mounting anxiety.

"Hello?" Danny yelled more loudly, and he tried to ignore his voice echoing down _Áit-ar-Bith_ Lane.

He startled a bit when he heard those footsteps again, only this time they seemed to take off into a run _away _ from him!

Now hopeful that he had found someone and now afraid that he had frightened them away, Danny took flight toward that same direction.

"Wait!" the boy called out as he slightly increased his speed. "Don't be frightened! I won't hurt you!"

Danny kept his ears cocked as he flew past corner after corner. He hadn't yet noticed the fact that the small street was narrowing more and more after each corner he left behind.

Suddenly, he couldn't hear those footsteps anymore.

He slowed almost to a full stop and ended up near another intersection. He strained to hear anything that sounded like footsteps.

Then, there they were again! He unconsciously looked up at the old wooden street sign posted on this corner:

_Gaiste__**.**_ [2]

Hearing the fading echo of the footsteps, Danny said to himself, _"Right it is, then!"_

He quickly pulled himself in that direction while instantly increasing the speed of his flight.

Still honing in on that hopeful sound, he turned right onto _Scaoll ; _then right again on _Meall _[2].

Now that he was delving deeper into the town, Danny wished he had a map of it. But of course, he didn't. At first, he didn't sweat it. After all, he had an excellent internal sense of direction. Yet, the further he traveled, the more Danny felt…disoriented.

But more than that, as he passed building after building or narrow street after narrow street, he felt everything around him was becoming more drained of color and was getting colder and colder…

And that was too much _lifelessness _for any town to have— even in the Ghost Zone.

Now he could feel fear stirring within.

Then the boy thought he saw…movement ahead! There! In front of that wall that obviously marked the end of this street! His heart leaping a bit again in hope, he increased his speed. But when he reached the end, he could now see that the 'movement' was only the eerie shadows cast by the flickering light of the lone streetlight there.

Only….those shadows now seemed to taunt him, especially when he could see some odd shapes on the wall that looked like they were dancing with the shadows. He looked more closely at them. The interlocking circles had once been deeply engraved into the wall, yet were now faded. Why were they here and what did they mean?

But he sloughed the thought off and looked at the street sign at this intersection:

_Áit-ar-Bith. _

"_Wait! Did I just go in a big circle?"_ Danny asked himself.

He felt himself fighting the sudden feeling of dread and apprehension, especially now that he was aware that the buildings were hunching over him again, as if they, too were waiting in evil anticipation.

"_Never mind whoever that was you were chasing," _ he told himself. "_You probably also imagined __**that**__ in this creepy place. So, time to get out of here, Fenton—now!"_

The boy picked his memory as to where this street was in relationship to what he called the 'Main Street'. He decided to forge in the same direction he had been heading. He brightened when he could see a wider street nearing him to his left.

But when Danny saw the sign, his mouth gaped open.

_Calliste._

"_Not the same street again? Now, what?"_ he thought before a quick answer leaked out of his brain.

Maybe 'Main Street' was in the _other_ direction. The teen turned around and headed back from where he had come.

However, as Danny continued down in this direction, this part no longer looked familiar. And there were more of those weird interlocking circles etched in more of the walls he passed. He just knew they hadn't been there before! He looked for the street sign for the next intersection he was nearing, only to see that they were _no longer _ there.

"I don't like this!" he grumbled under his breath, even as he continued forward.

This place seemed to go on forever….In fact, Danny knew he had to have been in here for almost an hour and he hadn't seen any other edge of the town in all of that time. It hadn't seemed to be that big when he had first seen it.

Finally, he came upon another weathered wooden street sign:

_Áit-ar-Bith_.

The teen sighed in slight relief. He had somehow managed to retrace his steps!

But a few minutes later, when he checked the next street sign, he saw that it said, _Calliste_—again!

Now he was certain he was going in circles!

"Well, that kinda explains things —or not," the boy said with discouragement as he continued onward.

After going a bit further, he saw the same street sign at this newest intersection.

"Maybe this street just twists and turns throughout the town," Danny surmised, though he was not doing a good job of believing it.

The boy then frowned. What was the point of all this if he was just going to chase after…He chuckled at the pun even as he completed his thought —when all he was doing was chasing _ghosts_ of all sorts...

But then Danny stopped and landed on the ground when it dawned on him. _"Maybe that's it! Maybe those Observant jerks just want to watch me wander aimlessly in this huge maze, like I was some sort of amusing rat! Well, I'm way over it now!"_

If he couldn't find any ghost in here to help him find his way out, he'd do the next best thing. Anything was better than staying in this freakish place… _Anything_!

Finally following his instincts, Danny bolted straight upward. He quickly poured on more speed even when it looked as if the tops of the buildings had suddenly leaned over him like cupped hands ready to capture an escaping butterfly.

Well, he was no butterfly!

As he continued to race toward freedom, the young hybrid looked past the tops of those buildings, getting more encouraged when he could see that the structures hadn't fully blocked the black-and-green swirls of the Ghost Zone.

The boy startled when it seemed as if a couple of the buildings swayed toward him. However, he easily avoided them and pushed toward the open sky.

But suddenly, he slammed full force into something clear —and hard! He hadn't noticed or expected for it to be there. Still, the next thing he knew, he was falling downward in a daze. He managed to catch himself just inches before striking the stony street he had just left.

Danny righted himself and planted his feet more firmly on the ground while trying to shake away his dizziness. When he felt his head clear a little bit, he looked back up at the sky. What was that thing into which he had plowed? He didn't think it was a ghost shield because it hadn't jolted him when he rammed into it. Instead, it had felt cold and unyielding, like glass, yet stronger than glass.

The boy growled in annoyance. It didn't matter what that thing was made of. It was definitely barring him from leaving. And he was determined to get out!

But there was more!

Suddenly, the ground underneath him began to shake before it fell in and on itself. And it was being sucked under to some abyss that must have been hidden all along by this accursed town!

Danny reflexively pulled himself up and away from the churning, oozing dust that was beginning to replace that which once was a hard cobblestone road.

Then the boy gasped. The buildings were moving! But he really didn't care to guess whether they had moved on their own or whether they shifted because the roads were disappearing.

All he could determine against all logic was that somehow, the place had come _alive—deadly alive!_

Now, he wished for all that _dead _creepiness that had surrounded the town just moments before!

But then, the place started to light up. However, the illumination wasn't the dull, yellowish-grey light that had leaked out of the streetlights because there were no longer any streetlights! Instead, eerie green light was spewing out of various cracks and crannies in the ground that had rent open with all the jarring that was happening to the buildings.

But was it really green light he was seeing? To Danny, it seemed to be more like an ancient green haze that he had once seen rising off of a ghostly bog.

Honestly, at this point, Danny didn't really care. But oddly, he was driven to investigate one of the pockets of luminous green fog. And when he did, he wished he hadn't.

Those odd symbols of interlaced circles embedded in the walls littered throughout the town must have been the source of that eerie emerald light, because all of them were now aglow with it. Not only that, but the glow was expanding, as if it were a skeletal hand reaching upward from out of the grave. And Danny felt that it couldn't be good news.

Now desperate, Danny searched for a way out.

He flew upward heading for—well, really, he didn't know where! But then the boy startled at the loud _noise_ above him. It sounded as if large sheets of glass were sliding together before slamming together and snapping into place.

But when Danny looked up to confirm that, he gasped.

Some huge red blob just flitted past those glass panes….But once it had moved out of the way, he gasped again.

The sky.

Though it was hard to see between the rocking buildings, it was no longer the color of the Ghost Zone! It was changing colors, slowly melding from orange to red, then to a deep purple with small pins of light that looked as though someone had carelessly strewed them about the otherwise clear, hard dome.

Suddenly, he spied 'one small break in the starry ceiling. A small _green_ spot. A hole that —led _out_!' [1]

And the boy never thought that such a small green spot could be so hopeful and welcoming at the same time.

Once again, Danny shot upward all the while concentrating on reaching that small escape hatch as soon as he could. But this time, he didn't get as far as his first try at escaping through the sky.

He clanged right into another hard surface that was now just at the rooftops of the few buildings crowding him way too much at the moment.

Instinctively, the Ghost Boy fired a powerful green beam into the shield. When that didn't work, he tried to freeze it.

But all the dome seemed to do was hiss in defiance.

Finally at the point of panic, Danny pulled in a huge breath before letting out his Ghostly Wail. However, the sound it made, which had initially pierced the air, abruptly stopped, absorbed by…well, he didn't know.

But there he was with his mouth still open, since he had not really finished with his task. And yet, his Ghostly Wail was just….gone. It was as if the wind had been in a wrestling match with his power and had pinned it down and then out of existence. Only…there was no wind. [1]

Instead, there was cold, lifeless silence.

Except…Danny was aware that his breathing and heart rates had suddenly risen to the point that he could swear he could hear both of them! Now he was really scared….more scared than he had been since he came here or since the Observants had started this entire lame series of tests.

Nothing here that had happened in this place was in the natural order of things for the Ghost Zone or for his world. He had been moving in circles; and had been trapped by shields that wouldn't break. The whole town had rearranged itself more times than he wanted to count. Not only that, but he had been chasing what he now felt was a figment of his imagination. And all the sound had simply vanished!

But then…

Danny heard something!

Though he was afraid, he strained his ears in the hope of hearing some hope…

And there was more.

Different sounds, new soft noises the teen hadn't heard since he had gotten here.

But these weren't…friendly sounds. And they actually seemed to flick the air. He swore he could feel them brush his face and he shivered at their touch.

All the more frightened, Danny fretfully scanned all around him.

Hushed, unintelligible whispers…The sounds continued and were buzzing around him enough that he wanted to swat them away. But suddenly, they intensified as if he had suddenly turned on every radio, TV, CD player in the entire universe and ramped up their volume.

Then there was a loud scratching sound competing against them, and it sounded as if something large was scraping against something…or was it that squeaky sound a rag made when it was polishing glass?

Really, at this point Danny didn't care.

"W-Who's there?" he screamed above the din, half-in-demand and half-in-fright.

And just like when coral reef polyps are agitated, everything suddenly clammed up.

The total soullessness of the total sudden silence was deafening.

Danny was seized with terror.

And then, it happened.

That completely unwanted and soon-to-be painful electrical sensation suddenly jolted outward from the boy's central core this time before it shot up and down his spine. Only this time, the waves of pain that did come were stronger. Seized with crippling pain, Danny fell to a small scrap of land that hadn't fallen into the large crevice. In vain, he tried to control his heaving, painful pants.

Suddenly, Danny choked on a startle when he heard the whispers return in force! And he could swear that he could feel them crowding him this time! He struggled to pull himself to a stand and then managed to throw himself into the air.

"Get away!" He fretfully yelled as he twisted and pushed his way through the tangible wall of incoherent whispers which seemed to be attacking him.

The boy was able to punch through a clearing and he soared forward. Though he had increased his speed, he could feel the hair on the back of his head bristle. He had the creepy feeling that the voices were actually in pursuit!

Danny pressed forward while still fighting his fright and the intensifying pain throbbing in his core and all up and down his spine. His breathing hard and frantic, he turned to any alley that happened to open its passage to him. At this point, it didn't matter if there was a name or not attached to it. He twisted and turned as he sped onward and nearly crashed into the sides of several building that had suddenly seemed to jut themselves into his path.

Finally, Danny could take no more of the consuming pain that continued to tear at his spine or the fear eating his mind. He pushed past only two more encroaching buildings before he collapsed and crashed into the chewed up ground…

Since he was face down and still breathing in pain and fatigue, Danny hadn't yet realized that the ground had stopped shaking and that he was in some sort of clearing. And he didn't care at this point if all of whatever those things that were whispering at him would find him here —the prey helplessly waiting to be devoured by the predators.

But then, all was quiet again. And there even was a slight warm wind caressing him, as if for some odd reason the town had decided to calm him from all the anxiety it had inflicted upon him.

Finally, the pain and his hard breathing ebbed away and for a moment the boy lay in exhausted, yet slight, relief for the first time since he set foot in this creepy little ancient town.

But then, he heard something…

He gasped, opened his eyes and twisted from where he lay toward the sound of footsteps again! And they were running _toward _ him!

The young hybrid quickly scanned to his right, and noticed at once that it was the first time that he had been in such a wide space since he arrived here.

But there was nothing there.

When he turned to scan the left side of the area more thoroughly, he heard footsteps _retreating_ toward his _right_.

Danny immediately jerked his head in that direction, only to now hear a soft flapping sound to his _left _again. He quickly searched in that direction again, but this time saw something white moving in the darken distance.

He floated up off of the ground and flew to the phenomenon. And as he neared it, he could tell that it was a stack of white papers sitting in the middle of this relatively large square opening—right next to a small, rustic well.

The soft wind was still blowing the papers around as if it were sloppily shuffling a stack of cards —only that they were being held down by a couple of weathered bricks.

The young half-ghost was certain that those papers had not been there moments before.

Glancing skittishly around him, Danny slowly approached the pile, drawn to it by a sudden thought...

"_Perhaps these will show me a way out."_

As the boy drew nearer, that hopeful thought grew stronger because he could see _handwriting _on the first page at least.

He stooped down with the plan to firmly grasp the stack of papers before releasing them from their makeshift paper weights.

But just when he touched the papers, they momentarily lit up with a green light.

Danny gasped and snatched back his hand. But having a weird feeling that these were going to give him some answer, he grabbed a hold of the entire stack while lifting the weights off.

At that precise moment, however, it seemed as if the wind had changed its mind and wanted to snatch the paper right out of his hand.

The boy reflexively clutched the stack closer to his chest and glanced hurriedly around for a sheltered place so he could look at them.

His green eyes brightened a little when he saw some light half-hidden in one of the corners of this area. He immediately flew to it.

However, Danny's face skewed in confusion when he saw a small outside wooden bench half-buried in the rubble. This was the only other sign he had seen that living beings separate from this creepy town may have actually _lived_ here.

He then spied what was next to it. A streetlight had somehow survived all of that quaking—sort of, since it had half-fallen. Still, though it was now bent and nearly on its side, the lamp itself was intact, so that would explain the source of that light he had seen.

The wind was much calmer here and the half-ghost guessed that this was the best place he could inspect the papers he still clutched. He plopped down on the slanted bench and balanced himself as best as he could as he pulled the papers away from his chest.

The papers were worn but not brittle; and there definitely was handwriting on it. And it was in English. The script was bold and elaborate, though clear and neat, as if a strong hand had penned them.

Then, of course, Danny began to read the contents; and the hair on the back of his head stood up after reading the very first paragraph…

"_Hello, Friend:"_

"_I wish to extend my sincerest apologies because since you are obviously reading this, then your time here will be unfortunate; and, unfortunately, everlasting. Because, you see, you have activated the system and the alarm."_

Danny wanted to stop right then; but he had an unexplainable_ —_ even stronger — urge to continue to read….

"_Let me explain. And allow me to tell you about the place in whose heart you are at this moment."_

"_It was once a place I cherished—really, we all cherished it since before and after I came to it. But before I came, this little town had been here for generations. It was a bit backwards then, but I wanted to make sure it would become more modern, you see." _

"_And I did make it more modern…I am sure that you saw the gas-lit streetlights and the paved roads? We also had a new plumbing system and I made sure that people no longer threw their rubbish right outside their windows…We were all quite proud of our accomplishments."_

"_Yes, soon after I came, it was a vibrant little town with a vibrant little people that inhabited it. I do not want to give you the impression, however, that its citizens were small in stature. No, indeed. But what I meant was that they would have been viewed insignificant when compared to the world of which they were once part_—"

"_Or, that is how they wanted it to be…"_

"_But fate did not will it to be so, for one day, the worst that one could imagine that could happen to a town happened."_

"_We are really not so sure what had happened since it happened so quickly…"_

"_Some of us believed it was an earthquake…others insisted that a heavenly body had hit nearby, which caused our catastrophe. But you know how rumors go; though really, it did not matter in the end since, of course, we could not do anything about it_._"_

"_For in the end, we ended up here…wherever here is. But the oddest thing is that once we got here, life as we knew it did not end. We just kept going on…"_

"_Until one day, our people began to…well, I guess I should say that they just disappeared, since I really do not know how else to explain it. For you see, though they disappeared, they did not entirely…leave."_

"_They really could not leave, either, for two very good reasons, which I feel obligated to share with you."_

Danny hesitated only a moment in order to turn to the next page. And then he continued.

"_For one thing, nobody had ever really wanted to leave…Like I said, we were really quite advanced for such a little ancient town. We had torn down so many of the old structures in spite of some of the older residents insisting that we keep them. They were just not modern enough; and we felt that traditions, customs and even silly superstitions were just as expendable. And at the time, we were so delighted in our boldness that we even fancied renaming the town and everything in it. And we made sure that the new names scoffed at the old ways—you know, because we were so enlightened. Sort of like an inside joke we were playing on ourselves, our history and the world. Did you not notice the names? We thought those were humorous little names for our bold insignificant little town. But we never imagined how ironical those names would be in the end… But more on that later, for I digress."_

"_Like I said, we really loved it here; mainly because we had put so much change into our quaint little town, so much of ourselves in it that, really, all of our —forgive me —spirits stayed within this place…I am sure that you must have noticed that_ —_how very queer this place was when you came. But I will explain that, too, shortly."_

"_And that just brings me to the other —and more important —reason why none of us can ever leave…"_

"_You see, my friend, shortly after we found our little town floating on this large piece of land here in this odd dimension, we met what I could only call an 'Arracht' _[2]_ And, really, that is what we called him from then on."_

"_We were quite frightened because it really was a monster to us. It was huge —taller than some of our two-story buildings —"_

Danny stopped a moment at that last statement. A lot of these buildings were _much taller _than two-stories. So, what gave? But then, he suddenly felt compelled to read once more and he did.

"_Or I should say it was taller than some of our two-story buildings at the time when we first came here…"_

Danny shook his head in disbelief after reading that last sentence. If he didn't know better, he could swear that the writer of this letter had actually answered the question he had just had about the height of the buildings. Still, he continued…

"_When he came to us, he was searching for a place of refuge. For you see, before he found us, he had no place to call his own. And that was because he really was not allowed to claim anywhere as his because of his purpose…"_

"_But, you see, my friend, when he found us, he could have __both__: he could still fulfill his purpose and have his own place of refuge."_

"_After all, our ancient little town certainly qualified for that...But more on that later; because, friend, I want to call your attention to what exactly this creature is….Surely, you have seen signs of Arracht already?" _

Danny's eyes widened as he pulled his eyes off of the paper. How did this obviously long-ago writer know that he had seen signs of….a lot of something? There were those footsteps, quaking, the whispering, that red blur in the sky. Wait. The writer said that the creature was huge, so what signs was this writer talking about? As far as the boy was concern, all of the 'signs' of this little town were creepy.

All the same, Danny looked back down at the papers, once again with the feeling he could not stop reading.

"_Arracht does not show himself often, but he lets you know when he's coming…."_

Suddenly, the ground underneath Danny began to rumble. But before he could even begin to lift up and off of the bench, it stopped. He turned to the next page.

"_The ground will shake shortly after the initial quaking when the alarm first starts to activate; which, as you recall, you did activate not too long ago."_

Once again, Danny stopped reading, getting very creeped out at the way the words were written. It was as if the writer were actually speaking to him right now. Nevertheless, the boy felt to the urge to continue.

"_There is nothing to worry about even when the ground does break up a little when Arracht comes. Nothing truly is permanently destroyed here; for you see, Arracht would not have it so…" _

Danny stopped reading again and looked around. At least this part of the town looked as if it had never been disturbed_ —_ even its _dust _looked quite settled. But then, his eyes drifted to the paper again and he continued.

"_Once again, I apologize. I did not mean to digress again. I wish to tell you about Arracht. We have, of course, seen and dealt with him or else I could not describe him to you. But then again, he would be hard to miss, and I do not want to forget you any other important detail. So, let me tell you a bit more before I tell you what he looks like…"_

_Like I said, we know him well and, really, too well. Because, you see, had we known anything about him before what ended up happening, then we would have not welcomed him. Not that he forced us to become acquainted with each other or that he cruelly thrust his company upon us. After all, as I told you, his purpose had made him lonely until he found us. And oddly, though he does not speak, we understood each other without difficulty from the moment we met. I do not understand why, though I suppose it was because some of the older folk had never really given up our customs, which included believing in the magical nature of creatures. Fate perhaps was another reason. But it does not matter for a still odder reason: we did pity the creature. And pity is never a wasted emotion…"_

"_But once again, friend. I apologize. I digress…"_

"_Once we agreed to give the Arracht refuge, we saw his true nature and purpose. It is quite ironical now that I think about it, since, really, our town had been built and re-built on top of town-upon-town throughout generations…And not that he could help himself, you understand. You know how creatures are…._

Danny stopped and frowned. What the heck did that mean? He re-read the passage and still didn't quite get it. Still, he turned the page and continued…

"_My apologies again, my friend, if I confused you. For you see, it has been quite a long time since we had to explain things to anyone. In any case, the true nature and purpose of Arracht is to guard...ancient things. How do I know? For one thing, and like I alluded to before, ours is truly an ancient town…And, of course, we are here. But there is more. We are not all that he guards. We can attest that he has brought some other ancient things here for safekeeping whenever he needed a short rest—which is a rarity in and of itself... Not that the ancient items remained here. No, he always returned them to their rightful places. But until he did, all of us were enthralled with the tales behind some of those ancient artifacts…I was particularly fond of an ancient skeletal key, and… _

"_Oh, sorry. I hope you will forgive my drifting off subject again. I am sure you are not interested in that right now…But let me get back to telling you about Arracht. He does more than guard ancient things…he is very __possessive__of them. And he has very strong powers to keep them."_

"_So, you see, because we gave him refuge, Arracht not only has guarded us…he has collected all of us—the entire town….and any creature that may enter it throughout the generations…"_

Danny gasped when he read the last sentence but he still felt mesmerized to continue to take in every word.

"_Do not be consumed with fear by my comment, my friend. I mean to explain everything to you. …Now, you might be curious as to why no one outside this town knows of this place. It is really quite simple. Hardly any ghost enters into this Forbidden Realm and those who do stumble upon its entrance are not adventurous enough to enter it. Not only that, but Arracht keeps thrill-seekers away. His ability to do that is quite remarkable, you see, because as I told you, he is always busy guarding other ancient things. He can replicate and transport to whatever place he wills and therefore can guard many ancient things almost simultaneously….Oh. Sorry. I digressed again. Where was I? …Oh, yes…But those who do brave passing through our town's archway cannot divulge the location of where we are because as I told you, they never leave."_

Danny gasped again when it hit him. 'Forbidden Realm'. Wasn't that the place near the Observants? And anyone entering this place _never leaves_? He suddenly had the urge to stop reading and try to escape again. But when he looked up, he noticed that the buildings had crept nearer to him again.

This time, he tried to let the papers go. He wanted to get out of here! But for some queer reason, his hand wouldn't let go of the papers. And he felt his eyes drawn to them again.

"_Do not be afraid, friend. Did you not notice how we have many kinds of buildings? I am sure you did. Some are very old. Others seem younger than the buildings that were here after we had re-built the town in my time. Those are from the memories and personalities of generations of those ghosts that have found us since we first ended up here. It makes us quite a unique town in having such a mish-mash of different kinds of architectural styles, do you not think? I would know. Oh. Before I forget, did you ever notice any of the plaques that are on the corner of some of these buildings?"_

Danny reflexively glanced up and scanned for one of those rusty plaques, which, coincidentally, was on a building closer to him than he wanted it to be. Nevertheless, the boy stood up and hurried over to it; and since there was another uprooted streetlight leaning against the building, he easily scanned it until his eyes locked onto the only thing written on it: _Designed by Brennan Lynch—Chief Architect. _

The teen sighed. Now he wondered why he even came over here. Still, he leaned against the same wall and continued to read on.

"_Yes, as you can see, I am the chief designer of all of these buildings, even the newest ones. So, really, you could also call me your tour guide or the Keeper of this place, or if you like, you could even call me the Mayor. Because, you see, I know everything and everyone in my cherished little ancient town. And now, you, too, know almost everything…"_

Danny turned to the next page and that page was actually blank. He turned it over and saw that the other side was blank, too.

But when the boy turned it over a final time, more writing had suddenly appeared what had once been a clean sheet of paper…And though that was unsettling, it was not as unsettling to Danny as for the fact that he felt compelled to read it.

"_So you see, my friend, as I first told you, your time here is limited because of __whom__ you are at the moment...But really, because of __where__ you are, your time here is…unending. That is why our first intention was to get you disoriented. Not a bad thing, really. It is all so simple."_

"_And now, I have to be going. After all, our protector is coming now. You will meet him soon and also be able to keep us and him company, too."_

"_Oh. Before I forget, I need to tell you about Arracht so you will recognize him, though as I told you before he is too large to miss. But, anyways: he has a large leathery red body with a scaly grey front running from his chest to his tail. And, interestingly, he has four muscular red arms with leather bands around each of his wrists. He has no legs but a large red tail. His head is also red but is covered by thick red hair. But what is most impressive is his face: red glowing eyes underneath heavy red eyebrows with an ape-like nose. And then, of course, he possesses natural weapons. Like his grey fangs and grey claws at the end of all twenty fingers. And he can spew out an impressively large and very powerful, heh-heh, antique fuchsia-colored energy beam. But he only uses it when he is protecting those ancient things under his charge." _

"_And one more thing. Since you have no choice but to be staying with us, I think you should know the name of our town—really, you have already seen the name. In fact, all the names you have encountered since you have entered our town gives you a hint about us and where we originally came from, though it is incidental."_

_"You remember the names of those streets, do you not? Heh-heh. Again, quite ironical and fitting, though at the time when we named it all we thought of their names as being just a clever little joke of ours. But of course, in the end, the joke was on us all the time. And even the root meaning of my true name, _ _ó Braonáin __ó Loinsigh [2], which in your language is Brennan Lynch, is quite fitting: 'Sorrowful Exile.' And, quite ironically again, I have been the only one to keep my name."_

"_Uh, my apologies again. I digress: a bad habit I have had for several centuries. I guess I will always have it…"_

"_So in case you do not recognize the language, it is Gaelic. And of course, then, it means that, our town originated in Ireland, and was actually originally built upon a Druids' ancient ceremonial ground."_

Suddenly, the ground underneath the boy gave way and Danny gasped when he sunk into it. But he then gasped even louder when he didn't budge when he tried to pull himself out of it. Not only that, a cloud of debris was rapidly being blown his way! Still, the paper that was in his hand finally wrenched itself from his hand and pushed itself into his face, yet close enough for him to still read it:

"_But that is only a small detail…And this will be the first and last time I will say your name. And, really, in a short while, you will not even remember it or much of anything else, as everyone here is __Aonduine _[2]**_…_**_So, welcome, Danny Phantom, to the lair of whom you used to call the Behemoth but will now know as Arracht…."_

_Welcome to Aon Ainm—that is, Welcome to 'No Name'!"_

When the paper suddenly blew away and Danny looked down at himself, he yelled in shock when he could see that the lower half of his body had already, incredibly, melded into a black building! And he could already feel the painful pressure on his heart, lungs and even his entire body as the materials hardened. Now the shock took a firm hold on him when he suddenly knew that in the next few seconds he would become just like these other buildings!

And that must then mean that the Observants had finally sent him to his condemnation without telling him!

_And, truly, there was no way out!_

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><p><strong>[1] Several excerpts were taken directly or paraphrased from Chapter 12— titled "Ancient Town" —of a fanfiction Danny Phantom story called <strong>_**Phantasmic Images**_** by Sapphireswimming. Check it out! I love how she describes this creepy little town and I just thought those descriptions were too delicious and I wanted to use this town in this story. I am using her material with her permission. Thanks again, Sapphireswimming! *winks* How did I do?**

**[2] Meaning of Gaelic words (which I found through a translator. I don't know Gaelic.): **

_**Aon Ainm**_** means 'No Name'. **

_**Calliste**_** means 'Lost'.**

_**Áit ar bith**_** means 'Nowhere'.**

_**Gaiste**_** means 'Trap'.**

_**Scaoll **_**means 'Desperation'.**

_**Meall **_**means 'Lure'.**

_**Aonduine**_** means 'nobody'.**

_**ó Braonáin**_** means 'Brennan' which means 'sorrow'.**

_**ó Loinsigh**_** means 'Lynch' means 'exile'.**

_**Arracht**_** means 'Behemoth' or 'monster'.**

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><p><strong>AN: Well, looks like you made it down here! Thanks for reading and don't forget to throw some written thoughts like **_**ó Braonáin **__**ó Loinsigh **_**did! And as you can see, we've just wrapped up the Level 7 ghosts on the ****Fantomos Ecto-Scale!**

**289-LEVEL 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—Matilda**_**— truephan's original character from her story, **_**Sleepover Nightmare**_

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**289-level 6-**_**Gamma**_**—Ghost Writer**

**289-level 6-**_**Beta**_** —Walker**

**289-level 6-**_**Alpha**_**—Skulker**

**LEVEL SEVEN GHOSTS—Difficult to defeat. Would have been evenly matched with Danny at age 14. They usually have only one way of being defeated and can be defeated only after discovering that flaw. Also, Danny could only defeat them at age 14 after he picked up new skills to defeat them.**

**289-level 7-**_**Epsilon**_**—Undergrowth**

**289-level 7-**_**Delta**_**—Nocturne**

**289-level 7-**_**Gammas**_**—Aragon and Dorothea**

**289-level 7-**_**Beta**_**—Vortex**

**289-level 7-**_**Alpha**_**—Behemoth**

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><p><strong>Don't forget to record your thoughts for posterity here! <strong>

**Until next time, dear readers!**


	40. Ch 40-Lev 8 Ghosts--Anatomy of a Freak

**A/N: Hello, gang. Uh, ahem…I think I need to warn y'all about this chapter. As you know, I said in the beginning of this story that I wanted to use all the genres. Well, this one is one of the reasons why it was rated "T". It is an intense genre and—**

**Ms. Hyde: What do you mean that YOU wanted to use all the genres, dearie? You wanted only to write the fluffy ones. I've been dying to finally get a solid hold of this story to write a chapter just to my liking! And I finally got the chance and**—

**truephan: That's because I've been sick with a cold and then laryngitis for over a week now!**

**Ms. Hyde: Excuses, excuses, dearie. I could see the evil glint in your eyes at—**

**truephan: That was from my allergies!**

** ****Ms. Hyde**:***rolls eyes* Whatever you say, dearie. But as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, this chapter has one of my favorite ghosts because that ghost is so deliciously evil. So, this chapter has a very strong 'T' rating, just in case you have some silly histrionic teen out there about to read this. If you swoon, you've been warned!**

**truephan: Don't insult our, er, I mean, **_**my**_** wonderful readers!**

** **Ms. Hyde**: I wouldn't dream of doing that, dearie. I'd rather freak them out. So, here is Chapter 40. Meh-heh. Enjoy it creepily!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 40—Level Eight Ghosts—Anatomy of a Freak<p>

Jack and Tucker rushed toward Sam even as they frantically continued to call her name; but just as they neared her, they halted in their tracks in shock.

The girl wasn't breathing and she was already turning blue!

Jack was the first to snap out of it and he quickly knelt down on the ground by the teen's side.

But just as he grasped the girl by the shoulders, however, Sam let out a loud gasp. After that, she sat up and started to cough harshly while gasping for air.

Jack stood up and stepped back to give her more room.

"S-Sam? A-Are you alright?" Tucker anxiously asked as he took a few steps more toward her.

He didn't like the fact that she still looked weak and her eyes were focusing well. Still, he waited for her to reply.

Once she had caught her breath, Sam haltingly answered, "I-I d-don't know. W-What h-happened?"

"You-You just stopped breathing, but I hope you're okay now. You are okay now, aren't you?" her friend worriedly said.

Finally controlling her breathing, Sam furrowed her brow in an effort to concentrate. Finally, she remembered what she was feeling before she fainted.

Her lower lip quivered and her face scrunched up in even more worry at the memory. She blurted out, "Oh, Tucker! We're running out of time! I just know that Danny's getting worse! I have to reach him!"

Tucker reached out for her hand and she obliged him in helping her to a stand.

But her knees buckled right after that and he had to support her.

"Here, let her sit down," Jack offered as he pulled a nearby chair closer to the two.

"I can't rest now!" Sam objected even if she felt that she might faint again.

Nevertheless, she allowed her friend to help her to sit down. She really didn't want to admit that she couldn't use her powers to find Danny while fighting the demands of her body to rest and get more nourishment. The fact that she hadn't been able to follow her usual careful diet to make sure that she got the right nutrition was now taking a toll on her.

Finally, she relented to the demand and said, "I just need…more to eat."

"Now, you're talkin'!" Jack said, half in jest and half in excitement. "What do you want me to get for you? One thing for sure, our pantry is hardly ever empty."

"How about a big peanut butter and jelly sandwich if you have anything like that?" she gingerly replied.

"Comin' right up," the man added with a slight grin. "Uhm, anything else?"

"Maybe some cookies or even, uh, more fudge? And juice or something?" she answered with a slight wince.

Fudge wasn't usually on her menu because it was made from things that had a face on it. Not only that, but Danny's father might bring her something that she usually didn't eat, either. But at this point, that was no longer important. She had to regain her strength so that she could concentrate on finding her boyfriend…and withstand anything else she could….feel coming from him.

"Alright, Sam," Jack said before he turned to leave the room.

"Uh, I'll help you out, Mr. F. I could use a little more food, just to keep my strength up, of course," Tucker piped in with a weak smile. He then turned to his female friend and added, "Uh, will you be okay if we go and come right back, Sam?"

Sam feigned a disapproving smile and dryly said, "Will you quit fussing over me? I'm not a baby, you know!"

But Tucker could tell that she was just kidding and yet he could also see that she was letting him know that she would be okay for the time being. He nodded slightly to her before he turned to follow Danny's father to the kitchen.

The two males returned in no time and gave the girl what she requested.

When they were all through eating, Jack frowned slightly when he glanced at Sam. He could see that the girl still looked drained. But he also knew that she would object if he insisted that she rest. Not only that, he also knew that they still had work to do.

The man finally announced, "How about we all get cleaned up like we said we were going to do before…"

He paused when he could see that Sam tensed up and was about to protest. He really understood where she was coming from, and quickly added, "Uh, before we go downstairs to continue studying that black gunk, okay? That might help us stay more alert, you know."

This time, he relaxed when he saw that the girl also relaxed.

Tucker sniffed himself and replied, "Good idea! Right now, whatever's growing on me might skew our results!"

Sam grinned weakly and said, "Okay. But only if we can get right to work."

Jack looked at Tucker and then both of the males looked at the girl and nodded….

About an hour later, the three trickled back to the living room after each of them were through with taking a shower and changing.

Sam was the first to return to the living room. She was relieved that she was able to find a pair of black slacks and a dark blue blouse to sat down on the couch, lay her head back and closed her eyes. Everything that she had been experiencing—which she knew was also happening to her boyfriend—was wearing her out. She was having trouble controlling her powers because of it….and as much as she hated to admit it, she was also having trouble controlling her…emotions because of it. But she couldn't give into her fatigue. She had to steel herself. She had to help Danny and also help find a cure for the sleeping sickness.

She perked up when she could hear someone coming downstairs. The girl smirked when she saw Tucker wearing one of her boyfriend's jeans and t-shirt. The boy was also hatless.

She teasingly commented,"Look at you, Tucker! White and blue are your colors, too!"

Tucker instantly quipped, "I see for now that you managed to find something gothy to wear. But I can't wait to see you in pastels!"

Sam feigned a scowl before she dryly replied, "Don't hold your breath!"

Tucker suddenly grew more serious and said, "Well, honestly, I hope I won't have to take you up on that because I hope we find a cure to that sickness and find Danny and his mom."

Sam didn't answer him since she knew he was right.

But then, the two friends heard a noise and looked toward the stairs. They knew it had to be Danny's father.

When they saw the man, however, they almost busted out laughing. Only half of his face was shaved, well, partially anyways. They could tell by the expression on the man's face that he wasn't too pleased.

"Ran out of disposable razors," Jack grumbled once he had reached the teens.

After all, getting a full beard off took a lot of time and snips from scissors, and _lots_ of razors.

"I think I saw some in Jazz's room," Sam offered.

"Thanks, Sam," the man began, "But it can wait. I want to get back down to the lab."

Sam glanced at the man with a bit of hesitation. When she said that she wanted to get to work, she really meant that she wanted to try to use her powers to find her boyfriend. But she had to admit that she didn't feel she was rested enough to try. So, helping Tucker and Danny's father with trying to find the cure for the sleeping sickness would at least give her body the rest it needed while doing something productive.

"We can help, too, right, Sam?" Tucker piped in. Somehow, he could feel his female friend's hesitation and also knew she needed more rest.

Sam nodded slightly and the trio immediately headed toward the lab.

Once there, Jack and Tucker filled the girl in on what they had—and hadn't—discovered about the black gunk. They had been able to isolate of what it was mostly made, but not all. There was still some unknown substance still within it that they hadn't identified. And they didn't have much of a sample left with which to work, since the original sample was small to begin with. So, they had left trying to figure out how to use the rest of the stuff that remained until now.

After several minutes of discussion, the three decided on a course of action that made the most sense.

At first, the trio remained silent in their assigned tasks. But as time passed, both of the teens didn't realize that they were growing edgier and more uncomfortable.

Tucker, however, was able to shrug it off. Though he was tiring, overall he had been recuperating well from everything that had happened to him so far.

Not so with his female friend.

Sam wasn't even aware at first that her concentration was faltering; or the fact that she was unconsciously rubbing the pain from her forehead. But as time ticked by, her breathing changed with what was at first miniscule bouts of discomfort. She tried to dismiss them as a response to her growing fatigue and pushed onward to her assigned task.

But just as she picked up a clean petrie dish, she felt an immense pain she could not ignore. She unconsciously tightened her hold onto the flat glass dish and tried to control her mounting pants. She had never felt anything like this before. It was as if she were being….No. It was as if _Danny_ was being….but she couldn't think about it anymore. She unwittingly let go of the dish and it quickly fell and smashed to pieces on the floor.

Jack and Tucker looked up at the sound of shattering glass and their eyes widened at the look on Sam's face.

They had no doubt that she was in utter agony, since she was sweating, gasping and tightly clutching at the middle of her chest. But before the males could say anything, Sam let out a piercing scream and slipped to the floor….

* * *

><p>"Okay...the ground and energized wires are ready to be connected and the prototype of the anti-ectoplasmic magnetic coil is ready…" Danny's mother murmured to herself as she worked in her small makeshift lab. "But I need to solder these wires right onto the magnetic coil...But where am I going to get a…"<p>

The woman smiled at her next thought. She sure could use those three ghost maids again.

Just then, she could hear some muffled noise coming from outside of the closet.

"And speaking of them…" Maddie said with a smirk.

She was thankful that the three were always very talkative—and loudly so—even when they were by themselves, which just made their 'announcing' that they were nearing her room all the more obvious.

She quickly got up and hid her rudimentary lab by sliding the row of gowns back into place. She just as quickly brushed off any 'evidence' off of the bejeweled black gown she had been 'assigned' to wear today. She scurried out of the closet and slowed down as soon as she entered her bedroom just as the door to her room squeaked open.

Flashing an instant sweet smile, Maddie gushed, "My, look how time flies! It is time for dinner already?"

"Yes, madam," one of the maids politely replied as she pulled the dining cart closer toward the human female.

"Thank you," Maddie replied before she added, "You all have been so nice and I haven't made sure to thank you."

"That is quite all right, madam," the second maid said. "We have been charged to keep you content."

"By whom?" Maddie quickly yet sweetly asked.

Without thinking about it, the second maid answered, "By the —oof!"

The third maid, who had purposely jabbed the second one in her ghostly ribs, quickly added with a fake smile, "You know, madam, that we are not at liberty to divulge that information."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot!" Maddie said, doing a good job of hiding her true feelings behind her fake apologetic frown. But then she rapidly turned that frown upward into another sweet smile and added, "And I'm sure that dinner will be as wonderful as it usually is. And would it be possible for you to get some things I'll need after dinner?"

"We will be more than pleased to provide all that you need and want, madam," the first maid piped in, happy to do the favor for the nice human.

"Oh, thank you again," Maddie beamed. "Well, I'll need an electronic hair straightener and a whole bunch of cheap paper clips."

The three maids frowned in confusion and glanced at each other at such a strange request. But they were told not to cross the human female except for matters surrounding where she was and who had taken her here.

Finally, the oldest maid —who was really the one in charge of the three —politely replied, "Right away, madam!"

"You are so kind. Thank you again," the woman said, successfully hiding her triumphant smile.

* * *

><p>"Ha-hah, Maddie!" Vlad beamed to his computer-generated image. "Did you see how wildly the monitors fluctuated during that last program? It must have done the trick! Surely Daniel will be putty in my hands after all that!"<p>

Without taking her eyes off of the monitors, the holograph casually said, "No data supports that your test subject's physical composition has turned to any kind of elastic substance in any minute sense, sir."

Vlad smirked. He was so sure of his triumph, he wasn't at all bothered by her comment. Yet, he kept in the back of his mind that one day he was going to input 'idioms' into her vocabulary program repertoire. Nevertheless he said, "What I mean is that after what just happened to Daniel, that I'm sure I'll be able to control him now."

"Oh," the computer said, though her voice still sounded neutral. "That is a probability, sir. But it continues to be a relatively small one precisely because the data monitoring your test subject's stress levels continue to fluctuate wildly rather than remain in only the critical range. And considering the history of your test subject's reactions in each program so far, the data so far continues to be a statistically insignificant indicator of mental breakdown."

Vlad frowned in disappointment at the news and his mind shifted to mirror that. In fact, that thought was suddenly growing more desperate. Why wasn't the boy giving up?

The man really hadn't ever guessed that Daniel would have lasted this long mentally. He really didn't think the boy had that much mettle. But obviously, Daniel had a bit more to himself than Vlad had assumed.

The older hybrid's mind shifted again. Okay, then, it was time to see just how much more spirit his younger counterpart did have. And the next ghost in the queue certainly qualified as being able to push other creatures' buttons—ghost or otherwise.

With a smug smile, Vlad replied, "But then, there is only one way to verify or even increase that probability, hmm? Wake the boy, my dear; and then activate the next program immediately."

"My chronological program needs to remind you that the test subject is long overdue for nourishment, but in the meantime, I will do as you command, sir," she said without emotion as she pushed a command button…

* * *

><p>Danny groaned as he slowly and shakily began to come to his senses. But then, when he tried to move and couldn't, that instantly brought his last memory to the forefront! He struggled even harder and when he still couldn't move, he suddenly panicked. His human blue eyes bolted open. But his vision was very blurred and all he could see right now was a dulled kind of darkness that was tinged with an eerie green glow. That in and of itself was even more of a shock since that triggered the memory of the green glow around the engraved circles in <em>Aon Ainm<em>. He was seized with even more terror.

Now beyond logic he suddenly yelled out, "No! I can't be a building! I still know my name! It's Danny! Danny Phantom!"

But then he frowned… Was he actually able to talk? But his voice, it sounded…hollow! And he could barely breathe! Did he just imagine that he just talked? That just made him more alarmed and he began to struggle again…

Suddenly, however, a bolt of purple lightning seemed to flash all around him and with a cry of pain he suddenly fell unconscious…

Several minutes later…

Danny's mind began to clear but not enough for him to comprehend what was happening yet. He frowned and scrunched his eyes tighter at the sound of muffled voices. Was he hearing them right? They seemed to be coming from above _and_ behind him at the same time, if that made any sense. But of course, he still was not quite alert yet, especially when he was finding it a bit hard to breathe. Why was the air around him so stale? But he was still so groggy that it hadn't even occurred to him to open his eyes yet…Still, there were those voices. He clued into that direction of those voices and as he concentrated more on them, his forehead furrowed even more. Though he really could not make out anything they were saying, for some strange reason they sounded _familiar_…

"So, doctor, you told us that you will be giving us details about this unique specimen you discovered that you said would be of interest to us," a male voice tersely said.

"And where is it?" another male impatiently asked. "You've been keeping us waiting long enough."

"My dear colleagues," a _female_ voice then sweetly said, "It's not an 'it'. It's a _he_ and I will show you in due time. And there is plenty of time for all of us to examine him. In fact, that is all part of the plan."

"What do you mean, doctor?" a third male voice asked.

Suddenly the female voice chuckled and Danny's eyes flew open. He recognized that laugh and he knew who that was!

His mind was suddenly as charged as a newly jumped car battery. And even though he saw that he was still surrounded by darkness tinged with an eerie green glow, he felt that he couldn't be at that infernal floating nightmare of a town because he just knew _she_ wouldn't be there.

Or would she?

Now the teen wasn't sure of anything. Once more, he wrestled against whatever was keeping him from moving and began to panic once again when he couldn't move. And he still felt as if he couldn't breathe! Maybe he was wrong and he was still part of that ancient town.

But then, after a few minutes of effort, Danny stopped struggling since he was already tiring. Suddenly, he was seized with more alarm. He shouldn't be tiring this quickly if he was in his ghost form!

Once more, the boy tried to move but was too tired to do so. He sighed in defeat. He felt more disheartened when he realized why: he _had_ to be losing his powers!

What was the use of struggling when he was doomed in the end? His mind inadvertently drifted to thinking about the Observants and he unconsciously frowned. So, why couldn't the Observants see that, too? They _must_ know he was no threat to the future if he had _no_ future as Phantom. Then, why were they putting him through all of this, unless it _was_ to accelerate the process…He frowned again at a counter thought. If that was true, then why were they also messing with his mind?

Ironically, that semblance of logic was what he needed for his mind to finally slow down enough for him to clear his thinking. He suddenly realized that panicking wasn't going to help him. He had to get a hold of himself.

But then when he tried to move, a panicked thought nevertheless grabbed a hold of him again. Maybe he really had been turned into some kind of…building! But then he calmed when he could feel that in his anxiety, his hands had reflexively grabbed a hold of the sides of his legs before he relaxed them. He wasn't a building. He had fingers! And they weren't gloved and had felt his jeans and not his hazmat suit material under them!

He couldn't break free because he was in his _human_ form and not his ghost form! So that meant that his arms and hands were _pinned_ to his sides and legs—but at least he _still_ had them!

He breathed in relief—even if that was still hard to do. He wasn't in that town anymore….So then, it was time to concentrate and start thinking on what to do next.

He searched his weary mind; and at this moment he was having a hard time concentrating. Why couldn't he do that? He never had trouble before when he was in a tight spot.

"_Maybe it's because I'm too busy getting sleep-deprived, starved, skewered, and turned into all sorts of things I can't ever un-see or whatever!"_ he thought with a frown, thinking immediately about the Observants again. _"Darn them! Even when they don't allow me to really rest, every time they finally let me get a little sleep, I'm in a new nightmare every time I wake up! Are they really trying to mess with my mind?"_

But then he frowned again. All of this wasn't in his mind, was it? He shook his head with a counter thought. Not when he felt _every_ ounce of pain, anxiety, and every horrid thing in each of these 'tests'. No, these tests had to be _real_. Yet, at the same time they seemed so _surreal_…That was it. He still couldn't wrap his mind around all of this that was happening to him. Something just wasn't…right.

Of all things, that thought helped to spark his determination once again.

And he finally had the mettle to actually try to see _why_ he was unable to move. He pulled his head off of whatever he was lying on and looked down at himself. At least it wasn't so dark as he had thought before because he could now see that he was lying on some kind of narrow bed and that the greenish glow had been caused by something else. Instead of the glowing circles, there were several large glowing _straps_ holding his body firmly down.

"Of course!" the boy grumbled to himself as he let his head come back down and he looked upward. But all he could see was darkness barely lit by the glowing bands. Not only that, but the air was still very stale…And he was suddenly aware of muffled voices for the first time for several minutes after he had come to…

In fact, in all the while Danny was trying to get himself together, the conversation between the female doctor and her audience had not stopped as his mind had thought but had actually continued.

Too bad he could only hear them, and not see them. And even then, his confused and foggy mind could barely focus enough to understand what they were talking about…

The female doctor had long stopped laughing and had moved closer to the group of men who were seated as a group nearby.

And all of the men were dressed in white.

She had been standing on some sort of small wooden stage and the group of males were below and separate from the stage sitting in the larger audience area. Several blank-screen television sets dotted various areas of the walls. It definitely looked to be a room not unlike the lecture halls seen at a typical college.

"What do I mean?" the attractive red-headed female practically cooed as she strutted along the stage in front of the group of men in her very tight black mini-skirt accented by a just as tight, though long-sleeved and short-cropped, buttoned-up white lab jacket.

Her mesmerizing green eyes practically made all of the men squirm with their inviting intensity as she added in a throaty hush, "Aren't you all just _hungry_ to know? But like I said, gentlemen, all in good time. But first, we must prepare the specimen. And I must give you some important details."

"What details?" the first man who had spoken asked with slight annoyance. "And you said that our coming here would be worth our while. Really, doctor, what is this mysterious specimen?"

This time, the only female in the room resisted the urge to roll her eyes in irritation. Really. It seemed that all the men in the world were impatient as well as daft!

Nevertheless, she sweetly smiled and her voice was just as sugary as she replied, "All right, then, you've persuaded me. We will now begin the first of our lessons."

"Lesson?" another man echoed.

"Yes," the female replied, barely hiding her indignation in her voice and face. "You are here to learn, aren't you?"

She walked toward a table that had been on the stage as well. It was covered with a white sheet; but since the sheet didn't lay flat over it, anyone could tell that there had to be things of various sizes under it. She pulled the white sheet off and picked up a blue surgical gown that lay among other things under it. In one quick movement she donned the surgical gown right over her outfit. She then put on a surgical cap, mask and gloves before nodding to a short man that was just to her left, off stage and out of eyesight of the audience.

The short man quickly and quietly disappeared.

She smiled underneath her mask and paused for the effect.

Suddenly, a gruff male voice said with an irritated huff, "Please, Dr. Spectra! You know we are very busy people. So, please save us from any more of a wait, and get on with it!"

Spectra clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth and replied, "Certainly, Agent Q."

" '_O_'. It's _Operative'O'_!" the man tersely corrected her.

"Oh, that's right! Well, I never did like alphabet soup, so my bad," she snorted with a slightly annoyed laugh before quickly adding, "Well, now. Correct me if I'm wrong. You all agreed to come and listen to my presentation before I showed you the specimen. Isn't that right, Agent J?"

"It's _Operative 'K'_ and yes, we agreed," the Guy-in-White replied with a frown.

Ignoring his obvious displeasure, the female shadow-ghost-in-disguise gazed so intensely at the group of men that a couple of them felt compelled to look away.

Still, she softened her voice and cooed once again, "Oh, it is so good that you all remembered that. So, patience, gentlemen. We have been slightly delayed because we had to make sure our specimen was prepared in order to make him more…pliable. And remember, you also all agreed to wait until after my presentation to do anything else. Is that also clear?"

The men mumbled to themselves but finally quieted before nodding briefly.

"Delightful!" she said with a slight giggle before she turned to an area behind her and practically sung, "Oh, Bertrand?! We're ready!"

Suddenly, the floor of the wooden stage rumbled before 'clicking' sounds erupted from it. Then by the next sound, it was obvious that the front half of the stage was moving and slowly thrusting forward toward the audience of men.

The Guys-in-White sat up more erect in their seats in attention and anticipation when they spied the top of what looked like a large box entirely made up of faintly glowing glass slowly projecting upward from beneath the parted stage. The glass box was about as big as a third of the stage, but was twice that in height….

In the meantime, Danny had been trying to change into his alter ego while struggling in the dark with those glowing straps keeping him secured on the narrow, thin bed. His breathing had already increased with his efforts, and he noticed that the narrow bed squeaked a bit under his efforts. But the bindings didn't budge. And he couldn't change into Phantom.

The boy stopped and tried to catch his breath, which was hard to do in the stagnant air. "Of course these must be ghost-proof….Major déjà vu," he grumbled as he continued to try to morph into his alter ego. When that wasn't possible, he tried to wiggle out or pop the straps. But they held firm.

"Okay. Let's concentrate a bit harder, Fenton! I don't know what the Observants have cooked up next but really, I don't care!"

Taking in a deep breath in determination, Danny was about to attempt to put more effort into changing into his ghost form when suddenly, he heard a lot of noise before the area he was in was flooded with light!

He squinted his eyes at the slight pain before his blue eyes fully adjusted to the light.

Now that he could see without any difficulty, his eyes narrowed in anger when he could tell that not only was he strapped onto a very narrow cot that was high off of the ground, but it and he were encased in some kind of large glass box! And there was just of a hint of a glow surrounding the glass.

Irritated, the boy couldn't help but think,"_Now I know how a bug in a jar feels! That is why it was so hard to breathe!"_

All of the sudden, however, that box and— of course, he along with it—was moving upward as if the box was really the walls of a glass elevator—only that this 'elevator' had no doors!

Danny looked upward and saw a white ceiling above him with large bright round lights. But he could also see that there was some kind of wooden edge that the top of the box was approaching, which in reality was the edge of the stage where Spectra was waiting.

Just moments before the boy's cot was going to break over that edge, however, the glowing green straps around him popped off of him with a hiss of air.

Not caring as to why that happened, Danny immediately morphed into Phantom and shot upward, charging up two large orbs of ectoplasmic energy with the intention of blasting the top of the glass box to smithereens.

But before he could propel his orbs, he suddenly grabbed his throat. He couldn't…breathe!

Danny started to cough violently, and he was not aware that he had already begun to drift downward. Instead, he twisted violently within his box, and closed his eyes in concentration even as he panted with the effort to bring in more oxygen.

But he couldn't!

If he had been getting enough sleep or nourishment, he might have been able to endure the brunt of the struggle. But they had finally taken their toll. Danny's mind began to drift as he slid down the slippery face of one of the walls of his glass box.

The oxygen-deprived teen, who was now on the floor of the glass box, wasn't even aware that a lot of voices were talking in excitement as soon as the audience had seen a bright bluish-white band of light just before they suddenly had seen the Ghost Boy shoot upward past the edge of the stage while still in his box.

"It's the Ghost Boy!" Operatives O and K exclaimed as soon as they saw the teen and shot up out of their chairs.

Other Guys-in-White were equally astounded.

"How is that possible that she was able to capture him?" one remarked.

"And how can that glass box contain him?" another commented.

Still another queried, "What is happening to him?"

But Penelope Spectra merely smiled in triumph under her surgical mask when she saw Danny's skin tone become duskier. She coolly said, "Gentlemen! Please sit down and calm yourselves!"

The Guys-in-White, however, were still so astounded that they weren't listening to her. Instead, they kept talking to each other in excitement at having the Ghost Boy so near.

Spectra frowned at their silliness. Still, she walked over to the nearby podium and grabbed a very small microphone set that had been on it. She quickly clipped the small square-shaped power unit through the surgical gown and onto her skirt, turned a small dial on top of it completely up, and then tapped the microphone. Satisfied at hearing the loud 'pop', she smiled wickedly before rubbing the top of the microphone with one of her fingers.

Suddenly, all of the men in the room covered their ears at the loud screech coming from the sound system. Even though at this point he couldn't comprehend what it was, Danny momentarily pulled up his head at the irritating sound before letting it fall He now knew that the Observants had handed him over to Spectra, but he hadn't yet noticed that he was currently being 'studied' by the shadow ghost _and_ the Guys-in-White.

Finally, the men began to settle down one-by-one.

When all of the males finally stifled themselves and sat down, the female clipped the small microphone through her surgical gown and to the lapel of her lab jacket and continued with a steady voice, "I can see by your astonished reactions that you are both surprised and pleased that I have been able to…secure this unique specimen for our study! That is what I hoped for!"

She readjusted her hospital mask but did not take it off. And then she primped her hair before she continued in a calm, almost scientific, voice, "So, the first important objective of our lesson is that even though Danny Phantom doesn't have much in the way of brain cells, they nevertheless continue to need oxygen. In other words, gentlemen, he needs to _breathe_!"

In the meanwhile, Danny was barely able to do just that. And since his hearing was now affected by the lack of oxygen, he could barely hear what Spectra was saying. Instead, he could feel his lungs constrict further with the outflow of each of his shallow breaths. In some ways, he was glad this started while he was in his ghost form because he could get by with a lot less oxygen while a ghost. But not indefinitely.

And just at the moment when he knew his transformation rings were about to form and change him back into his human form and to his doom, he suddenly heard a hissing sound. Almost immediately, he began to feel some relief in his hurting lungs! But he was still very dizzy even as he let go of his throat, not even aware that he had been holding onto it since the beginning of this episode. His hazy mind even thought it was imagining that he could feel that oxygen was actually beginning to be pumped back into his glass cell! But its delivery was slow and so he was still too dizzy to know one way or another...

"How is that possible?" Operative O blurted out after Spectra had made her announcement.

Operative K immediately piped in, "He's a ghost and ghosts don't breathe!"

Penelope's mask hid her smirk as she stepped in front of the glass box and addressed her audience with that same scientific-like tone of voice, "That is true, gentlemen. It is a bit of an oxymoron, isn't it? But there is even more to learn about this specimen's anatomy…"

She quickly turned back to Danny; and throwing an outstretched hand in the boy's direction, she suddenly commanded, "Observe!"

Danny reflexively made more effort to take in the precious oxygen as heartily as if he were inhaling the aromas of his favorite meal. Feeling his head only just begin to clear, he pulled himself up to an unsteady stand nevertheless. Reflexively placing a hand over his still spinning head, he gasped when he next felt something…cold moving just under his feet.

He looked down and his eyes widened, though he still hadn't recovered from his ordeal. The glass box! It was suddenly—and extremely rapidly— filling up with—_water_!

Before Danny could even think of what to do about it, he was fully underwater! Reflexively holding his breath, he swam upward to the surface. He was able to take in a full breath of air before that gaseous layer was replaced with liquid.

Danny knew he had only so much time that he could hold his breath. True, it was a lot longer than any human, but he also couldn't do that forever. After all, that was one of the downsides of being a hybrid…Unlike _full_ ghosts, he needed to breathe…

Right now, however, the real problem was how to get out of this water _in the time he did have_. He went intangible and tried to phase through the glass wall.

But he couldn't!

Then he quickly charged up a ball of ectoplasm and hurled it at the glass wall. But all it did was bounce back!

The Ghost Boy's eyes widened when he hadn't expected that. But he then realized that the box had to be ghost-proof. After all, that would explain why the walls glowed slightly! But it didn't help to learn that a bit late because his energy balls were headed right back to him! He tried to swim out of the way but he hadn't been quick enough.

Though he tried to hold it in, Danny couldn't help but silently scream under the water when he was electrocuted with his own ectoplasmic orb!

Now dazed, Danny wasn't even aware that he breathed back in—only to take water into his lungs instead of air!

But the boy jerked in alarm when he realized what happened. Now panicked, Danny went right to the wall of glass again. He pulled his arms back before loading his strength into them. Then, like a tightly wound spring, he slammed his fists into it.

But it didn't bulge!

Now feeling the effects of 'breathing in' more of the water, Danny's mind began to dull.

But he wasn't through yet!

The ghost teen raised his hands up and immediately froze the upper half of the box of water. Without hesitating, he hammered his fists into the chunk of ice, hollowing out an empty space _of air_!

He immediately thrust his face right into it and started to breathe—only to cough out harshly with having to actually expel water out of his lungs!

But much to his chagrin, the water quickly replaced the air. And since he was still coughing up water, he had no time to take a deep breath before he was under the water and breathing more of it in again!

Furthermore, he had been more out of oxygen than he could hold or take in for the last several minutes, he was quickly losing the battle in staying alert. Nevertheless, he didn't give up and tried the same tactic as before to forge out an air pocket out of the ice.

But the more Danny worked, the weaker he got. Before he knew it, he was rapidly losing consciousness and his movements were becoming more random and undirected.

However, he was so close to total unconsciousness, the boy was not at all aware that the water was being pumped out. In fact, not a few moments later, he was suddenly lying on the floor of the glass box, soaked, stuporous and violently coughing up water—yet hungrily breathing in oxygen at the same time—again!

During all this time, Spectra and her audience of Guys-in-White were watching in awe while the Ghost Boy struggled after having survived the 'water torture'.

And while Danny was recovering from this newest assault, Spectra knew the time was ripe to continue with her 'lessons'.

She cleared her voice and all of the males dutifully turned to her.

Her voice as sterile as a doctor's office, the shadow-ghost-in-disguise said, "Again, I prove my point, gentlemen. If my specimen was merely a ghost, he would not have shown so much...distress with—and eventually succumbing to—being under water. In fact, I find that it is most appropriate for him to truly experience how that feels since he's usually way over his head when he involves himself in things that aren't his business!"

At first, the men in the audience blinked in slight confusion to her last statement.

But then, they began to murmur among themselves again, before Operative K spoke up in demand, "Just what are you insinuating, Dr. Spectra?"

Once more, Penelope smiled under her face mask and purred into the microphone, "Patience, gentlemen! Your curiosity will not kill _you this time_!"

The human males squirmed in discomfort at the bone-chilling way she had said those last few words and quieted down.

In the meantime, Danny had finally recovered enough to breathe more normally but had not pulled himself up yet. Neither had he noticed 'his audience' made up of the Guys-in-White. In fact, he was still lying down soaking wet and was still a bit out-of-it that he hadn't even thought about going intangible to get dry yet.

Spectra waited for the group of men to completely settle down again before she continued with a slight chuckle, "Now, it is time to _listen_ carefully."

The red-headed female nodded her head to her assistant and he flipped on a switch.

At first nothing happened.

Making sure that her audience couldn't see her, Spectra pulled her face mask down a bit and scowled at Bertrand.

Her assistant startled a bit before he frowned back and looked at the control panel. He had pushed the wrong button! He quickly rectified that and then shrugging, he smiled sheepishly back at Spectra.

She frowned only a moment longer before she smirked in satisfaction now that what was next on the agenda had just started…

"_Tha-dump"_

"_Tha-dump"_

The rhythmic sound started out slow and intermittent before becoming progressively louder and steadier as it echoed throughout the room. The men in the room reflexively put their hands up to their ears to dampen it, but they all kept their eyes open to see what would happen next. But shortly afterward, they all frowned in confusion.

But it just didn't echo in the room. Danny, too, could hear it. In fact, the sound was rapidly filling the entire glass box and even making the walls shake with its intensity. Not only that, the sound was also beginning to pound on his eardrums!

The boy shakily pulled himself up to a stand, still unaware that he was still facing away from Spectra and her 'students'. He leaned against the glass wall and threw his hands up to his ears since the pounding sound was actually beginning to _hurt_ his eardrums, which all the more distressed him.

Oddly, however, that sound actually _increased_ in rhythm and decibels when the young hybrid covered his ears—which hurt even more!

Danny reflexively closed his eyes and covered his ears even more tightly; but then, he realized something. He could feel the pounding of his heart just under his hands even as the noise echoing within the box was actually flailing the back of his hands. But, oddly, the sound of the noise attacking him from the outside was _at the same_ rhythm of his heartbeat. And that is when the boy realized that the sound attacking him from the outside _was_ the sound of his own heartbeat! Somehow, Spectra was monitoring and amplifying his own heartbeat!

The boy gasped when the sound and feel of his heart rate increased even more after he realized what was happening. But what was worse, the pain in his eardrums had also increased, and the intensity was quickly becoming unbearable.

Still keeping his ears covered, Danny slammed his body into the same glass wall that he had been leaning against, twisting in agony as the incessant beat now seemed to be boring holes in his brain starting at his eardrums.

Now Danny was even aware of the sound of his _breathing, _since it, too had also increased now that he was in pain. And that just compounded his pain even more!

A few moments later, the boy felt himself growing numb with the pain driving itself into his mind. He wasn't even aware that he was also getting dizzier and dizzier from it, nor with the fact that ectoplasm was actually starting to leak out of his ears and stain his gloves. Before he knew it, Danny was slowly starting to ooze down the glass wall. He felt as if he was being smothered by the sounds as sure as if he was drowning under the pounding waves of a stormy surf.

Spectra, who had been watching the young hybrid's reaction with the utmost scrutiny during the entire time, smiled. She glanced over to Bertrand and nodded.

Just then, the sound within the room increased even more!

All of the Guys-in-White reflexively closed their eyes at the onslaught.

When Spectra saw that the group of men now had their eyes closed and still had their ears covered, she smiled even more. Now was the time!

She then glanced at Bertrand once more and nodded in understanding.

He, in turn, nodded back again, pushed a button, and waited in anticipation.

Seeing that it was momentarily clear, the female shadow ghost nonchalantly went up to the glass box, not at all concerned that Danny still had his back to her. She placed one of her hands against the glass wall.

Then checking to see that the Guys-in-White were still not looking, she quickly shot a large and powerful purple ectoplasmic beam into the box and signaled to Bertrand, who immediately pushed another button.

Now that the ghost shield had been placed back onto the glass box, the purple ectoplasmic beam bounced off of the opposing wall before ricocheting back and forth within the box until it finally penetrated the incapacitated Ghost Boy sitting against the wall facing the audience.

Danny immediately cried out at the pain now mercilessly pummeling his ears and body.

Penelope smiled evilly under that forgiving surgical mask and suddenly announced over the sound of Danny's heart rate competing with her. She knew she was timing this perfectly as she yelled through her microphone and above the din, "And now, gentlemen, it is time for 'Lessons Two and _Three_'."

Danny was not at all aware that Spectra had even spoken for he had completely passed out and slumped to the floor of the glass box! But since his ghostly energy wasn't completely depleted, his transformation rings didn't form.

Spectra motioned to Bertrand and he activated the platform upon which the glass box sat and the platform quickly sucked the box and the boy within it under the stage one again. Shortly after that, all of the TV sets around the room came on, but their screens were still blackened. Then all of the sound that had been assaulting every human in the room ceased.

All of the men in the audience opened their eyes and pulled their hands off their still ringing ears.

Even so, Operative O immediately spoke up in anger, "Just what was the meaning of that, Dr. Spectra? You nearly blew our brains out with that incredible noise! And where is the Ghost Boy?"

But the female Spectre-in-disguise was unfazed by the man's remark or tone. Instead, she replied with a hint of triumph in her voice, "As I said, gentlemen, this is 'Lesson Two'. If you recall, our first lesson taught us that the Ghost Boy is vulnerable since he can breathe. But as this demonstration literally drilled into your hard heads, heh-heh: the Ghost Boy also has a _heartbeat_!

Shouts of protest immediately erupted at her announcement:

"Impossible!" "Incredible!" "No way! "I don't believe it!""

"Don't believe it?" she echoed the last utterance with a bit of giddiness. "Would you like to know more about the Ghost Boy?"

This time, the audience brightened with a resounding 'yes!'

"Very well," the faux doctor practically purred. "It is time for 'Lesson Three'."

Spectra glanced over to the side of the stage again and frowned when she didn't see her assistant. But then, Bertrand finally rematerialized well out of sight of the Guys-in-White and the stage.

The diminutive shape-shifter silently nodded to Spectra and she could tell by that nod that all was ready.

The female nodded back and suddenly all of the lights went out.

The male audience gasped in surprise and Spectra chuckled teasingly, "Yes, gentlemen, I really love dramatics. But it will all be worth your while, I assure you!"

That same elevator-like noise started up again and the Guys-in-White knew that even in the darkness the platform was rising. Finally, there was a loud 'whoosh' as the platform completely stopped.

Suddenly several spotlights flooded and converged on the center of the stage and the screens of all the televisions were alive with a colorful mixture of static. The audience immediately noticed that the glass box was gone and was replaced by two examination-style tables that were almost touching each other.

A few moments later and the screens of the televisions focused enough so that the audience had a bird's eye view of what was on each of the tables.

Even though they had plainly seen that the Ghost Boy was upon the larger of the two examination tables, and even though his white bangs were hiding his eyes, they could tell that he was still unconscious. After all, not only had the sudden illumination foisted upon him not even fazed the young hybrid, but he was not struggling against the leather straps that bound him at the wrists and ankles in a partial 'spread eagle' position against the table as they would expect had the Ghost Boy been awake.

All eyes vicariously shifted to the smaller examination table when the television cameras moved over it. This table was full of shiny, glowing and intimidating-looking surgical devices, which when refracted back to the audience, betrayed the glint in their wicked eyes.

Spectra nonchalantly sauntered over to the senseless boy and stopped when she was right by his side. She was quickly joined by her assistant who by now was dressed in identical blue surgical scrubs.

The female's eye smiled evilly and knowingly at her assistant before she turned back to her male audience and said, "Gentlemen, we are about to partake in a discovery of momentous importance… Something that no one else in history has witnessed before and probably will never again since. And something that I am certain each and every one of you has only dreamed about."

She then picked up a large wicked-looking glowing scalpel and brought it to her eye level. She twirled it lazily between her gloved thumb and index fingers while looking at it almost lovingly. And in the light, it seemed to wink flirtatiously back at her.

Her voice suddenly vibrated with mounting excitement with each word as she held up the scalpel and continued, "And this, gentlemen, is our ticket to our discovery in 'Lesson Three'. We are about to have a close encounter of the third kind with the anatomy of a ghost. Or, since this specimen is even more special than a ghost, I should say that it's the anatomy of a freak!"

Once again, murmurs sounded within the lecture hall and Spectra could tell that they weren't all positive. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Silly humans with their even sillier emotions. Nevertheless, she calmly queried, "Do you have any questions?"

One of the Operatives stood up and voiced the consensus of the murmurs, "What did you mean that Danny Phantom is more than a ghost?"

Spectra smiled under her surgical mask and said almost flippantly, "Oh, come now, Operant K. Don't be coy. You know you and everyone else in this room are dying to know everything about this Ghost Boy. Now's your chance!"

Operant K then slowly responded, "But what will it entail exactly?"

Spectra almost huffed in indignation this time. Yet, she still managed to control the tone of her voice and replied, "Really, gentlemen, isn't that what you hired me for? To get you a ghost specimen to examine? After all, I clearly recall in our negotiations that you would want to have very painful experiments done on any ghost within your control, isn't that correct? So, why should you care that I got one of the unique—if not the most unique and best—ghost there is?"

Operant K fell silent and then slowly nodded his head in compliance.

All the other Guys-in-White likewise silently nodded their approval for her to continue.

Penelope clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth to keep herself from squirming in delight. Still, she managed to put on her 'therapist's' tone of voice as she said, "Very good, then. You already noticed our closed network televisions that will capture every moment of this historic event…And before we begin that, I want you to understand that we have prepared the Ghost Boy so that he cannot move or speak during our examination. However, I assure you that it will be _very_ painful for him in order to enhance the results of our procedure. In fact, the threshold between paralysis and pain is perfect to get the effects we want. Some humans have experienced that kind of agony when they had inadequate anesthesiologists during surgery. You all understand, don't you?"

Once again, the group of men in white silently nodded in agreement.

Spectra's smile was still hidden under her face mask, but her eyes betrayed her delight. Now was the time for her to impress these idiots and get back at the Ghost Boy for all his impertinence!"

"Oh, Bertrand!" she said with a professional air to her tone. "Please wake him."

Bertrand readily pulled out a bottle of aerosol and sprayed a purple mist over the unmoving boy which soon entirely covered him.

A thick, guttural groan then erupted from Danny as he slowly opened his eyes before needing to squint them from the bright lights bathing him.

He immediately tried to move but quickly noticed that he couldn't. However, he happened to he looked up and saw—himself on a television mounted to the ceiling just above him! And he could see that not only were his arms and legs spread apart and bound to the table upon which he was lying, but that someone had removed the upper part of his costume because he could see that his arms and upper torso were exposed but also partially draped by a surgical sheet. And there were several small suction-like pads with wires connected to them on the sides of his upper body.

He tried to pull against his bindings again and even though his muscles twitched a bit, he knew he was essentially paralyzed!

"_Of course_," he mentally and groggily groaned. "_Now what_?"

Just then, he spied Spectra hovering over him, one of her gloved hands holding a very large scalpel and the other a pair of some kind of tongs!

"_Get away_!" Danny yelled, only to startle when he realized that no sound came out of his mouth!

The female Spectre proceeded to calmly say, "Observe on the screen, gentlemen. We have split the screens on purpose. On one side, you'll be able watch while I work. But the other half will be…more interesting. It will give you some unusual information. But I let them speak for themselves as we proceed."

She cleared her throat and paused before beginning the actually procedure. She quickly pointed to Danny and said, "As we can see that even when the Ghost Boy's appearance is definitely that of a pubescent boy, he is so much more! Notice the brightness of his ghostly aura. The brighter the aura, the more powerful the ghost. But that is really incidental to the next phase…"

Danny mentally gasped when he heard what Spectra said and perchance glanced up at the television above him. It had suddenly zoomed in to where the tip of the scalpel was now lightly kissing the ghostly flesh of his chest!

But then he startled when the female shadow ghost spoke instead of cutted. "And also notice the color of his ghostly flesh. It is not green or blue like most ghosts and you will soon see why!"

And then…

Danny silently screamed when the sharp pressure on his skin increased as Spectra began to carve into him.

The pain was electrifying! Yet, Danny couldn't scream or move as she quickly flayed his skin, carefully pulling back layers of his ghostly flesh with the tongs as she worked.

But there was more!

Danny felt his warm ectoplasmic blood ooze down either side of his chest the moment the scalpel had begun to rent his skin open.

Spectra nevertheless didn't flinch at the sight and continued in her task. Her voice was both meticulous and cold as she said, "It is interesting to note that most ghosts have very cold ectoplasm. But here is the first of many paradoxes of this specimen. He has _warm_ ectoplasm as the recordings of the monitors will attest.

All the eyes of her audience immediately shot over to the other side of the screens which confirmed her acclamation.

But their eyes immediately darted back to the other screen when she continued, "Why, may you ask? Patience!"

In the meantime, the pain Danny was experiencing didn't let up. In fact, it was increasing by the moment and he was already panting as a result; especially when right now the cold air of the room seemed to rake over his open flesh enough to set his now exposed nerves on fire!

Though the boy still tried to cry out with the agony, he could not. And he could not pull away from the cause of all the pain. All he could do at the moment was bear it even as tears began to pool in his eyes and he could feel his muscles quiver under the assault. And with the next sharp movement, his brain was screaming: could Spectra be this cruel? Only for the next sharp, carving blow to answer that with an affirming 'yes'!

The tears finally flowed as his eyes widened with the next set of pain. Now his breastplate was being assaulted with a special spectral blade that could cut through his ghostly bones as easily as butter.

In one quick movement, Spectra had cleaved his chest cavity in two, leaving his chest agape.

Danny was dizzy with the pain. Tears were now streaming down his temples and sweat was now soaking his bangs. Every sinew in his body quivered under the painful assault erupting from his chest; and the boy could swear that a piece of dynamite had just exploded within him.

In fact, he was unaware that his whole body was lightly beginning to spasm. It looked like his muscles were just twitching, but the barely noticeable movements were slowly getting stronger.

Spectra paused for a moment in her doings as she noticed this. So, the child was quickly eliminating the anesthesia in some attempt to save itself. She supposed that wasn't too surprising. Still, she briefly debated on having Bertrand give the Ghost boy another shot of anesthesia.

However, when she saw Danny's lip twitch, she smiled evilly and decided against it. Maybe this way it would be more fun…

Spectra quickly continued, and her voice was as cold and cruel as ever, "Now if you look at the viewer again, gentlemen, you can see that my proposition was accurate. The Ghost Boy does indeed have a heart. As in any humans, it is on the left side of his chest cavity. In fact, it is one of his weaknesses. It keeps him from his potential. He…cares too much. But then again, that is good news for all the ghosts because in the end, he really is no threat to them."

She casually reached for a long slender probe and continued, "Now, observe what is most interesting and paradoxical about him."

She inserted the probe right into Danny's chest and moved his heart slightly to the side with it.

Painful sparks of electricity shot through Danny's mind and body when the cold metal probe scraped against his beating heart. His mouth twitched again, but this time, his fingers began to regain movement… And yet he was still too paralyzed to realize it.

How he prayed he could just lose consciousness now! No one should have the right to do this to him, and he just didn't know how much he could take!

But as he still screamed without a voice, he could nevertheless see a greenish-white light now bursting forth from out of his open chest.

And once again, Spectra spoke uncaringly, and now even the sound of her voice was as sandpaper brushing against his nerves.

Spectra grabbed a separator off her surgical table and rented it against the boy's heart. She heard a small whimper from the boy, and she grinned behind her mask. But then grabbing another separator, she wrenched it on the opposite side of Danny's chest pushing aside muscle and partially pressing down on his right lung.

Now having plenty of room to work, she turned her focused on the glowing organ right in the center of the half-ghost's chest: his ghost core.

"And, gentlemen, we also see that the Ghost Boy has a very vibrant and strong central core. And as you can see from the monitors, it is a cold core. And you can also see that his ectoplasm is much colder than our blood. But, as you may recall what I had first told you, his ectoplasm is actually much warmer than most ghosts' ectoplasm. So, you see, gentlemen, there are all sorts of paradoxes in the Ghost Boy's make up…His central core is cold in nature, yet his ectoplasm is almost as warm as your blood. He has a heartbeat, yet has a silent but pulsating and vibrant ghostly central core…"

Spectra pulled the probe out and looked up at her audience and continued, "But there is even more to know. He is both good and wicked. He is focused on doing the right thing, yet just as readily lies and lets his focus be distracted by doing many selfish things. And a lot of those things caused hurt to many, including the ones he holds dear…."

She paused fleetingly for the effect before she added, "Yes, gentlemen, he does _feel_ for others. But it is a shallow emotion since he willingly puts humans in danger even when he could avoid it. So, really, he is no hero as some have insisted. He has deserved to be hunted as the wicked ghost that he is. Yet, he has never done anything as despicable as what I am doing right now or what you clearly enjoy seeing."

A few loud murmurs of uncomfortable protest erupted from her audience.

But then something else got Spectra's attention, and she looked down at Danny as he turned his head to his side and pleaded, "Please… Please stop."

Spectra glanced towards the Guys-in-White, but they were still too busy talking to themselves about all the data they were seeing on the screens.

Good. Let the fools give her a bit more time...

The evil female ghost placed a bloody hand against the side of the boy's face and moved it to face forward again. By how easily she was able to do that, she knew that the anesthesia was working more than not.

"Stop?" she icily hissed, though she only said it loud enough for the suffering teen to hear, "Why would I want to do that when I'm just _starting_ to have fun, little freak? But, really, you brought this on yourself, Danny. Tsk-tsk. All you are is a creepy little 'hero-wannabe' who's been a thorn in my side too long!"

The female shadow ghost glanced back up at her audience and could see that they still were distracted. She sneered triumphantly. She still had time to say—and do—one more thing to the young hybrid before the show would go on.

Her eyes glinted with evil glee as shewickedly cooed, "Besides, what better way for me to harvest all of your misery than to make you…_suffer mercilessly_!"

Danny just squeezed his eyes close as more tears fell down the side of his face at her cold touch. Even as he was weakening while she siphoned off his misery, he was finally aware that he was regaining some movement. But it was not enough for him to be able to do anything but claw at the metal table under him. And besides, he was so close to losing consciousness that he knew even if he could move completely, he would be too weak and too much in pain to do anything to help himself.

But then, Spectra suddenly pulled away. Danny didn't understand why; but yet, his cloudy mind suddenly presented a picture to him. It almost made the pain ebb. It was the image of Sam. But though it briefly brought him a sense a peace, he suddenly began to shake softly. And if he had enough movement, he would have been sobbing hard.

A sudden desperation set into his exposed heart and core, and he began to choke out, "Help me. Sam… Save me. Get me out of here. I-I can't… I can't do this anymore. It's too much. Sam… Please. Please…"

But unfortunately for the boy, he had not been able to send that _exact_ message to his girl telepathically because of his great distress.

Spectra smirked at witnessing Danny on the brink of a mental breakdown. But she wasn't done yet.

She looked back at the Guys-in-White, and the idiots were still talking. But she then ignored them casually added, "But here is the real surprise…"

She then nodded to Bertrand and pulled her glowing, bloodied gloves away from Danny's open chest. She stepped in front of him to purposely block the Guys-in-Whites' view of Danny's body just as the television sets shut themselves off.

A moment later, Danny saw white light in front of his eyes and a strong surge of pain pulse through his body when a strong jolt of electricity from the wires attached to him that had also been monitoring his vitals was thrust into him.

Danny's body suddenly arched off the metal table, and he let out the scream of agony he had been unable to get out this entire time.

Spectra grinned with all her cruelty as he picked up a surgical knife, and in a whisper only Danny could hear, she said, "Time to expose you for the loser of a freak that you are!"

The evil ghost didn't hesitate as she raised her hand, and drove the knife into the young hybrid's core before renting it forward and slicing his ghost core in half. As if bursting a balloon, whitish-green and charged ectoplasm went everywhere.

That was the final blow!

Danny's scream instantly melded into a soft exhale and his head thudded to the side.

All of the men in the room gasped at the scene.

Spectra hurriedly moved away just as the suffering boy lost consciousness.

Not a second later, Danny's transformation rings formed around him.

And he reverted back to his human side.

The entire group of Guys-in-White bolted up in their seats in both shock and outrage at seeing a young boy covered in _red_ blood!

But Penelope Spectra smiled wickedly under her surgical mask and calmly replied, "As you can see, he is both ghost _and_ human! And this concludes our lessons in the anatomy of this freak! He is now all yours!"

* * *

><p>"Sam!" Tucker immediately yelled as the girl slumped to the floor. The boy could not know that she had <em>felt everything<em> when Danny was being flayed alive by Spectra!

Danny's father quickly yet gently lifted the unconscious girl up into his arms and hurried to put her on a nearby couch. He hovered over her with concern and a feeling of helplessness.

Tucker could feel tears well up in his eyes as he looked at his friend before looking at Danny's father and saying, "This is bad, Mr. Fenton! Somehow, I just know Sam's reacting to something bad happening to Danny! And I didn't think she could do that, but if she can, I'm not sure how much more she can take."

The large man bit his lower lip. If Sam's connection was that strong with his son, he could not deny what Tucker supposed.

"What do you think we should do, Tucker?" the man finally uttered in an almost panicked hush.

"I-I don't..," Tucker began before slowing down his response at a sudden thought, "…know."

"What's wrong, Tucker?" Jack immediately asked.

"Mr. F., I'm not sure, but then I think I'm sure that only I can do something about this now…uh, I hope!"

The man blinked in total confusion at the boy.

"W-What?" he finally blurted out.

Tucker hurriedly replied, "No time to explain! Just give me some room, okay?"

Though uncertain and a bit spooked at how quickly the boy's attitude had changed from panic to determination, Jack hesitantly nodded and stepped back away from Sam.

Tucker squatted beside his friend and suddenly was uncertain about his idea. Still, he knew he had to try this or else Sam might get worse and they would never find Danny.

He hesitated only a second more before he grabbed a hold of Sam's limp hand, closed his eyes and concentrated.

A few moments later Tucker suddenly felt a strong jolt of electricity dancing between their clasped palms. But he didn't open his eyes to see or let go even when it definitely stung a bit. Instead, he concentrated harder, focusing his thoughts…

"_Sam?"_ he finally mentally asked as he tried to send that thought to her. _"Sam? It's me, Tucker!"_

Suddenly, he groaned and felt very dizzy all of the sudden. It almost felt like he was straining to move a very large boulder right in front of him—only that it was in his mind! But then, he felt something support him from behind before he felt something solid under him.

He wasn't even aware that Danny's father had kept him from falling and then put a chair under him.

A moment later, Tucker felt as if that boulder was gone but had been replaced by a locked gate….He mentally called out to his friend again, but heard nothing. Still, he concentrated and a few moments later, even that gate seemed to jar open a bit. He mentally sent out another call, _"Sam?"_

Then oddly, the boy suddenly felt as if that gate swung completely open because he heard a soft, but definite echo just beyond that 'gate'.

"_W-What?"_ the echo weakly said and Tucker somehow knew it was Sam—and that she was stirring!

"_Sam!"_ Tucker exclaimed more excitedly in their minds. _"It's me, Tucker!"_

"_T-Tucker?"_ the female hollow voice asked in bewilderment. _"Am I dreaming?"_

"_Well, sorta,"_ the boy mentally chuckled. _"I think I'm inside of your head!"_

"WHAT?!" the girl suddenly screamed, her thoughts seemingly driving a hole in his head at the same time as her real voice seemed to drill a hole in his—and Mr. Fenton's—eardrums!

"Arrghh!" Tucker yelled as he fell off of the chair while covering his ears.

Jack gasped, obviously stunned by Sam's seemingly sudden outburst and jolt to consciousness, especially when she had somehow been able to pull her friend completely off balance. It didn't help when her eyes were widened in shock and that she was even perspiring and panting heavily by whatever had just happened between her and her friend.

Nevertheless, the man was able to smile nervously and utter, "Well, that was an even better trick then using that raw piece of meat, Tucker!"

Tucker smirked as he pulled himself up off of the floor and then looked at his still-stunned female friend.

Sam shook her head with trying to clear her mind. She then squinted one eye at her male friend while the eyebrow of her other eye shot up conveying a combination of disbelief, amazement and skepticism all roll up in one. Yet, she couldn't deny it. She had felt Tucker's presence in her just now…and somehow it had _helped_ her rather than had creeped her out. Still, she wondered how he had done that. But right now, she didn't want to think about it. After all, she was still panting from the experience and was still feeling very drained. Nevertheless, she finally asked, "Were...were you just…"

"Yeah!" Tucker interjected as he quickly completed her thought for her. "Cool, isn't it? Looks like that 'Jiva complication' thing for you is a 'Spectre complication' thing for me!"

"Well, okay," she slowly began. "I guess it's alright for now..." But then she suddenly shook her finger at Tucker and said a bit more forcibly, "But don't think you can just barge right in anytime you want, got it, mister?!"

"Got it!" Tucker said with a half-smirk. Still, he braved to add, "But don't you think we might have to still do that to get to and find Danny?"

Sam's eyes widened and she gasped out, "Danny!"

She grasped Tucker by the shoulders and practically yelled out, "He's getting hurt so much! And…"

But she suddenly stopped since she couldn't remember who had been hurting him. But that only convinced her more that her friend was right. Something _was _preventing her from reaching her boyfriend's mind. And, true, she knew that Danny was mentally overwrought which would explain why she couldn't reach him…And she felt something…more about what was happening to him, which had affected her way more than she ever thought. But what was more important right now was that she was also certain that _something else_ was preventing her from reaching her boyfriend's mind. But perhaps with Tucker's help, she—no, _they_—could reach Danny.

Feeling even more drained, the girl sighed a bit. But she didn't want to admit or show that. Nevertheless, she did admit, "You're right, Tucker. We have to try to find him as soon as we can…Uh, and I'm sorry I snapped at you….It's just that I'm worried and I'm…I'm…uh, feeling…"

"Hey, Sam. I understand, so no biggie, okay?" Tucker gently interrupted her with an encouraging yet weak smile. He knew how hard it still was for her to tell anyone her feelings.

Seeing her half-smile was all he needed to know that all was in sync with his friend. Tucker then replied, "So, don't you think we should at least get that something to eat we were going to get before you, uh, passed out? And maybe get some sleep? I'm so hungry and beat I'm not sure if I can be much help right now myself."

Sam finally objected, "Okay, I will give about getting maybe something a bit to eat, but don't you think we've slept enough?"

"We slept because we were sick with something, Sam," Mr. Fenton gently piped in to remind her. "But this is _regular_ rest we need. We've been up for hours—it's nearly midnight already, you know— and we all are still recovering from our ordeal, you know."

Sam was about to object again when Jack added, "You know, Sam, though somehow I know you're going to hate to hear me say it, but I have to agree with Tucker. We have all been through quite the ringer for the past several days—and you more than any of us I have to say—so why don't we all get that 'something a bit to eat' like you admitted you needed and then get a little rest? And because I know you'll somehow object, I promise to make sure that we all get up in about eight hours, okay?"

Once more, Sam opened her mouth to protest, but Jack was quick to nip that in the bud as he gently interrupted her, "After all, don't you think it's possible that those cool powers of yours might not work well if you're starving or exhausted? I mean, heh-heh, if they work like Danny's powers, then it is possible that, you know, you might be like that, uh, you know?"

Sam looked at the man. She had to admit that he was right on occasions and this was one of many just lately. And though she didn't really want to stop to eat or rest, she also had to admit that he might be right about her powers. After all, she knew that they didn't work well when either hers or Danny's emotions were high, and she was now very anxious to find her boyfriend. Plus, it was possible that that the reason her ghost powers—or she should say her _spirit _powers—weren't working well when she was trying to reach Danny could be because she was very beat and famished. Still…she wanted to think that it wouldn't be true…

"But,…" she objected once again before glancing over to Tucker.

He, in turn, silently nodded his head.

Sam knew by the look on the boy's face that Tucker agreed with Danny's father.

She sighed before grumbling, "Alright. I'm going to do as you say, but I'm not happy about it at all!"

"We know!" both Tucker and Mr. Fenton said at once.

This time, all three chuckled a bit again before they headed to the kitchen.

After they were finished, they went upstairs to try to get to sleep. Sam went to Jazz's room; Tucker to Danny's room and Mr. Fenton to his own room.

And even though they were all exhausted, none of the three would have a 'restful' night's sleep…especially not Sam, since she would be having an all-too-real and terrifying nightmare….

* * *

><p><strong>AN: *smiling wickedly* There you go, dearies! Isn't Spectra deliciously evil? I just knew she would be 'all in' for horror and mischief! And I'd gladly give her the chance to show you! Not only that, but I hate to admit that truephan and I agree that she has to be the wickedest of the ghosts. She is just so selfish, conniving, and malicious! Oooh, it's too good! Better than dessert!**

**truephan: Please don't tell me that you're getting too excited here?**

**Ms. Hyde: Okay. I won't tell you. **

**truephan: *shudders* Well, I hope that Ms. Hyde didn't creep you out as much as she's—**

** **Ms. Hyde**: Hold on! I sure hoped I creeped them out. It was about time we dabbled into the horror genre! In fact, I had originally played this scene out based on a news story you told me about a long time ago that interviewed REAL patients who had underwent surgery 'under anesthesia'—only that the anesthesia only paralyzed their muscles but didn't take away the pain **_**at all**_**. They could feel the ENTIRE surgery but yet couldn't yell or talk or communicate with the doctors that they were awake enough to feel the pain. Since that story, then, the doctors have devised a system to check and make sure that patients are totally under the effects of the anesthesia so that patients don't have to go through the agony of an ordeal like this. So, I just ran away with the idea, especially if it means it finally pushes your silly hero over the edge!**

**truephan: *blinks in disbelief* Uh, all I can say is ignore her and as you can see, the Fantomos Ecto-Scale continues. As I told you before, it will be difficult to rate these last sets of very powerful ghosts. But I thought it would be great to have Spectra be the first of the 'Level 8' ghosts to be spotlighted.**

**And please don't forget to let me know your thoughts about the chapter.**

** Ms. Hyde: Oh, yes. Or else, I might take up where Spectra left off!**

* * *

><p><strong>289-LEVEL 1—<strong>_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—Matilda**_**— truephan's original character from her story, **_**Sleepover Nightmare**_

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**289-level 6-**_**Gamma**_**—Ghost Writer**

**289-level 6-**_**Beta**_** —Walker**

**289-level 6-**_**Alpha**_**—Skulker**

**LEVEL SEVEN GHOSTS—Difficult to defeat. Would have been evenly matched with Danny at age 14. They usually have only one way of being defeated and can be defeated only after discovering that flaw. Also, Danny could only defeat them at age 14 after he picked up new skills to defeat them.**

**289-level 7-**_**Epsilon**_**—Undergrowth**

**289-level 7-**_**Delta**_**—Nocturne**

**289-level 7-**_**Gammas**_**—Aragon and Dorothea**

**289-level 7-**_**Beta**_**—Vortex**

**289-level 7-**_**Alpha**_**—Behemoth**

**LEVEL EIGHT GHOSTS—Very difficult to defeat because they are relatively more powerful than Danny Phantom at age 14. In fact, he might not be able to defeat them without outside help.**

**289-level 8-**_**Episilon**_ **—Spectra**


	41. Ch 41 Level 8 Ghosts--Split Personality

**A/N: Hi, y'all! Happy Fall! How about that? I unintentionally rhymed that! Heh-heh. Ahem. Well, I usually don't like September because I don't get any holidays; and now I found a reason to be happy about its coming. And I do have to say that I like the slightly cooler temperatures now that the highs are in the 80s (Hey, for us in the South that is **_**cooler**_**, so no snickering!) Anyhooo, I like to say thanks to some mystery readers and 'danny is da bomb' for your reviews since you have no email to which I can reply. And for that one reviewer who asked if they could use some of my theories: by all means! The more information we share about Danny Phantom, the more all of us will know! Heh-heh…Now, I hope everyone else is ready for the next chapter, 'cause I am. And there is a spoiler in here just in case you haven't read my other story, "Father's Day Gift" (tsk-tsk). But in the meantime, here is Chapter 41. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 41—Level Eight Ghosts—Split Personality<p>

Vlad actually frowned at the end of the program with Spectra. He cupped his chin and tapped his index finger against his cheek in thought. He really hadn't wanted to use that particular one, but felt he really had no choice since Daniel was still being so obstinate! Would the boy's resilience ever end?

"Your test subject's mental stability is in flux, sir. And so is his power level," Maddie the computer reported. "Shall I activate Program 289-8 _Delta_ now, sir?"

Just then, Vlad heard the door to the control room open and he turned slightly in that direction. He silently nodded to Skulker as the Ghost Hunter floated in.

Skulker slightly grunted in return and headed to the cylinder-shaped container at the far side of the room. After all, it was time for the cyborg ghost to check on the creature within it.

"Sir?" Maddie repeated since a few moments had passed and the man hadn't answered her.

But Vlad absent-mindedly replied, "Just a moment, my dear."

The man turned and walked up to his ally and silently looked on as the Ghost Hunter continued with his task. He had already gotten the clue that Skulker was still a bit peeved by the tone of the ghost's grunt, but he also knew that it took time for the Skulker to come around and be himself again. And the man knew just how to do that.

In the meantime, Skulker instantly knew that the older hybrid had approached him and was now near him, but the ghost nevertheless didn't look at him and just kept working.

Vlad purposely cleared his throat before saying, "So, how is the integrity of the container, Skulker?"

"Fine," the hunter simply replied, though he kept his eyes on the monitors mounted on the coffin-shape container.

"And its contents?" the man further inquired.

"Fine as well," Skulker tersely answered as he pushed a few more buttons on his armband.

"Well, good…" Vlad began before slightly smirking and adding, "So, have you thought of a name for your ingenious invention, yet?"

Skulker stopped briefly and grunted once again. He could tell that the man was trying to butter him up. But he wasn't in the mood. After all, he was still wrestling with his conscience from his encounter with the Ghost Boy and the last thing he wanted to do was _think _about it. So, having the older hybrid even remotely remind him of the possible purpose of the creature within the container didn't bode well with him.

Still, the cyborg ghost could also tell that Vlad was in his own way trying to get him out of his funk. The man was being…nice. And, really, the Ghost Hunter…appreciated it…

But Skulker knew he didn't have time for such foolishness. He had other things to do after this.

He finally replied, "No, Plasmius, I have not given it any more thought; so, if you rather be the one to give it a name…"

"No, no, Skulker," Vlad insisted. "It can wait. It's just that, uh,…"

Just then, Maddie the computer piped in, "Sir, what are your orders?"

Vlad briefly turned to his hologram before glancing back at Skulker.

Skulker didn't realize that he had reflexively frowned in disapproval at the look on Vlad's face. He could tell that the man's attitude had instantly changed at the computer's question and that he had wanted to get back to _his _task of breaking the whelp.

Meanwhile, Vlad noticed Skulker's frown and furrowed his brow in confusion before he frowned with slight irritation. Why was the hunter upset? Skulker knew the plan; and so… But the man stopped himself at the word 'plan'. He was sure that Daniel was at a crucial point. It was time to get back to work.

Vlad quickly controlled any latent emotion before he calmly and seriously replied, "Activate the next phase of Program 289-9 _Zeta_s first, Maddie; and then we'll be using Program 289-8 _Gamma _for now. Once those are in the queue, then wake Daniel. Let's see if we have him where we want him..."

"Right away, sir," she replied as she executed his command.

Skulker scowled once more before turning back to the container. But then Vlad's face finally broke out into a smile with what he saw…

* * *

><p>As soon as Danny was aware that his eyes had opened and his last memory flooded his brain, he curled up where he lay, pulled his hands forward and buried his face within his human hands. Not a heartbeat later, he broke into sobs.<p>

He was so distressed about what he was remembering that he hadn't even noticed that he was actually able to move now and that he had not even one mark on his chest that had even hinted that he had been by all accounts flayed alive not too long ago.

He cried for what seemed hours, even though it was only for a few minutes.

One of his greatest fears had happened; and he could _still_ feel the pain throbbing through him! His mind still reeled from the trauma; and he didn't even know if he was half-alive or fully dead.

Getting dissected alive had felt worse than he had ever imagined. And he didn't even want to imagine any further how worst it could have been if he had been taken apart molecule-by-molecule! He shivered more at the memory of every stinging cut from Spectra's cruel scalpel as if the blade was still renting his mind. It hurt so much…and it was still bleeding him of his…will.

He felt so lost…His mind was adrift in turmoil and it felt as if there was no way to stop the distress that currently had a lock on him.

Even the tears that were still bitterly flowing seemed to wash away all his resolve. The young hybrid felt completely numb with hopelessness for the first time since he had encountered Skulker…or was it Undergrowth? Or Nocturne? Right now, he really didn't care to even _try_ to remember. It didn't matter now that he was feeling himself fall into surrender after all of the brutality he had endured. Yet, what could he do about it? No answer could give him the strength to go on…

But then, even amidst his emotional turmoil, the boy suddenly heard something that sounded like someone was clearing his throat with a blend of impatience and indignation…and it sounded familiar _especially because of its tone_.

Danny slowly choked in his sobs in an effort to steel himself. But even when he was trying to control himself, he wasn't doing a good job at it. He had already gone through so much crud so far; he was tired and hungry; and…he paused when seemingly random thoughts of his mother managed to squeeze out of his tormented brain.

Now desperately clinging to those thoughts, he drew in a shaky breath and pulled his tear-streaked face out of his hands.

The boy gritted his teeth and doggedly peeled himself from the ground.

Once he was up, he looked around for the being he suspected had to be near. His teary eyes narrowed before he locked eyes on his 'visitor'.

Shoving another shaky breath down, he somehow managed to bitterly and hoarsely spit out, "What do you really want, Justeco?"

"To monitor you, of course," he answered without emotion.

"What? Seeing me tortured wasn't enough for you?" Danny asked shakily. He felt something dark curling within his heart even amongst his growing desperation as he furthered asked, "Why? Why would you do that to me?"

"As I have constantly informed you, young half-ghost, we are testing you," the Head Observant replied in the same uncaring tone of voice.

"You're not testing me, you jerk!" Danny emphatically corrected him with a strong stir of anger. "You're sadistically tormenting me without any reason! I haven't done anything to deserve this! And if you think that I deserve this for something I might do in the future, then you were either faking understanding all along or not paying any attention to the fact that the future is not set in stone, since you and your brother and all of your kind experienced all of that yourselves! So, how can you judge me when..."

Konsilisto was quick to interrupt the boy, "We are merely trying to determine the gravity of the data we have observed thus far. We hope that our tests…"

"Torture!" Danny spitefully insisted, purposely cutting the Observant off. And yet, his voice still quavered a bit when the word resounded the horrible feeling of Spectra's knife.

But Konsilisto ignored the boy's outburst and calmly continued, "We hope that our tests show us what kind of ghost…"

"Half-ghost!" Danny spat back.

His pupil narrowing in irritation, Justeco piped in, "Really, Danny Phantom. We are trying to inform you of our intentions."

"I already know your intentions!" Danny firmly countered just as his blue eyes blazed a bright green for a moment with his growing ire.

Meanwhile, in the control room of the simulation room, Vlad suddenly perked up even more when he heard Danny say that.

"You're trying to drive me crazy!" Danny continued, now that both of the Observants had turned to look right at him. "I don't know why you're doing that and, honestly, I don't care! What you're doing is breaking a lot of your laws and you know it!"

Seeing and arguing with these two had once again been the spark the boy needed to pull himself together and reawaken his defiance—at least on the outside.

Justeco immediately replied, "Our laws allow us to put our potential criminals to the test!"

Suddenly feeling as if his boldness was actually pulsing through his veins again, the boy sarcastically countered, "Right! I guess then you're going to conveniently forget about _Iluzisto _when it comes to 'putting me to the test'; especially when you're acting _just like him_ now!"

The two Observants fell silent and Danny was mentally sighing a bit in triumph. Maybe he had finally gotten through to them.

However, Justeco's voice seemed to be drenched in coldness as he finally replied, "Every test from now on will be _real_."

"As if it hasn't been already?" Danny asked incredulously. Really! Were these two _that_ daft?

"What we mean, young half-ghost, is that up to this point we have been able to manipulate time and existence in your tests, which is why you have not been permanently damaged. But we cannot guarantee that for any future tests. In fact, any further test needed will be very dangerous and even have a strong element of risk to both of your lives," Konsilisto added.

Now almost in a panic, Danny asked, "But why? And…Hey! What do you mean by 'further tests'? I thought…"

But before he could complete his thought, the two Observants vanished without another word.

"Hey!" Danny yelled up to the air in protest. "You didn't let me finish! And I'm tired and hungry! And thirsty! See! There's even more of your laws you're breaking by not letting me sleep or get something to eat and drink!"

But when there was no answer, Danny grumbled under his breath, "As if that had stopped them before, darn it!"

* * *

><p>Suddenly, Vlad pulled away from the two-way camouflaged window and asked the computer-generated-image of the love of his life, "I'm not too concerned at keeping Daniel sleep-deprived. After all, his banter does get a bit better when he's cranky. Hmm, it's certainly isn't very clever when he's wide awake. But, how long has it been since he's had anything to eat and drink, Maddie?"<p>

"Fifteen and three-quarter hours, sir," she said unemotionally "Shall I provide him with the necessary sustenance, sir?"

Vlad paused in thought. "Yes. But not so much to satiate him. Though I don't want to starve the boy, keeping him hungry might hasten the collapse of his mental resolve..." He paused and muttered more to himself, "And that collapse seemed to be imminent before we sent the Observants back in, so to speak…"

He walked over to the monitors and scanned them again. "Hmmm…maybe we need to refrain from using that program for a while, Maddie, since it obviously riled the boy up all the more."

"But I have noted your saying that using that program was a reliable test for your test subject's mental stability," she pointed out.

"So I did, my dear," Vlad admitted. "Still, let's put it on hold as a 'test' for now, shall we?"

"Very good, sir," she replied.

Vlad returned to the two-way mirror and looked at the boy, who was now sitting on the ground with his head in his hands. "Blast it, Daniel! I'm going to make sure to flick that chip on your shoulder right off! You're going to have to reach your breaking point soon!"

He paused again and then quickly told his computer. "Lower the ghost shield only around the area right in front of my face for about fifteen seconds, Maddie.

"As you command, sir," she said before pushing a couple of buttons. "Done, sir!"

Vlad immediately closed his eyes, and concentrated on using one of his powers. He smiled wickedly, certain that his power had reached the boy sitting in the simulation room.

"_That's odd. I was expecting…" _He thought as he frowned at the conflicting information about the boy.

He didn't know if it was good or bad, but he knew that it was imperative to push on. _"Alright, Daniel. Let's see just how much more meddle you truly have…"_

He then turned to his computer and said, "Activate Program 289-8 _Gamma_, Maddie."

* * *

><p>In the meantime, Danny's shoulders had drooped in slight defeat after the Observants had disappeared. He plopped on the ground, crossed his legs, propped his elbows on his knees and nestled his head in his hands. What else could he do at the moment anyways? He was sure that the Observants wouldn't take too much time before 'introducing' him to another ghost…<p>

But until then, why didn't he just take this short time to rest? He certainly didn't have any argument with that! He tried to fall asleep, but because he was still anxious of what might happen next, he really couldn't.

Nevertheless, his weary mind began to wander. It was suddenly filled with the things the blasted Observants had done to him. Obviously, it wasn't important to the jerks to explain why they felt they needed to do all this stuff to him! But it didn't matter. It still wasn't right!

Then for some reason, Danny's tired mind changed gears. He started sorting through all of the ghosts with which he had already dealt. He frowned at the realization, which actually helped him to focus…

He had long figured out that the Observants had been using the ghosts in some kind of….order. And Danny could now guess with more certainty that the power levels of succeeding ghosts were getting higher. Sure, there was a mixture of ghosts of different power levels brought together to fight him, but that, too, had some kind of…order to it. He thought about the ghosts he had fought again. But right after that, his mind shifted to thinking about the ghosts he _hadn't fought yet_!

He swallowed a bit thickly. So, that meant, the Observants weren't lying about the fact that the next series of 'tests' would be dangerous. If they involved having to deal with ghosts—or even spirits— more powerful than him, then it was definitely going to be a very rough ride in the near future, especially when he was already feeling like crud. He was at a definite disadvantage with everything happening to him: his powers running amok and maybe disappearing all together; he was hungry and thirsty; and for all intents and purposes, exhausted. And it was only _now_ that the tests would be getting harder?

"They would be worse than a pop quiz after spending all night ghost-fighting!" the boy crankily grumbled.

Still, what could he do about it?

But then, while trying to clear his head, something…very odd happened.

All of the sudden, Danny felt very hot! Uncomfortably hot, especially within his spine! He was about to gag his gasp when the feeling dissipated as quickly as it had come!

Danny was so disturbed about the feeling the he sat straight up and scanned all around him. But there was…nothing.

He sighed again and was about to return to his original position when a familiar-looking table and chair suddenly appeared right to the left of him. A split second after that and he could tell that something had appeared on top of the table.

Danny felt his heart skip a beat with encouragement. There must be some food and drink there!

He jumped up and practically ran over to the table, only to slow when all he could see on the table was a small sandwich and a glass of water.

Now he was no longer encouraged but irritated.

"It'll have to do until I can somehow figure a way out of this mess," he grumbled as he sat down and began to slowly eat the sandwich to 'make it last'.

As soon as he was finished—which was, of course quicker than he wanted—Danny jumped up off of the chair just as it and the table disappeared.

"It's getting to be a very old joke at my expense," he grumbled to himself. He felt no sense of triumph, but only annoyance at having beaten the Observants at this little game.

Still, the boy didn't walk any farther than he was right now. He was so tired of this both literally and figuratively. He wasn't even sure if he could keep his weary mind clear, much less put up a decent fight. And as he stood in the dark, lifeless room, he also didn't want to wonder what was going to happen next—though he couldn't help thinking that in the end anyways since he had guessed that even more powerful ghosts were 'on their way'. Just how many, he didn't know of course. But the way he was how badly he was feeling, he only could hope that he could hold out enough to give the Observants whatever precious data they were wanting and so that he and his mom could go home.

But just then, Danny's ghost sense charged out of his mouth in alarm. Less than a heartbeat later, his bluish-white transformation rings were forming at his midline before splitting in half so that one set of rings flowed over and then changed the left side of his body and then the other set did the same to his right side.

Now ready as Phantom with his hands blazing green, Danny hurriedly scanned for what he knew what must be his next foe.

Suddenly, he spied a large disjointed shadow in the darkness. The shadow quickly rematerialized not too far from him. The air brightened with purple and green just as Danny heard the sound of metal scraping and a haunting yell!

Right after the yell, other multiple thunderous sounds pounded toward the Ghost Boy.

Danny now knew which ghost he was up against. And since his foe was powerful, he couldn't afford to waste any energy trying to banter with the jerk. He quickly shot up into the air while reflexively aiming his energy-filled hands at what was nearing him.

But then, the young hybrid frowned in confusion when the thunder abruptly ceased even though his aggressive foe continued to fly toward him. In fact, when Danny could see that the ghost had actually increased his speed, Danny's energy charged forward out of his fisted hands.

However, just what should have been the moment of impact, large green sparks erupted and charged the air in small fits when the attacking ghost instead dispersed them with a flick of his wrist.

As the two adversaries narrowed their distance, Danny's eyes narrowed in both irritation and determination at the ghost's counter. He quickly willed a green shield and blue ice sword and increased his speed.

Not a moment later and the two charging males clashed.

Danny reflexively wrenched violently to his left while simultaneously shoving his shield forward and slicing sidewards with his sword.

The other ghost quickly countered with his own sword and actually tangled the two swords together before parrying the boy away.

Grunting with the force of his sword being repelled, Danny instantly twisted back to charge his foe again, only to find that his enemy had turned around just as quickly and was charging back himself!

Once more, Danny raised his shield just in time for the attacking ghost's sword to carve it into two!

Danny instantly let go of his shield and pulled into an abrupt back bend away from the strong, downward force. He was barely able to avoid the sharp blade, though he felt the wind displaced by the force bite him instead.

But the other ghost merely retaliated with a counter swing of his sword.

This time, Danny was quick to block its intention with his own ice blade and with a defiant grunt, he shove it—and the ghost— away. He reflexively darted to the side to give him more space to ready a counter attack.

But as if to anticipate the boy's plan, the opposing ghost didn't give him that space; and instead charged right at Danny with renewed force!

Danny gasped but was able to form another shield at the last second and threw it at the ghost as if it were a Frisbee.

This time, the aggressive older ghost yelled in anger as he swung his sword at the shield and easily cleaved it in two again as if it were made of butter.

In spite of his panting from the struggle, Danny narrowed his eyes in irritation when he realized how easily the ghost had destroyed his shield on that last round and how hard it had been for him to counter the ghost. That meant he was tiring too quickly yet again. Nevertheless, the young hybrid tried to ignore that as he charged up more green ectoplasmic energy in his hands while his eyes brightened with his blue ice powers at the same time.

In the next instant, the half-ghost simultaneously shot a beam of ice and ectoplasmic energy before the two rays quickly melded together. Hot bluish-green steam rose and sizzled off of the cold fusion of the combined forces before it plowed into Danny's foe.

Finally, that was enough power to pummel the other ghost forcibly into the ground. Dust instantly erupted around the ghost and momentarily blocked any sight of him.

Danny half-smiled in triumph when he could see that the ghost hadn't pulled himself out of the dust yet. He momentarily closed his eyes and sighed now that he could tell how fatigued he already was. Thank goodness he had finally defeated the ghost, since he didn't think he could go another round right now.

Had the boy been fed and rested enough, he would have thought better than to be so bold as to do what he did next. And he would have noticed a shadow that had pulled itself out of the dust, and would been able to react more quickly to what happened next. But as it were, Danny decided to make sure that the ghost was out for the count. His sluggish mind hadn't even thought about bringing up a shield as he drifted closer to where his ghost foe had fallen.

In the next moment, however, his ghost sense fired off at the same time that a flaming green sword jutted out of the darkness just above him and swished downward at him!

Though Danny tried to avoid it, it was too late.

Danny screamed when what felt like hot lightening pulsed through him just as the green blade made contact. It was very painful, and sparks of bright bluish-white light instantly surrounded and blinded him for several moments. Not only that, but the blow threw him several feet away from where he had once been.

He blacked out for several seconds before he came to again. And yet, all he knew for what seemed forever was the blinding agony.

Once the pain had subsided, Danny was still panting on the ground at the experience. He felt even more drained and now dizzy at the same time. He gripped at where the sword had struck him and felt wet ectoplasm coat his fingers.

After a hasty inspection, Danny frowned in confusion. The cut on his shoulder wasn't that deep! And aside from the lingering pain, he did not feel incapacitated by the hit, so he could only conclude it had not been so bad.

Nevertheless, Danny knew he didn't have time to worry about it any longer because his attacker was still near!

"Alright, jerk! I already know that you're a coward after ambushing me just now!" Danny seethed while pulling himself up and preparing himself to create two balls of green energy for a counter-attack.

But before the teen could charge up any of his energy, he spied something on the ground not too far in front of him. And it was moving slightly! But the entity on the ground couldn't be the ghost that had just struck him with his blade! It made no sense when the ghost had just gotten the upper hand!

He hurried over to the entity, only to gasp.

_It was another… him!_

But, also, it _wasn't_ him…and he knew he hadn't duplicated himself at all…

In a sudden panic since he wasn't sure what this might mean, Danny quickly inspected himself again. He frowned, perplexed with what he found. He was still in his black-and-white costume, and even though it was still rent where he had been struck, the cut had already healed. And he wasn't in a place of his worst nightmares… He shook his head in confusion. Or was he? He hurriedly inspected himself once again. Nothing else seemed different, though he couldn't possibly know at the moment that his ghostly eyes were now _blue_ in color..

But then what about that other..._him?..._True, the still-stunned boy lying at his feet was the same build, height and had the same features. Only, this 'Danny Phantom' had wild black hair and his hazmat suit was mostly white, though the gloves, boots and 'DP' emblem were all black. And though his face had the same features, its skin tone was blue.

In fact, to Danny, the stirring boy at his feet looked just like a younger version of his putrid evil self, only that his ears weren't pointy and his hair was not white or aflame.

Then in the next moment, the black-haired boy finally opened his eyes and Danny jolted when they were glowing with a _golden _hue and when that boy gasped at seeing him as well!

Both of the Danny Phantoms were still too dazed and in shock to speak to each other right away.

But then, they both startled when they heard a hideous laugh behind them followed by a thunderous sound.

The teens violently twisted completely around and gasped again when they could see Fright Knight mounted atop his galloping steed Nightmare amidst an ethereal green cloud of dust that was violently stirring against the thunderous pounding of the horse's hooves. In fact, the Fright Knight was riding Nightmare when he had first come but had quickly dismounted to attack the boy.

The medieval ghost was still holding his brilliantly glowing ancient green sword aloft and looked ready for another chance to deal the Ghost Boy another blow after the one he had just delivered.

The dark-suited, blue-eyed Danny instantly knew that since the Fright Knight was _here,_ he _couldn't be_ in his worst nightmare. But that didn't explain that other…guy.

But then, the black-clad boy suddenly shuddered at the creepy feeling he was getting. If he wasn't in his worst nightmare yet he was struck by the Soul Shredder, then…

Now upset of what it could mean, Danny boldly said, "Fright Knight! What did you do to me? And if it's what I think you did, then why am I still here?" He then turned to look at the white-suited Danny, pointed at him and added, "And who is _he_ and what's he doing here?"

"Me?" the white-clad, golden-eyed Danny immediately objected while pointing to himself before pointing at the what he felt was a 'fake' Danny Phantom and insisting, "Who says _he's_ in charge? He's got no right to demand anything! _I'm_ the one who needs to know what happened here. So, what did you do to me, Fright Knight? And who is this jerk?"

"What are you talking about?" the other Danny demanded as he stepped closer to his paradoxical self. "You're just some kind of illusion that Fright Knight must have conjured up and —"

Now peeved at the insult, Fright Knight tightened his grip on Nightmare's reins as he hissed, "I do not deal with illusions, whelp! What I am interesting in is shredding souls! And once again, my sword has not let me down! I am especially pleased to see what happened to you!"

"What?" both of the Dannys blurted out at once before turning to and glaring at each other.

The black-suited Danny then looked at the Fright Knight and asked, "What do you mean?'

At first, it seemed that the medieval ghost's first comments suggested that the ghost was ignoring the boy's question. But as the older ghost continued, it became clearer that the Fright Knight was indeed answering his question. "I have been driven lately to learn more of my sword's ability and how it relates to you, Ghost Child. I was especially intrigued with what happened in the recent past to you when my sword was able to cleave you during your mid-transformation of both of your halves."

The armored ghost lifted his green flaming sword and glanced at it as he lazily twirled it a bit in his hands a moment before he gripped it more firmly and continued, "However, even though I would prefer to have caught you in mid-metamorphosis and finish the task I had started with you, I felt more in earnest to test what would happen to you if my sword rived you while you were _in your ghost form_."

Fright Knight smirked evilly at the two Dannys as he added, "And when the opportunity was presented to me, I could not turn _an observant eye_ away from it, if you know to what I refer."

Both Phantoms scowled at the ghost's poor joke. Of course, the ghost was insinuating that the Observants had put him up to this.

"Whatever happened to that 'being my own ghost' thing, Fright Nut?" the black-suited Danny dryly replied, "Wait, don't answer that! I keep forgetting that lap dogs can't fend for themselves!"

The Fright Knight's eyes caught fire at the insult and he pulled on Nightmare's reins so tightly that the horse neighed in protest. But then he sneered once more, "We shall see which of us begs at the end!"

"I sure won't wait to see you gloat!" the more 'normal looking' Phantom replied in challenge.

"I don't care about either of you in the end," the Danny in white growled as he folded his arms over his chest in clear annoyance. "And you haven't answered my question, Fright Jerk! What did you do to me?"

"I was getting to that before you did not keep to your manners!" the medieval ghost growled as his purple hood and cape flared. "But just the same, now I can see how interesting half-ghosts can be. At least you have proven three unique effects of my soul shredder! I do not need to test what would happen if you were occupying your human form. I already now know. If human, you would have been sent to a dimension of your worst nightmare, as any human would be. And if I rent you in mid-transformation, your worthless human-half and your powerless ghost-half are separated and are doomed to extinction since one can no longer survive without the other…And lastly; usually a ghost who feels my sword's sting is completely destroyed. But, obviously, it is different with a half-ghost. I could feel through my sword's power what has happened. If my soul shedder slices through you while you are in your ghost form, you are split right into the two distinct facets of your personalities that make up all humans and ghosts. Perfect for my final plans for you!"

Both of the Phantoms' eyes widened at the news. Each of them couldn't believe it! The Soul Shredder had split him in two! But before either could comment, the Fright Knight continued.

He smiled wickedly and pointed his sword to the white-suited, golden-eyed Danny and said with some delight, "You are the more interesting of the two. You are made up of what drives all of the stronger, evil emotions and vices: arrogance, brashness, impatience, selfishness and connivance to name just a few. But let me make this simple for your small minds. This creature is your evil side, Ghost Child."

The medieval ghost then frowned and then pointed his sword to the other Danny and said with some disgust, "You are the part that is left. The one which possesses all of the 'good' and purer, yet weaker, emotions and virtues of your personality. I do not wish to list them because their very names are distasteful to my mouth. But I know that you understand what those are, though I do not agree that there is a virtuous side to anyone, human or ghost."

"You're wrong!" the blue-eyed Danny countered as he fisted his hands. "All humans and ghosts have a good…and, uhm, bad….side! But right now, I won't argue any of that any more. Change me back!"

"Change _him_ back?" the other Phantom butted in with indignation. "Looks like I kept the _best_ stuff, so I'm very happy to stay this way!" He then pointed at the more 'normal-looking' Danny Phantom and said, "But you can get rid of him!"

"Hey!" that Danny protested, "You…you can't do that!" And turning right back to the Fright Knight, he emphasized once again, "Change, er, _all of me_ back!"

Fright Knight suddenly laughed, "Of course I do not plan to do that!"

"Why not?" both of the Dannys demanded before sneering at the other again.

"Because I want to see which of you will be the victor and earns the right to be set free! And, indeed, only one of you will while the other will remain to serve me!"

"I'll never serve you!" each of the Dannys yelled in unison, though this time they did not glare at each other but glared at Fright Knight instead.

One of Fright Knight's eyes rose up in surprise before he wickedly replied, "You have no choice! If you both want to survive, you will have to defeat the other. Otherwise, the longer you both exist in my domain, the quicker each of you will wither away to nothing!"

"How can you know that?" the more normal looking Danny demanded.

The blue-skinned Danny rolled his eyes in annoyance and said, "You moron! Didn't you hear him? This is his domain. His rules. You don't stand a chance of winning!"

Fright Knight snickered, "Interesting. We shall see, then, who will be set free!"

The medieval ghost quickly jerked back on Nightmare's reins. The steed whinnied defiantly just as it reared up on its hind legs. In the next instant, Fright Knight raised his flaring sword before its flames intensified and then shot forth a beam, which quickly split in two and struck each of the Danny Phantoms right in their heads!

Both of the twin hybrids yelled briefly in pain before collapsing to the ground….

When the black-suited, white-haired Danny woke up, he was lying in an open dirt field. Though there was enough light, the atmosphere was not blue; nor did it have the purple and green hues of the Ghost Zone. Instead, the atmosphere was the same color as the light brown dirt. He pulled himself up to a sit and immediately reached up to cup his still spinning head.

"Ugh," he groaned, "I've never tried to be in competition with anyone trying to get into the _Guinness Book of World Records_ for the most times attacked!"

Suddenly, he felt dizzier and weaker and lost his balance. But when one of his hands reflexively shot back to the ground to catch his fall, he felt something cold and hard underneath it.

"Huh?" he reacted in bewilderment as he grasped the object, pulled it up, and looked at it.

It was a large bluish-grey sword. And the boy startled a little when he caught a brief glimpse of his reflection in its sheen. Why were his eyes _blue?_

At this point, he didn't care to think of a reason. He had to focus on what was happening now.

Nevertheless, when the young hybrid looked at the sword again, he dryly said, "No doubt Fright Nut wants me to use this against my —Hey, where is _he_, anyways?"

Still holding onto the sword, Danny immediately stood up and bolted into the air. He twisted and turned his head as he scanned the surroundings partly for his nearby split persona and partly to get a feel for the place.

He frowned when he could see Fright Knight's skeletal army in the near distance. The teen had already known seen a few soldiers like that from his very first encounter with the ghost in his lair a couple of Halloweens ago. But the number had obviously grown since then.

The force was divided into four groups and each group actually surrounded this field and defined its quasi-borders. Nevertheless, Danny wrinkled his brow when he studied the group a moment more. He had to concentrate on finding his paradoxical half and hope that he could convince him to work with him in order to get back to normal.

Suddenly, a large golden beam appeared out of nowhere!

Danny gasped even as he reflexively formed a large blue shield in front of him. He hadn't seen gold energy since he and Vlad….But he quickly dismissed the thought when he noticed the color of his shield. He had expected it to be _green_ in color and had not willed any blue energy. What gave? Still, he braced himself as the golden beam slammed into the shield. Much to the surprise and chagrin of the boy, the shield immediately shattered before the force sent up painful vibrations through his right arm while it pushed him right to the ground.

"OWW!" the black-suited Phantom blurted out as he tried to shake the pain out of his arm while standing back up.

However, just then, another gilded beam was coming right at him! Even as he gasped in surprise, Danny reflexively shot out his own energy beam from his free hand to counter it. And once again, his eyes widened in disbelief when _only_ _blue _energy formed before it shot forward toward the opposing golden beam.

The two beams immediately collided, forming a green pulse at the point of contact. That green energy rapidly churned like a tiny tornado before it exploded outward and repelled the halved ghost boys away from each other.

Each hybrid yelled at being slammed into the ground from the force and lay momentarily stunned.

Finally, the more 'normal-looking' Danny grunted as he pulled himself up to a stand, only to gasp when yet another golden beam was coming straight for him! He raised his sword up as a shield this time. Then to even more of his surprise, the sword actually absorbed the gold ray and immediately lit up with the golden energy.

"Is this a good thing?" he warily asked himself when he quickly inspected the now glowing gold sword.

His eyes widened at a wild thought…he was forming blue energy and his other self was generating gold energy…

Still, the teen focused back on the matter at hand and yelled out, "Hey….Uh, hey, Danny! Can we, uhm, talk about this? I can say that I know you and I know you don't want to fight!"

"That was creepy!" he said to himself even as he kept scanning the horizon. After all, he never had dreamed that he would literally be talking to the other facet of his personality like this.

All of the sudden, however, a mostly white-and-black figure appeared not even two feet in front of him, his gold sword poised and ready for an instant attack.

Though taken aback by his other side's sudden appearance, the blue-eyed Danny immediately lifted his sword just in time. The two weapons clashed into the other with a harsh clang. The force of the blow sent powerful vibrations up each of the halves' arms.

But each of them ignored the effect as the blue-skinned, white-clad hybrid disengaged and instantly swung another blow at his other half.

The blue-eyed, black-clad Danny reflexively countered that blow and followed that up with his own angle of attack.

His golden-eyed half, however, easily countered that attempt.

"Predictable," he sneered as he hacked at his other persona again.

The two swords slammed into each other before parrying each of them away again.

"Ditto, dude!" the blue-eyed Danny grunted back when he had successfully countered the other.

Onward the two fought. But it soon became apparent that each of them was equal in his delivery and plan of attack, including each of them being able to fend off one another's blows each and every time.

But as time grueling dragged by, the more normal-looking Danny Phantom began to tire. That worried him, of course, because somehow he didn't feel that the same thing was happening to his other self.

Finally, a few minutes later, the golden-eyed, white-clad half-ghost chuckled evilly and uttered the obvious, "Give it up, jerk! You're weaker than me! I can feel it!"

"Well, your 'feelings' are lame ones, dude," the other Danny countered. "Because you're wrong and I'm not giving up!"

"Don't be a dweeb, Fenton!" his other persona challenged. "I'm going to win because everything I'm made of does make me stronger and you know that! Evil emotions are always easier to embrace and give you incredible power…a self-driven edge….like this!"

The white-suited boy promptly disappeared from sight!

Though the black-suited Danny gasped, he still reflexively turned around 180 degrees and quickly raised up his still glowing sword in anticipation.

At that precise moment, his sword met the golden one that had suddenly appeared, and harshly pushed the blue-skinned Danny back and off-balance.

Though the black-haired, golden-eyed Danny staggered back a moment, he immediately regained his balance and growled in anger. Without hesitation, he charged at the other again and wielded his sword with the intention of slicing his opponent in two.

This time, the more normal-looking Danny threw up another blue shield and shoved it forward. The shield held firm this time and did its job of fending off the edge of the golden sword.

But that just made the other hybrid angrier and he immediately thrust another of his golden rays at his foe.

Those gilded beams not only shattered the shield once more, which slightly stunned the blue-eyed Danny again; but also, any golden beam which had been refracted by the shield drove itself into the blue-eyed hybrid's sword. The still glowing sword absorbed those smaller rays and still glowed even brighter after it had absorbed them.

However, neither teen really noticed that because the golden-eyed Danny was already charging more forcibly at his other self right after the shield had shattered.

In the meantime, the black hazmat-suited hybrid had reflexively pulled up his glowing sword and successfully fended off the strength behind the countering weapon.

The more normal-looking Danny Phantom panted even more under the strain even as he continued to counter every move of his golden-eyed self. And even though it still sounded weird to him, the more normal-looking Danny Phantom grunted even as they fought, "Look, Fenton! We're both just going to get mega-exhausted soon. Can't we just talk this out? You know that right now the Fright Nut's probably getting a big thrill outta seeing us trying to kick each other's butt now. But anyways, haven't you thought that we're not going to be able to defeat each other? And that the big jerk watching us wants us to almost waste each other so he can just pick up the pieces when we no longer can defend ourselves? And what about these swords? Why did Fright Knight give them to us?"

At first, the white-suited Danny said nothing and only poured more strength into his efforts.

The more original-looking Phantom's arms were now shaking with his own effort as he felt his strength waning. But even though he was tiring, and had a passing thought to give up, he was still game. After all, being courageous helped you to hold on even when there was a temptation to run. But being courageous didn't mean that you could fight indefinitely or couldn't see the illogic of fighting when the end results would be bad one way or another.

Now panting more heavily, the blue-eyed hybrid tried to reason with his opposite evil self, "So, okay. I see that you really can't help being reckless and impatient with this whole thing. I relate, actually, 'cause I admit that I don't wanna lose, either. But don't you see how stupid this is: for us to fight each other, I mean? We're the same friggin' kid, you know!"

"Speak for yourself, loser!" the other boy countered, though he now sounded a bit winded himself. "I'm in this only for me and I'm sick of this stupid game. And I'm gonna make sure that the Fright Nut gets _you_! And of course I thought about these stupid swords. And I'll just bet that the first sword that makes some kind of physical contact will send the other Phantom to some wacko world as the Fright Nut's slave. And again, that would be _you_ since I can tell you're getting weaker and can't take much more!"

The blue-eyed Danny frowned in both disappointment and irritation, though he had to agree that his paradoxical self was right: he was weakening. But, he could now feel that the other was, too! And he really didn't care to think if the swords might do what his other self said, even if that made some sense. Nevertheless, he had to convince his other self to stop fighting.

He quickly said through his grunts, "Okay, I give! You're right. I am getting weaker, but you are, too! So, listen to me, will ya? Maybe this is exactly what Fright Knight wants. Have you thought that maybe if one of us gets hurt by a sword that _that_ might be enough to hurt the other? Like what happened the last time Fright Knight attacked us with his soul shredder?! How do we know if the Fright Nut's game is to have us destroy each other?"

"You're a freakin' dweeb, Fenton!" the golden-eyed boy hissed, obviously throwing that line of reasoning aside. "But then again, I shouldn't be surprised that you weren't listening to that jerk. He said he wanted _one _of us and it's not goin' to be me, pal!"

Just then, the paradoxical white-suited Phantom swung his sword a bit harder with his next attempt.

The blue-eyed Danny gasped when the grip on his sword was slipping and a moment later, the weapon was sent flying through the air at the follow up blow.

Now sneering in triumph, the golden eyes of the paradoxical Phantom flared a bit more as he raised his sword up for another attack.

The other black-clad Phantom desperately tried to shoot that sword with an ectoplasmic ray, but gasped again when he could not produce any!

But as the golden sword came down, the blue-eyed Danny ducked just in time and darted up into the air.

His blue-skinned self sneered in frustration at missing his foe. But he charged at his good side even as he said, "Yeah, so you don't have all your powers. Neither do I! I bet you didn't even notice that I couldn't will any shield while you could! But glad to know that I can still use ectoplasmic energy and my sword, so give it up, Fenton! You can't win!"

"_Can't win, huh?"_ the black-suited teen furiously thought as he rapidly backed further away from his other self to give him time to look for his own sword. And as he quickly scanned the area for his sword, he mentally smiled at his next idea, _"But I'll just bet you're reckless enough to have tried all of your powers, and they must not work because you would have already used them on me! Let's just hope that I got most of them, and, uh, that they still work now!"_

Just as the paradoxical Danny was within striking distance, however, he shot out a golden ectoplasmic beam while readying his sword. Once his foe had willed his shield, his beam would destroy it and he could finally and effectively make contact with his sword!

And sure enough, the black-suited Phantom willed a blue shield just as the paradoxical one had predicted.

But just as the golden energy ray destroyed the shield, the original Phantom shot forth a beam of _ice_ _energy_ at the golden sword, which sent it flying through the air!

The paradoxical Danny's gold eyes widened in surprised before they narrowed in anger. He hotly objected, "That's not fair that you have more than one power!"

The other Phantom smirked, "Doncha think maybe that's because in a weird way, whatever split us realized I would be the _more responsible_ one with the powers, huh?"

"Maybe," the golden-eyed boy replied with a wicked smile. "But then that means you would have more of a conscience_ not_ to use them. So, alright, Fenton! Time for hand-to-hand!"

Once he had said that, the white-suited boy dove right at his counterpart and the force was enough to thrust then both downward, with the original Danny's back leading the way downward. A few seconds later, both teens smashed into the ground. Now that the paradoxical Phantom could easily pin the other, he quickly delivered a solid blow right into the blue-eyed Danny's jaw.

But instead of throwing another punch, the boy in white promptly threw himself upward and soared in the direction of where his sword had been sent.

In the meantime, the original Danny tried to shake out his dizziness; and when his head finally cleared, he could see that the other Phantom already had a good head start on him. Nevertheless, he pulled himself up and immediately flew after his counterpart.

Once the paradoxical Phantom glanced back and saw that his foe had already recovered and was after him, he concentrated and increased his speed….And then he saw something!

The original Danny, in turn, grunted and poured more speed on as well. He was especially encouraged when he could feel his supersonic speed kick in.

"_All right!"_ he thought triumphantly as he quickly regained lost ground and closed the gap between him and his other self.

But just as the blue-eyed Danny caught up with his paradoxical self, the latter suddenly twisted around in mid-flight, reached out, grabbed his blue-eyed counterpart and yanked both of them downward.

Shortly afterward, they both crashed into the ground once more. The two immediately grappled, twisting and turning in their struggle, stirring up a fine dust of dirt into the air with their movements. They were silent for the most part except for their grunts and pants in trying to pin the other down. At this point, neither of them could get a punch in, even though they were both trying to do that in order to subdue their opponent. And they were concentrating so much on trying to counter the other that only one of them was aware that they were slowly rolling down toward their swords and that was because the paradoxical Phantom had seen them and that was why he had thrown both of them downward.

Nevertheless, though each of them struggled intensely, they were at a stalemate—and extremely dirty. And though neither of them would admit it, they were rapidly tiring.

Finally, after several more minutes of trying to get control of one another, the original Danny once again panted out, "Listen to me! I don't want to hurt you and you don't want to hurt me! Haven't you thought that maybe when the jerk split me, uh, us, it also split our power? Why else would your eyes be gold and mine are blue? It must be that our green energy was split to its elements. So, we'll have to work _together_ against Fright Knight or else both of us will be wiped out!"

"You don't think I'm going to fall for that, do you?" the other Phantom panted out, not letting up in his struggle. "You might not want to hurt me, you sap, but don't think I won't hurt you! I told you I wasn't going to be the one left for Fright Knight to do whatever he wanted to do with. Besides, you just don't want to admit that you've lost, that's all!"

The boy in black growled in irritation. This time grunting in more determination, he poured more strength into his effort. With one clean movement, he was finally able to pin his blue-skinnned self to the ground.

Taking in a deep breath and looking at his other self in the eyes, the original Danny firmly said, "Will you just get off it? We can't do this indefinitely! Whether you want to hear it or not, we have to work together er, like we sorta did before when we fought Technus a couple of years ago!"

"Now you get off it, you jerk!" the golden-eye boy angrily growled while trying to find some opening to attack. "You're goody-good attitude won't work with me! And I don't take orders from you and since I know how dense you are, let me spell it out to you again! I'm in this for _me_ and I'm the one who's going to win! And it's about time you learn that bad things conquer all —like right now!"

Danny's paradoxical twin instantly shot his golden beams right into his blue-eyed counterpart. But even as the blue-eyed original hybrid screamed in pain and was being propelled several yards away, the other Phantom frowned. He _was_ getting weaker…Well, then, he was just going to have to end this once and for all!

The angry white-suited Danny's eyes flared as he shot up off the ground and propelled himself upward in search of his sword and then his sappy side.

In the meantime, the original Danny had landed in a heap. Groaning even as his head was clearing, he struggled to get back up. But then, his hand brushed against something hard lying on the ground next to him. He looked down and saw 'his' sword! It had to be his because it was still glowing with that golden hue.

Just as he grabbed it and looked up, however, he gasped. A huge golden ectoplasmic beam was just moments away from hitting him! And he could see a white blur charging up right behind it! Having no time to form a shield especially when he knew it would definitely not protect him from that huge beam, he reflexively he pulled up the sword and put it in front of him.

The sword easily absorbed the gold energy as easily as it had the last two times. But then, something unexpected happened. The sword began to vibrate —violently!

The original Danny gulped when it seemed as if the blade was going to jolt right out of his hand. He rapidly grasped it more firmly with both hands. But it still shook enough that when he had lost enough of a grip on it again, the tip of its blade jerked forward and up until it was pointing at the other Danny, who was moments away from making physical contact with his foe.

But when the blue-eyed Danny tried to counter its movements again, he jerked back on it too hard.

And then it happened…

As if the sword had suddenly become a gun, the golden energy that it had absorbed shot forward and slammed right into the blue-skinned Phantom, which knocked him violently upward and rocketed him away from the original Danny in a high arc.

The blue-eyed hybrid gasped in disbelief as he watched his paradoxical self's being jettisoned away. He didn't know that would happen! He had to help his other self!

He dropped the now bluish-grey sword and bolted upward into the sky in pursuit. Instantly willing his supersonic flight and ignoring how much more that drained him and that he now had a rapidly mounting headache, the blue-eyed hybrid narrowed the gap between them.

Finally, he was within reach and scooped up the unconscious boy-in-white in his arms and turned downward. The original Danny then put the other Phantom down on the ground before kneeling next to him and shaking him gently. He worriedly said, "I'm sorry! What happened was an accident! I didn't mean to hurt you! Please tell me you're all right!"

At first the other hybrid didn't respond.

The blue-eyed Danny bit his lower lip. His counterpart had absorbed a very powerful blow, even if it was his own. Then he thought that maybe his healing powers would help —if he could still access them, that is. He closed his eyes and concentrated. A moment later, his and the fallen boy's bodies were encased in a bright blue aura. But the aura extinguished prematurely when he felt his strength suddenly wane. He closed his eyes and panted as the draining feeling continued….

* * *

><p>"W-What is that?!" Vlad yelled to his computer above the blaring alarms. "That's the second time Daniel has done that!"<p>

The man looked at the monitors and clearly saw that they were off the scale again. "Just what kind of power is that?"

"I have been analyzing it, sir, but…" his computer began before Vlad rudely cut her off.

"We don't have time to talk about it now, Maddie! Activate the next command!"

"Right away, sir," the computer calmly replied.

* * *

><p>The original Danny finally opened his eyes and could see that he must have blacked out because he was lying on his back. But as soon as he thought about his paradoxical self, he gasped and jumped to a stand.<p>

He immediately saw the blue-skinned boy at his feet and it was obvious that his other persona had yet to stir. He was about to shake his other self when all of the sudden the once unconscious boy's eyes shot open; and though he still felt weakened, the blue-skinned teen jerked his hands upward and wrapped his hands around the original Phantom's throat!

Immediately grabbing and wrestling with the aggressive hands around his windpipe, the blue-eyed Danny choked out between his pants, "W-What are y-you doing? I cured you!"

"Yeah, sucker! Even if it was your fault that I got hurt, now I have you where I want you!" the other Danny said as his golden eyes glowed and he squeezed even harder.

The original Phantom felt even more of his strength ebbing, but he still struggled to take the living clamps off of his throat. Still, he gasped out, "I-I can't believe that you would even be a part of me! You're just so-so…"

"What did you really think, chump?" the other boy hotly interrupted, "That you were perfect? Just because you think you can control me doesn't mean that you can always ignore me! And, really, haven't you actually let me slip out more often than not—and actually enjoyed the evil thrill? It's human and half-ghost nature, dweeb! Deal with it! But better, yet, deal with this!"

And even though the white-clad hybrid was also feeling more and more exhausted, he suddenly put even more pressure on his counterpart's windpipe.

The blue-eyed boy felt as if his windpipe might be crushed at any minute. He gasped for even more air and struggled to fight off his blurring vision. And just when it seemed as if he was going to unwillingly concede, he concentrated in digging deeper into his inner strength. A moment later, he felt an unsatisfactory resurgence of strength. But it was better than nothing.

Now desperate, the original Danny firmly held the other's hands on his throat and yanked them both upward into the air while immediately twisting and turning his body hoping to shake his adversary off with those moves.

The other boy only increased in his struggle and then, unexpectedly in the next moment, both of the teens were slowing their efforts. Though they wouldn't stop and admit it, they were both very exhausted and were slowly drifting down to the ground.

Even still, just when it seemed as if the original Phantom's tactic might work and be free, both of the Dannys heard aggressive neighing behind them!

Both of the still struggling boys gasped when they spied the Fright Knight and his steed barreling down upon them, his Soul Shredder out and ready to strike!

Before either of the exhausted Phantoms could let go of the other, the Fright Knight's glowing green weapon sliced through the both of them!

As soon as the two hybrids felt the cold steel pass through then, they screamed out in pain and finally let go of each other.

But the pain wouldn't let up! Each of the Phantoms felt as if their skin were on fire! They fell to the ground writhing in agony now that it felt as if their muscles and skin were being yanked this way and that!

Even amidst their pain, each counterpart heard Fright Knight laugh and then jeer, "Foolish whelps! Once my sword's powers have completed their task, you _both_ will make great slaves for me!"

"W-What do you mean?" the golden-eyed Danny managed to utter through his painful pants. "I-I thought —"

The medieval ghost looked at him and said, "You. Your very brashness and other bad attributes were your downfall."

The Fright Knight then addressed the original Phantom, "And you. Your meaningless heroic efforts to save such a low creature as is your paradoxical self was yours!"

The mounted ghost then said to both of them, "But it does not matter in the end because my plan was ultimately to have you _both_ as my servants! And fine specimens you are!"

"We will never serve you!" each of the Dannys defiantly insisted even as they continued to pant and writhe in pain and exhaustion.

"It is too late for that! Observe!" the Fright Knight replied with delight.

The complementary Phantoms' eyes widened in terror when they could see their skin begin to separate and their exposed muscles moved grotesquely as they wrestled themselves away from their very ghostly bones!

Both of the half-ghosts' costumes also tore in chunks and pieces before they sloughed off of their torsos along with their skin and disintegrated.

When it became clear to the Fright Knight that everything was almost done, he informed the two hybrids, "You see, foolish whelps, it is quite simple. Only those ghosts I find worthy join my skeletal army. And my Soul Shredder makes them for me, just as it has made you both ready to join the other skeleton soldiers!"

Even in amidst to the incredible pain electrocuting his body, the original Danny's eyes widened in more shock and terror as he watched his hands become nothing but gnarly ghostly bones.

But before he could scream in despair, everything around him crashed into total nothingness….

* * *

><p>Vlad stood silently looking through the mirror window.<p>

"_This last bout should be enough to break Daniel. Even I am still shaking from its effects it had on me!"_ he thought as he looked at the senseless younger half-ghost lying in the middle of the simulation room. Still, as his thoughts drifted, they refocused on what the boy had done earlier in this sequence.

He turned back around to his computer generated image and calmly asked, "Have you been able to compile any data on that phenomenon that Daniel created earlier in this file sequence, my dear?"

"Yes, though the data is not conclusive, sir. There is only speculation that does have some strong data to support it. One of those is that the test subject did refer to the phenomenon — which your recall manifested itself as vibrant blue aura — as 'curing' his paradoxical self. So, there is a reasonable probability that it is some kind of restorative or curative power. But there is one more remark about the phenomena, sir."

"Which is?" the man piped in, piqued with genuine interest.

"It concerns the test subject's inner core, sir," she began.

"Yes?" he said, encouraging her on.

"It _changed _when what we are calling his 'healing powers' activated."

Vlad's eyebrows shot up in both surprise and excitement. He quickly asked, "How so, Maddie?"

She looked to the monitors to confirm what she was about to say. Satisfied that the data did support her assumption, yet not turning away from continuing to scan the data, she replied, "Normally, a ghost's central core loses energy when it uses any of its powers. It takes a while, of course, for that ghost's energy level loss to become critical enough for him to disengage in using his energy and rest. If he is in the Ghost Zone, that recovery will not take long. But if he is in the Real World he will need to return to the Ghost Zone in short order to replenish that lost energy."

"Yes, I already know that, Maddie."

"I know that, sir. I need only preface my conclusion so it is taken in context," she replied with a half-frown.

Vlad smiled weakly and said, "Go on."

She readily replied, "But in the case of your test subject —and you, I might add —the recovery is almost instantaneous because of the dynamic nature of your central cores. Both of you by your half-ghost natures can regenerate your own energy, though being in the Ghost Zone precipitously quickens that ability."

This time, Vlad stayed quiet, though he nodded in agreement. He already knew this part, too.

"However, that the data surrounding the phenomena we have now for simplicity's sake labeled as your test subject's 'healing powers' now purports the hypothesis that _that_ is where your similarities end. Your test subject's central core did not, in fact, lose _any_ energy when using his 'healing powers'. It actually had a spike in producing even more energy," she said even as she continued to scan the monitors.

"How can that be?" Vlad half-asked himself in a thoughtful hush.

"Inconclusive evidence, sir," she replied before adding, "But I was also about to inform you that your test subject's central core also had another spike in energy shortly after this first occurrence. Its properties mirror those that occurred at other times when the test subject was in a dire situation."

"Was that what Daniel calls his 'inner strength'?" Vlad immediately questioned.

"I believe that is how you both label it. But at least these last two sets of data do allow me to pursue more plausible hypotheses," she replied.

"Very well," the man remarked. "Tell me when you get one of those 'hard' hypotheses, my dear."

"My hypotheses will not be made out of solid material, sir," she replied, her circuits tweaked in non-computation.

Vlad chuckled a bit and said, "How true, Maddie. My mistake. But we can't let up on Daniel now. Let's just get on with the next file in the queue, shall we?"

"As you command, sir," she said as she activated the next series of command buttons…

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, hello again. Glad to see that you made it down here! I hope you like my little theories about how the Fright Knight's Soul Shredder works. We all know that when his sword strikes humans (and when Danny is in his human form), it sends them to a dimension of their worst nightmares.**

**But I always wondered how his Soul Shredder would work on Danny whenever he was in mid-morph or in his ghost form. I answered the 'mid-morph' musing in my story, "Father's Day Gift". And now in this chapter I answered my speculation on what would happen to Danny (and other ghosts) if Fright Knight used his Soul Shredder on them. As you recall from above, I believe that since Fright Knight is a particularly powerful ghost, his Soul Shredder would shred and destroy most ghosts. But since Danny even in ghost form is a half-ghost, you already read what I think would happen! Now you know how Ms. Hyde and I feel about each other! EEP!**

**Finally, there may be some questions about the blue eye/blue energy and gold eye/gold energy things. Well, since I think the main type of energy a ghost has is reflected in the color of his/her eyes, I would think that if Danny was split exactly in half, the green energy would be split to its elements, which would be blue and gold (sounds cooler than yellow!) energies. I know that golden energy was never in the show, but then again, the Soul Shredder never once made contact with Danny, either! *winks***

**I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter and will send me I'm sure will be very engaging thoughts about it! You know how to send them to me (hint: down in that box below!)**

**In the meantime, the Fantomos Ecto-Scale continues: (Heh-heh. Did you notice that there's a ghost missing between Spectra and Fright Knight)?**

**289-LEVEL 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—Matilda**_**— truephan's original character from her story, **_**Sleepover Nightmare**_

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**289-level 6-**_**Gamma**_**—Ghost Writer**

**289-level 6-**_**Beta**_** —Walker**

**289-level 6-**_**Alpha**_**—Skulker**

**LEVEL SEVEN GHOSTS—Difficult to defeat. Would have been evenly matched with Danny at age 14. They usually have only one way of being defeated and can be defeated only after discovering that flaw. Also, Danny could only defeat them at age 14 after he picked up new skills to defeat them.**

**289-level 7-**_**Epsilon**_**—Undergrowth**

**289-level 7-**_**Delta**_**—Nocturne**

**289-level 7-**_**Gammas**_**—Aragon and Dorothea**

**289-level 7-**_**Beta**_**—Vortex**

**289-level 7-**_**Alpha**_**—Behemoth**

**LEVEL EIGHT GHOSTS—Very difficult to defeat because they are relatively more powerful than Danny Phantom at age 14. In fact, he might not be able to defeat them without outside help.**

**289-level 8-**_**Episilon**_ **—Spectra**

**289-level 8-**_**Delta**_** — ? Will appear in a future chapter**

**289-level 8-**_**Gamma**_**—Fright Knight**


	42. Chapter 42 Level 8--Mind in a Maze

**A/N: Hiya, Gang! Have you missed me? *crickets chirp* Ahem, heh-heh, ignoring that! But you should know by now that I can NOT take a hint! In any case, I have had an unusually busy October with all my weekends taken up with a volunteer project (went well, thanks for asking!), a family reunion (It was great, thanks for asking again!) and going out-of-town for various events (They were fun, glad you're interested!) for the other weekends. And since my weekends are usually my REAL time for writing, as you can see, I have been behind the times for a while. But I don't plan to go out-of-town for a while, so it's time to get back into the swing of things.**

**Oh, and before we plunge right in, I'd like to wish my dear friend, pearl84, a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY today! Hope it's great! Love you!**

**Now, back to the story…We last left Jack, Sam and Tucker right after Danny's incident with Spectra. As you remember, that was now two ghosts ago (including this one in this chapter). So, it's time to play catch up with them. Danny's mother is still working on her escape plans, and Danny? Well, we're going to tune in right now! Remember that 'I don't own Danny Phantom thing' but I do own this plot and original characters. Here is Chapter 42. Enjoy!**

Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 42—Level 8 Ghosts—Mind in a Maze

"Darn it! This hair straightener thing just won't heat up enough!" Maddie Fenton grumbled as she re-checked the status of the paper clip she had purposely put within the two sides of the device where hair normally would have gone.

She frowned in frustration. Just where was she going to get something that obviously wasn't a solder? After all, she didn't want those maids—or her 'host' to realize... She stopped at the sudden thought. The person keeping her prisoner could be a 'hostess'. She knitted her brow as she threw aside that notion. Who cared what type a person—or maybe ghost—would bring her here? That person was still wrong for kidnapping her, not to mention being very rude and very inconsiderate! Just why would someone care one way or another about taking her here, making her dress up and then for all intents and purposes ignoring her except for the frequent 'checks' by that someone's maids?

Her face puckered as she chided herself. Enough of that. She had to figure out this _current_ problem. But then she frowned more when her mind accidentally slipped back to her situation. She suddenly remembered the time she had read _Beauty and the Beast_ to Jazz when she was three!

"That can't be it!" Maddie grumbled out loud, half-dismissing the idea that she was like 'Belle' in that story. "No, that's ridiculous!" Her more sane side finally insisted, which helped her refocus back to the problem at hand.

She looked at the hair straightener again and bit her lower lip with slight helplessness before her face finally relaxed and broke out into a huge smile at the very next idea. Of course! All of these devices that heated up had some kind of thermal fuse in them to keep them from overheating! All she needed to do was take that out and then reconnect its circuits so that she could get the heat she needed to melt the ends of the paper clips enough for them to act as a soldering agent to bond the homemade ecto-magnet to the controls of the more useful invention on which she had been working.

The red-headed woman was about to pry off the cover to the hair straightener when she suddenly heard a voice closer to her than she expected! She had forgotten to pay attention to the lull in time!

If she didn't act quickly, she would be discovered!

Sam groaned, but felt too weak at the moment to open her eyes or move. She knew she was lying on something soft but narrow, but didn't think much more about it since her mind drifted to other more pressing thoughts.

She had never felt like this before...After all, she still felt very drained…She paused in her thoughts about that. No, this was different….and there was that….dream she had. Or was it a dream? It felt so very real. In fact, she could tell that it was as if…her skin had been peeled away from her body before something very sharp had been painfully thrust into her heart! She shuddered at what she felt deep down was a true memory. And she couldn't shake her gut feeling that Danny was in even deeper trouble than before and she just knew she could feel his beginning to…mentally breakdown! She silently gasped at the thought, which now jostled her mind to more clarity. She shot open her eyes and jolted to a sit.

But then she gasped again when two _others_ gasped at her abrupt awakening.

"Sam!" Tucker hurriedly said as he drew closer to the couch upon which his friend was. "A-Are you all right?"

"I-I'm not sure, but I-I think I'm okay," she replied in hesitation since she had been suddenly seized with dizziness in reaction to practically jumping off of the couch.

"Well, I, for one, am glad you're awake, Sam," Mr. Fenton piped in with a concerned frown. "I'm getting more and more worried about you."

Though Sam tried to assure the man with a weak smile, she couldn't pull it off convincingly because she was still dizzy and now felt like she was about to throw up. But then she noticed that Danny's father and Tucker weren't smiling back.

The girl took in a deep breath in an effort to squelch the nausea that was coating her mouth. She really didn't know if talking would just hasten her stomach's revolt.

She closed her eyes and almost whispered, "I-I really don't know if I'm alright or not." She paused to swallow and slowly added, "Besides feeling a little dizzy, I've been having some even crazier…feelings about Danny…But, I also know that they _aren't_ really crazy feelings…"

The two males didn't respond at first because they could see that the girl was getting paler by the moment.

Tucker finally braved breaking the awkward silence. He looked at the girl with grave concern and said, "Look, Sam, you really don't look too hot. Maybe it's because you're still not getting over the sleeping sickness, or you haven't gotten enough sleep or food. And though I don't know why you're getting those crazy feelings about Danny, I think that those feelings or a combination of everything else that's happening is making you sicker."

"I don't know why I'm getting these feelings either, Tucker, because I know they're not coming from my telepathic powers. But I know they're real and Danny is getting worse and worse!" Sam quickly piped in with a mixture of defensiveness and desperation.

But then, she felt even dizzier with the emotion and she felt the urge to lie against the back of the couch and close her eyes.

Tucker's face puckered with worry and he sat down next to his friend. He braced himself before he slowly took her hand into his. And just as he expected, he felt a jolt between their palms. He could tell from that spark that Sam's emotions were still out of control. And he was now even more certain that she was getting weaker and weaker. He really wasn't sure what he could do to help her, but he also felt he needed to try to convince her to rest…and eat more.

No sooner had he thought that when Sam gently replied, "Hey, Tucker, I appreciate that you want me to rest and eat more; but I don't think I can do that when I somehow feel that Danny is suffering so much—and is getting worse!"

Tucker's eyes widened in shock over what she had said about their best friend and that she must have read his mind.

But then, Sam gasped at the sudden realization. She let go of Tucker's hand, twisted more toward him and grabbed both of his shoulders before uttering in distress, "Ohmygosh, Tucker, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to read your mind just now! I-I can't seem to control my powers right now, especially after I got upset with you for getting into my head!…I-I…"

But at the moment the girl couldn't say any more. She was going to pieces from all the emotions that were swimming in her head. She knew she had to get a hold of herself, but she had never felt so…helpless in her life. If only she hadn't been so…weakened by the sleeping sickness.

She let her friend go, brought her hands to her face and burst out into tears.

Tucker frowned in both shock and chagrin at how his friend had just acted. He had never seen her this way….And he never felt so helpless at not knowing what to do...

In the meantime, Jack had watched the scene in tense silence. He, too, was both shocked and worried about the girl's deteriorating behavior. She must be getting even sicker both physically _and mentally_ than he had first thought. But he was also getting more and more worried about his son. If what his girlfriend was saying was true, they didn't have much time left to try to find him. And, really, time was running out for the _whole town_ if he didn't find a cure for that sleeping sickness.

He really wanted to get back to the lab and work on that antidote, but he also couldn't ignore what was happening at the moment.

The man was almost seized with helplessness when Sam slowed her sobs to a whimper. His eyes drifted over to a nearby clock. Was it _that_ late? Noon had long come and gone. Maybe that's exactly what the girl needed right now—besides more rest. After all, whenever in doubt, the large man always leaned toward eating to make things better—besides his stomach had been growling for some time now.

"H-Hey, kids," he hesitantly said, "How about we all get something to eat? Maybe that'll make us all feel better. We've all still been emotional wrecks for several days now, you know."

The two teens looked up at the man. They could tell that he was trying to cheer them up in the best way he knew how.

Sam quickly wiped her tears away when she finally remembered that she had not been alone with Tucker during her outburst. She bit her lower lip and tried to sweep her emotions back behind the mental curtain she had woven years ago. But she almost lost it all over again when she was having a hard time doing just that; but that only made her realize that she still needed to build up her strength. That's what she needed to help her refocus. And for once, she didn't mind Mr. Fenton's 'one-track food' mind.

"That sounds good, thanks," Sam quietly replied with a weak smile.

Tucker breathed a sigh of relief before he smirked and replied, "You know I'm always 'all in' for food, Mr. F."

Jack finally cracked a smile and replied, "Comin' right up, kids!"

Finally, the trio was through with their small meal and sat quietly for several minutes afterwards. Tucker was digesting and Sam now felt embarrassed over the scene she had made earlier. Jack was the one who broke the silence this time.

"How about if we take a little breather from everything?" he hesitantly began. "It's still early and even though I want to work on the antidote to the sleeping sickness, maybe it'll help for all of us to get a bit of fresh air? We don't have to take too long, okay?"

The man slightly regretted the suggestion and bit his lower lip when neither of the teens jumped at his idea. Still, he further offered, "I mean, I really want to also check to see how your folks are doing to make sure that their, uhm, protective bubbles are still working…Uhm, how about it?"

This time, the teens' eyes brightened a little. Though they really wanted to get back to work in the lab—and more in Sam's case, also trying to locate Danny via her telepathic powers—they also did think that checking on their families was a great idea.

However, neither Sam nor Tucker realized that they hadn't verbally agreed to anything that Danny's father had proposed so far.

Jack shifted uncomfortably. He really didn't know what to do; but he knew they had to do _something._ Finally, he blurted out, "Hey, kids, I think I'll just go down to the lab and…"

"I thought you said we were going to check on our families, Mr. F," Tucker slightly protested.

The man blinked in puzzlement while searching his memory. Did he miss something? He then shrugged. Of course he did! He chuckled embarrassingly, "Uh, heh-heh, yeah, that's right. We're going to check on your families."

Sam and Tucker looked at each other in vague disbelief at the man's behavior, but then they both rose and waited for Danny's father to get the keys to the Fenton RV.

But Jack only waited and looked at the two in anticipation himself.

"Uh, aren't we going to go?" Sam finally begged the question.

Jack startled slightly before replying with an awkward grin, "Oh, why I thought you were going to use your still-cool PDA and do that 'portal thing', Tucker!"

Tucker's eyes widened at the realization just as he pulled out his trusty little machine.

"Oh, that's right! Sorry!" the bespectacled teen muttered before adding with a slight grin, "Of course, it's the second fastest way to get anywhere, besides…"

But he quickly stifled himself when he realized that he was about to say that using his PDA was only second to Danny's flying them somewhere. Instead, he looked down at his wondrous machine and began to type commands into it in silence.

The boy's companions didn't need to question why he had stopped since both of them already could guess what was on his mind. But their worries over everything could very well continue to askew their focus if they let it….

They soon made it to Tucker's house, which was the closer of the two homes.

Tucker, Sam and Jack took a moment to check up on the adult Foleys. While Tucker used his PDA to confirm that his parents' vitals were stable, the elder male Fenton used his ghost devices to check the stability of the 'Ghost Zone bubble' in which the elder Foleys were.

Once they made sure everything was good, Sam and Mr. Fenton left Tucker alone for a moment with his parents.

It was still emotional for the boy to see his parents almost lifeless; but it also gave him the strength to push forward. He knew he couldn't give up. They had to find a way to fix all this, so that his parents and everyone else would be okay again.

Reluctantly, the boy said his good-byes to his unconscious parents, and he, Sam, and Jack soon headed to the Mansons...

Like with the Foleys, Jack and Tucker check Sam's loved ones over to make sure that they were stable and that the protective ecto-bubble was holding. However, they all knew that it wouldn't hold forever, which made things all the more urgent.

As Tucker and Mr. Fenton went to the Manson kitchen to fix them all a quick dinner, Sam stayed behind with her parents.

She smiled sadly as she put her hand against the barrier keeping her parents alive. But even though she was trying to be strong for them and Danny, she still felt a few tears slide down her face.

"We'll find a way to fix this," she whispered to them. "You both will be alright. I promise…"

With a sigh, she left her parents' bedroom and went to where her grandmother was. There was some comfort in knowing that her grandmother was stable, but she still couldn't help but worry. If she lost her grandma… Sam didn't know what she would do.

She placed her hand on the barrier around the elder Manson. But this time, Sam choked back a sob. She knew her emotions were all over the place, and she hated it. She felt so weak and helpless. It broke her heart to see those she loved in trouble, especially when she was unable to do anything about it.

That thought quickly reminded her of Danny, and she sobbed quietly to the unconscious old woman.

"Oh, grandma… I… I'm so scared. Something's wrong with Danny, and… and I can't do anything… I don't know where he is… And also seeing you like this…"

She hung her head as she whispered, "I-I wish you could hear me… You would know what to do. You always have the right words to make everything better, and I really need that right now… Grandma, I really need you. I-I don't know what to do. I don't know what I'm doing…"

Sam closed her eyes as tears slid down her cheeks. Yet, even as she felt like her heart couldn't take anymore, it seemed to whisper something to her. But in her mind, it sounded just like her grandmother's voice…

"_Don't give up, Bubele. You'll find a way. Just don't give up!"_

The girl fisted her hands when those words gave her strength. And as she opened her eyes, she said with conviction. "I won't. I won't give up. I promise, grandma."

Wiping away the tears still in her eyes, Sam took a deep breath before heading towards the kitchen. She wouldn't throw in the towel even with all these emotions eating at her. She just had to keep her loved ones in mind, and focus on getting physically strong again so she could help Mr. Fenton and Tucker—and try to find her boyfriend.

By the time they left the Mansons, it was very late and they all agreed to return to Fenton Works to get some rest and start very early in the morning.

But even with all of Sam's conviction and willpower, she could not stop her mind from tormenting her over Danny even in her sleep…

Once the computer generated image of the love of Vlad's life named Maddie had completed the command sequence for the next file, Danny's eyes slowly fluttered open.

He felt awful.

Danny sensed he was flat on his back with only blackness was surrounding him. His jumbled mind had no idea where he was. But then unexpectantly, his senses were bombarded by his latest set of memories.

He gasped out loud a moment in a panic before he reflexively yanked his arms up and anxiously pulled off his white gloves. Even after he had examined every inch of his skin, he really wasn't at all relieved that they were obviously 'whole' again.

Danny gasped again when he thought about a terrible possibility: was his other, evil self still out there somewhere as lost and upset as he was at this moment?

The boy's face scrunched up with indecision and sudden fear. If that was true, then were both of them still doomed? After all, he did believe that each of his personas couldn't survive without the other. He swallowed hard when he felt his eyes water and his throat tighten at the thought. And, suddenly, his mind was so overwhelmed by the uncertainty of it all that he was easily gripped by fear again, which further muddled his reason.

In fact, the boy felt so hopeless when more painful memories and conflicting emotions—especially all the _physical _pain that had come with them—suddenly began to pound his senses. And his mind was so helpless at the assault, he wasn't even aware that he had turned to his side and curled up before he buried his face in his now ungloved hands, and sobbed as much as he had done after having dealt with Spectra.

This was just too much!

But after having cried for a time, Danny's mind slowly started coming out of the fog… After everything that had ever happened to him since he had gotten his ghost powers, he had already learned that he wasn't perfect, that he could do …bad things…But he always tried very hard to not repeat doing those wrong things. And he hadn't done anything to deserve how the Observants were treating him! Yet at this point, he was still so emotionally fragile that he didn't care if they saw how deflated he felt, either.

A few minutes later, however, Danny finally managed to choke down his sobs and quickly wiped his nose on the back of his sleeve. That lull was enough for him to muster up some gumption…

He sat up; and not caring in the least if he was repeating himself, he yelled up into the air, "I don't get any of this, Justeco! Why are you doing this? It's…it's so real— _too_ real—yet here I am, back as me! And speaking of 'me', does that mean, uhm, my, er, other side is 'back' where he belongs?"

Danny reflexively shuddered at the thought of not being whole. Was this Observants' real purpose? To literally fracture his psyche? He quickly threw that crazy thought away since he really didn't want to believe it.

He blurted out, "No matter what you've done so far, all of it is still _so_ unfair and I don't think anyone should have a right to do these awful things to me…or even all those ghosts for that matter."

Though the hybrid half-expected an answer, he was not surprised when there was only silence instead.

He felt his anger stir the quiet, which helped clear his mind a bit more.

"Look, Justeco, I know you're watching me because you said so! And though that totally creeps me out, you must see that I have been doing my best with these lame tests…And…I didn't purposely….uhm, fail. And I'd gladly admit that I can't really hold my own against any of the ghosts you've thrown at me lately. So, you should've seen enough to know that I'm not a threat to anyone or to Existence or anything—present or future! Isn't that enough?"

Danny paused a moment. But still, no one answered him. He further yelled into the cosmos, "Hey! You've never given me the chance to defend myself against any charges I doubt you have, so I don't think I have to do this anymore!"

"_And I don't want to, either,"_ he added only to himself.

But then he swallowed hard at his next thought, but made himself say it nevertheless, "And maybe you just want to hear that at this point, I don't mind living the rest of my life knowing that I'm a…loser."

Somehow, however, admitting that still…stung. He never wanted to be called a loser and here he was willingly telling the entire universe that he was.

His shoulders suddenly drooped and he hung his head slightly. But why not admit it? The Observants had done a great job humiliating him after fighting all those ghosts they sent so far…Wait. Maybe that _was_ their point: to show him humility. After all, he had to confess that he did get cocky at times…

But then he frowned, not at all satisfied with that. Okay, he did get cocky, but he never picked any fights with the ghosts. He always tried to talk them into leaving first— though he had to concede that he wasn't always so understanding with all of the ghosts and did rather enjoy all that banter with any of them.

Still, he only fought them after they refused to leave or if they had already stirred up any mischief before he had talked to them. But it was also true that he wouldn't stop fighting them until he had defeated them…but he didn't defeat them to humiliate them…uh, did he?

"_Maybe that's their point here,"_ Danny mused. _"Maybe the Observants think I wanted to humiliate all of those ghosts all those times they invaded my home…So, okay, I might have wanted to make __**some**__ of the ghosts feel like losers….but that's when I first got my powers and I was, uhm, younger-ish."_

He bit his lip. Even though he was just two years older, he wasn't the same teen…In fact, he felt that his sobering turn-about in attitude happened after he defeated his alternate evil self the _second_ time. It had put _a lot_ of things into perspective. And he thought he had changed…for the better.

And after that, the boy knew he had been careful to use just enough of his powers to subdue any ghost and send it back to the Ghost Zone. He had spared them of losing too much of their energy to put them at a risk of their after-lives —and without gloating over his victory over them…Or, at least he _thought_ he had.

Once again, Danny raised his head and yelled up into the air, "Okay, so if you're teaching me humility or something like that, I totally get it. Uh, but you didn't need to rub it in my face, you know!"

He suddenly winced. That wasn't such a 'humble' way of saying that just now; and they might not like it. But somehow he knew trying to take it back was going to be a waste of his time—and beg the question. So, he pushed on, "So, can me and my mom go home now?"

Again, there was only silence.

The boy's face twisted in a combination of irritation and disappointment. Still, his mind was so dull from fatigue right now that he was being flooded by the wildest thoughts….Just what was the point of all this, then? And how was he supposed to react to any future 'tests'? And for that matter, how could it seem as if he really was getting all those awful things done to him _physically_, only to go back to 'normal' before having another go at all this torture? What were they trying to do to him, anyways? Should he go along with them, then, and let whatever ghost they threw at him win just so he could get this over with?

Danny shook his head before burying his face in his hands again. Right now, he was too tired, and still too hungry and thirsty to decide or care.

He finally lifted his head, his eyes searching —well, he really didn't know for what.

He sighed in frustration when all he saw was the dead silence before he mumbled, "I just don't get it. This whole thing reeks!"

But before the young hybrid could think any more about it, the black atmosphere blanketing him began to twist and turn before melding into a whirling kaleidoscope of colors.

A few seconds later it stopped, and Danny ended up standing on a small pathway bordered on both sides by a very high wall at least three times his height and made out of neatly hedged dense, greyish-blue thicket.

He briefly scanned all around him. Those same greyish-blue hedged thick bushes were also behind him. But the narrow path to his immediately left obviously dead-ended into another neatly trimmed wall of that same kind of thick brush that made up the wall over there as well.

The boy then looked up and saw what looked like a canopy of a net-like glowing material which was obviously broadcasting to him that he could not get out that way.

He sighed before deciding to move. He walked straight ahead and saw another narrow path branch out toward his right. He looked down it and could see that it was much longer than the last passage and he could barely make out its end.

Danny's eyes returned to the pathway in which he was before startling a bit. He suddenly knew where he was! And he actually brightened at the thought!

Maybe the Observants had finally come to their senses and were going to let him go! After all, he was in the near vicinity of _a friend's_ lair!

He excitedly took flight and twisted around the corner of the long—and now familiar—passageway on his right. He hurried to its end, where he knew he would find another intersection where he could turn left or right.

Danny quickly chose the right path and flew onward before he turned at the second left in this part. He sighed a bit in relief when this was exactly how he remembered this very long section.

All this while, however, that throbbing headache that he had since he was brought to this blasted place and started this entire 'trial thing' had never gone away. And so, his still-dulled mind had not realized that so far, he had met no others along the way...

But once the Ghost Boy reached the end of this part of the path, he stopped and floated in place in hesitation. This section no longer looked familiar; and unlike all the other times he had been here, both the left and right pathways were very dark. And there was a strong wind blowing and lightning and thunder tumbling out of the passage to the right.

Danny knew that once he made a choice in here, he couldn't turn back. And he knew he couldn't go up, either; so, he turned to the left away from the more uninviting passageway.

But as soon as he plunged into the darkness, the temperature dropped to near freezing and the cold wind whipped his bangs violently back. Still, the teen pressed on. He took little comfort in the fact that his ghostly eyes allowed him to see through the eerie and now foreboding murkiness.

Even so, he flew onward in caution. This path was very long and there was no other opening in it. He continued; and just when he was tempted to try to turn back anyways, he spied a very small square object in the near distance partially covered in a black cloud of some sort.

Still, oddly, he felt compelled to draw closer. And as he was nearly upon it, his heart instantly sank in dread when he could see that a slowly churning black tornado-like funnel was eking out of the small purple and black box. He didn't have to see the "P" shaped keyhole or the glowing green skull on top of it to know what it was…

Oh. No…

Pandora's Box had been opened and that only meant that it was spewing out all sorts of evils!

But _why_ was it opened and did Pandora know it was here and opened?

Nevertheless, Danny still felt compelled to approach it. And just when he was no more than a couple of yards in front of it, the twisting black cloud moved completely out of the box and positioned itself just to the right of it.

Not even a moment later, the black mist began to change and take shape. Finally, its outline looked like that of a girl in a flowing floor-length gown before it finally solidified.

Danny hitched in a gasp when indeed a young girl about his age dressed in a long white Roman toga appeared right in front of the little box. Her thick, straight ebony hair fully caressed her slender, bare, ghostly white shoulders and cascaded downward before kissing the hem of her floor-length gown. Her face was also deathly pale. The color of her cheeks and full lips, however, were aglow with fire, which further accented her eyes.

And those eyes! They glowed unnaturally, though their color seemed to change every few seconds, with no color repeating itself until seven hues had each had its turn in the spotlight…

She was really the most beautiful girl ghost he had ever seen.

Suddenly mesmerized, Danny drew even closer to her intoxicating smile. But just before he was close enough to speak to her, she raised her hands upward before swooping them downward just as an orchestra leader's directing that first note.

Just then, seven columns of smoke—each a different color—jutted out and upward from Pandora's Box and quickly formed into wicked-looking jagged daggers before they shot forward at the ghost teen. And before Danny could react, all seven of the missiles had pierced his chest!

Danny cried out in pain. But that was not as excruciating as all the different emotions that were suddenly overwhelming him. And he didn't like them _one_ bit.

He fell to the ground in the midst of grabbing at the knives and writhing in both pain and mental anguish in an effort to try to wrestle these strong emotions away. He was sure he had felt semblances of these emotions at one time, though never this strongly. These were so intense…and so _evil_!

"There is no use countering them," the beautiful girl calmly said to the thrashing boy. Her smile suddenly turned wicked as she added, "All of those emotions _will _take root in your soul!"

"N-No!" Danny yelled in protest even when all of his thoughts were being relentlessly attacked by the strong feelings and he was in pain. He also still kept trying to yank the knives out as well. "T-This is wrong!"

"No, it is not wrong…it is what all fallen creatures feel," the girl said, her voice still calm, though there was an edge to it now. "What is wrong is that you have really never experienced them so richly before. But, I assure you, you will grow to…lust for them!"

Danny struggled to pull out the multi-colored daggers even as they continued to jab at his heart and core. He had not even noticed that he wasn't even bleeding, though he felt as if they were carving his heart and core out. But as soon as he was able to actually move one of them slightly out of his chest, a green one suddenly drove itself further in and the emotion it held blared in his brain."

Her eyes now flaring green, the girl slowly floated over to the boy on the ground and kept her voice steady as she continued, "Ah…now you truly know what envy is. Yes, you envy the popular younglings at your school…"

"N-No!" Danny screamed in denial even when he knew that she was right to some extent. But if he was that envious, he could have easily impressed his fellow students if he just gave up his secret and told them who he really was. After all, Danny _Phantom_ was very popular with the entire high school. But deep down, he didn't want that because it would keep him from doing what he was meant to do and that would be…wrong. With a grunt, he forcefully pulled that green dagger out and threw it aside, but another dagger of a different color quickly took its place.

And Danny gasped at the intensity of this next emotion. Yet, he felt some resolve rebound and even though it was hard, he finally was able to pull the yellow dagger out and dropped it.

The girl frowned as the yellow in her eyes faded. That one wasn't affecting him. Still, she quickly recovered and smiled when she could see that the other daggers were still in the game.

Just then, a third purple knife thrust itself deeper into Danny; and his eyes widened in alarm.

The girl's purple eyes flared in approval. Her voice sounded almost snake-like as it hissed in delight, "Yes, I can feel that this one has power over you. I call it by its rightful name, but your small mind understands it by another. So be it, then, because in the end it does not matter. You know how cocky you can be."

Suddenly, however, her face fell in displeasure at the young hybrid's unexpected reply.

Still groping at the knives, especially the purple one that was pushing hardest against him at the moment, Danny said through his pants, "Y-Yes. I-I can be cocky and I shouldn't be."

He knew he should do his ghost-hunting job with a more sense of duty rather than a bit of showing-off, but he wasn't there yet as far as being more…mature. But he also knew that he was working on it.

Strangely, right after he had admitted to this weakness, Danny was able to pull the purple dagger out with sudden ease, whereas before it was winning the fight. But he didn't think about it anymore. He immediately threw it away from him as he did to the others so far. He did not even notice that none of the daggers that had tried to stab him once he had gotten them out of him attempted to stab him again. All he cared about was that he was able to pull out yet another of the knives—this one being orange in color— in spite of the fact that several foreign emotions were still trying to tear at him.

Once again, the Roman-looking girl's face scowled in disapproval. But then, she formed and tightened a fist before thrusting it forward as if she were stabbing the air in front of her.

Danny panted in effort and his vision blurred as he fought with a fifth red knife. Suddenly, it slipped through his hands and when penetrated him further, he became enraged.

"Arrghh!" he yelled in rage as he grabbed a hold of the bright red hilt and struggled to pull it out. But then he gasped when he felt something warm and wet staining it. He touched his chest and saw the glowing green ectoplasm on his white glove. Now he was bleeding!

But then he startled when the girl spoke again. He reflexively looked at her and jolted once more at the way she_ looked._ Though her features were blurred to his worsening vision, he knew they had changed. Her now wild hair had greyed; her face lined with wrinkles and blemishes. She was no longer beautiful. She was old and hideous!

"Yes. I see. This one is strong in you," she said while looking at the red knife, her eyes now flaring in the same hue. "And it is not as easy to fight against because it brews in you. I can tell that you hate your life…that you resent who you are…Just as well. Selfishness and other weaknesses fuel this dark, destructive emotion and more spews out because of it. I knew I could find the one that would stick."

"W-What are you talking about?" Danny demanded in anger even through his pants and struggle.

But the old woman didn't answer him and she merely grabbed the hilt of the red dagger and pushed it in more.

"Anger clouds your mind and reason," she sweetly cooed, as her hand shoved the dagger in more. "And it negates all the qualities that are pure in you. Just as I want. But, behold! Another emotion fights for you!"

Two daggers remained still thrusting at the boy. One was black and the other was deep blue in color. The crone slowly pushed in the deep blue one; and once she had plunged it in, Danny suddenly let go of all of the daggers at the overwhelming emotion it delivered. All of the sudden, his efforts to _not_ give up were slashed. He just knew at this very point that all of his fighting wasn't worth it. Not against these emotions, not against the Observants…But what was worse: not _**for**_ all he held dear: all the qualities that he had striven to preserve even when all of the wicked outside forces of the world were hungry for him to cave in, eager to claim him as theirs and count him as depraved as they. He felt helpless at this emotion, as a lamb felt before the ravenous wolf devoured it.

"Yes, give into this feeling," the ghost hag said in a hush, her eyes glowing as deep and blue as the dagger. "It is what will leave you open to all vices…since you will no longer be disciplined to resist them…"

But then, oddly, she suddenly reached over and yanked the red and dark blue daggers out, but left the remaining black one. In one swift and decisive movement, however, she drove the black dagger into the boy in the next instant.

Put instead of screaming in pain, Danny was suddenly stunned to stillness…and the only emotion left was… desire…an overwhelming desire to have all of those wrong feelings come back to him—even with all of the pain.

Clutching at his still bleeding chest, the young hybrid frantically yet hesitantly whimpered, "P-Please…g-give them back to me…I-I w-want them…"

"So, I expected and told you," the old woman calmly replied with that same wicked smile that now was attached to an even more repugnant face with pupil-less eyes now black as coal nestled within it. But in the next instant, she pulled out the black dagger while ignoring the painful scream that erupted out of the boy.

She carefully picked up the multi-colored daggers that were seemingly lying inert next to the suffering boy; and suddenly, all seven of them were dangling in front of Danny on their own power before she teasingly said, "You want them, do you not?"

Danny closed his eyes in a desperate effort to resist that last strong lingering emotion. But its haunting sting was finally able to cloud his mind. He was then suddenly so confused at this point that he didn't know what to think—or say.

The hag frowned in irritation that the boy had yet to answer her. She angrily hissed, "You cannot resist me!"

Her last words clanged in Danny's brain and their echo momentarily but effectively shielded him from all of the emotions still wounding him.

Through his pants, he managed to counter, "W-Who are you? W-Why are you doing this? W-What did you do to Pandora? A-And how did you get the box from her?"

The old crone laughed; but her laughter was icy and shrill as she answered his last two questions, "Pandora knows her place. She is the box's keeper and nothing more. Though she wishes to think that she controls the box, she does not. I am the box's mistress and Pandora always does my bidding and never interferes."

Still cradling his bleeding chest, Danny struggled to pull himself up to a sitting position. He lost his balance just as he felt his strength rapidly waning.

"W-Who are you?" he asked yet again. He managed to make his voice sound demanding even as he panted in pain and weakness.

Once again, she ignored his question and merely replied, "These daggers have poisoned your soul. All men are destined to have these…weaknesses. You, for some reason, have been able to resist them and that is never pleasing to me. That is why I had you brought here and had Pandora surrender her box to me."

"You see," the hag calmly continued before her eyes began to change to different colors every few moments again, "Pandora's Box is very unique. It holds evils, true. But it only releases the ones that have the best chance of infecting those who are in the path of its power. And since you were really lacking all of these…weaknesses, the poison will infect you with them and you will be their prisoner for all eternity!"

"N-No!" Danny still managed to gasp in defiance. "Y-You can't make me do something I don't want to do!"

"Tsk-tsk, ignorant child. You will embrace your destiny to be evil as I have designed."

"N-No…no," Danny almost whimpered through his short pants. He felt the emotions still whirling in his head renew their sting, which only made him dizzier and weaker by the second. Still, he was not going to give in, even when they were insisting that he do. He knew at this point it would be easy to give in, but he also knew deep down it was wrong.

Suddenly the boy was aware that the evil woman was approaching him again with the daggers and though he felt that he was now too weak and exhausted to try to pull away from her, he had to know who this…ghost was.

"W-Who are you?" he firmly asked yet again. "A-And why are you doing this to me?"

The hag cackled in both wickedness and delight, as if laughing at her own private joke. But, perhaps, not. She was amused that the boy could still feign defiance at this point. Nevertheless, she finally answered him, "In Pandora's lair, all mythology becomes real—and powerful —especially in this maze... I have been known by many names…I have embraced them all at some time, but they no longer please me…"

She drew even closer to Danny and her eyes flared brighter even as they still continued to change in color. "But what pleases me more than being charged to make what I am so, is to corrupt more humans, especially the purest ones. No one is immune to me, for I make sure they accept what they will be. And you, Danny Phantom, are destined to become the most powerful and evil ghost that ever existed; and I have made sure of that with poison that my daggers delivered!"

"NO!" Danny screamed in terror at the thought, which actually swept the other emotions away. This couldn't be real! He would not —he could not—let that happen! He _promised_!

Even still, he watched helplessly just as the evil ghost arched her hand back. Suddenly, her eyes flared again in a rainbow of dark colors before all seven daggers appeared in her hand once more.

Black circles suddenly formed all around her eyes as if she were death itself. Then she spoke again, and her voice had also changed. It was no longer shrill; instead, its tone was haunting, ominous and malignant all at the same time as she sneered, "I have never allowed anyone to resist my will until now. It was pleasing to me to see such…spirit against the inevitable. But now is the time to make you see the truth. You will be evil."

Though his soul wanted to scream in denial, her words seem to be able to buffet him into silence.

Suddenly, bizarrely, she laughed in triumph before asking, "You want to know who I am?"

And just as she thrust her hand forward and plunged the daggers back into the boy's wounded chest, she hissed, "I am Fate. _Accept yours_!"

Danny screamed when all the intense, evil emotions threw his head into a tailspin, and then they all seemed to converge so intensely that he also felt a sudden stabbing pain shoot though his left ear of all places. Nevertheless, his eyes rolled up as his mind and body came crashing down into total darkness….

_Knock-knock_

"Sam?"

_Knock-knock-knock_

"Sam?" Tucker called through the other side of the door again.

Finally, the girl groggily answered, "_Y-Yes?"_

"It's me, Tucker," the boy replied.

"_Tucker? _She queried as she tried to get her bearings._ "Why are you here, Tucker?"_

"We're at Danny's house, remember?" he said through the door. "And remember that Mr. Fenton promised to get us up in eight hours? Well, it's time."

Her mind still hazy, Sam asked, _"It is? It feels like I just got to sleep."_

"Yeah, me, too. But we need to get a quick bite to eat and then we both know that we want to get back to the lab and then maybe started homing in on Danny. So, see you downstairs?"

The girl had really only half-listened since she was still very groggy.

"_Yeah, sure, Tucker. I'll be there in a little bit, okay?"_ she said a bit unconvincingly.

"Okay!" he agreed and headed back to the kitchen.

Sam groaned. She really wasn't sure if she had gotten any sleep at all. But then again, she had to have been asleep because she dreamt that her skin was being dissolved by acid! She shivered when goosebumps suddenly erupted all over her at the vivid memory…which slowly evolved to thoughts of her boyfriend…and then, what Tucker had said just before he left.

But then, she growled, suddenly irritated with herself. Too much was at stake and it was time for her to get a hold of herself for Danny's sake. She paused at her next thought. Really, she needed to get a hold of herself for _her own sake_ because if she didn't, she might go crazy!

Crazy…

The word resounded in her mind before it drifted back to her boyfriend. Now she was sure that Danny was at a mental crossroad. She had to help him!

She hurried to wash up and didn't even complain to herself when she had to change into a pink outfit that had belonged to Jazz. Her mind was just more determined to find and help her boyfriend. Still, she had to admit that she needed to regain her strength as quickly as possible, and that meant being open to eating something she didn't normally eat…

When she finished, she hurried down to the kitchen. When she got there, her two male companions were already eating their breakfast.

But she almost laughed when she saw the small wads of toilet paper dotting Mr. Fenton's now clean shaven face. He obviously had had a tough time getting the rest of that 'forest' off of his face.

"Good morning," she finally said.

"Good morning," the other two said before Tucker gagged his laugh at seeing his female friend wearing pink.

Mr. Fenton said, "Help yourself to whatever you want, Sam. I figured it was best to let you decide what you wanted."

Truly touched by his efforts, she gently replied just as she headed to the refrigerator, "Thanks, Mr. Fenton."

In no time, she was enjoying her simple meal, though she didn't notice Tucker staring at her in slight alarm.

"Are you…eating…?" he began, only for his friend to gently interrupt him when she finally saw his astounded face.

"Yeah, I know," she said with a smirk. "But I also know that finding anything made of soy here is like trying to find, well, you know that 'needle in a haystack thing'! So, cheese toast will have to do. It's an emergency, you know. And, you know, it doesn't taste half-bad; and I've read that the cows actually want to be milked and enjoy it."

"Uh-huh," Tucker half-said, still slightly stunned that this was the second time he saw his friend eat something not on her 'ultra-recyclo vegetarian' menu.

Soon they were finished and had cleaned up. But just before they went to the living room, Sam gasped loudly just before she tensed, clutched the middle of her chest, and loudly screamed!

"Oh, no, here we go again!" Mr. Fenton moaned just as he caught and lifted the falling girl.

"Maybe it was because she ate cheese?" Tucker offered, so upset that he didn't know what he was saying.

But Mr. Fenton didn't answer him as he continued toward the couch with Sam in his arms.

Tucker hurriedly followed the large man and watched as he gently put Sam upon the couch.

But then both of the males sighed in relief when they could tell that even though Sam was panting in obvious pain, she had not actually fainted this time.

"A-Are you alright?" Tucker worriedly asked when he was right beside her, though he could tell that something wasn't right since she was still clutching at the middle of her chest and was tense with pain.

Suddenly, tears burst out from her eyes as she cried out, "Oh, Tucker! It hurts so badly and something terrible is hurting Danny right at this moment! And he's so confused and upset! I just know it! And...and we have to find and help him! He can't take much more! Oh, Tucker!"

The girl was so distraught she suddenly lunged into her friend's arms.

Tucker jolted when that same jolt of electricity shot through him the moment they touched. And suddenly, he frowned when he, too, could somehow feel all the pain she was feeling. But there was even more. For some strange reason, he could even tell that it was the exact same pain —and emotional turmoil—_Danny_ was feeling — _right now_! Still, he didn't let on what he was sensing and trying to reassure her, firmly hugged her.

A few moments later, Sam relaxed, though she also felt dizzy from the ordeal.

Tucker let go and lay back against the couch a bit before breathing in deeply from the experience as well.

All the while, Mr. Fenton had remained silent and watched on, though his face betrayed his worry and helplessness over what was happening to the two teens. But once it looked as if the girl had somewhat recovered, he frowned in determination.

He finally said, "Alright, kids. I'm very worried about all of this, too. And I'm just as anxious to find Danny and his mother. But somehow I feel that we won't be able to help Danny until at least you have fully recovered, Sam—and maybe you still, too, Tucker."

The boy was about to reply when he quieted when Jack continued. "And since I can't help you one way or another except make sure you two get something to eat and drink, I think it's best if I go back down to the lab and re-test that stuff we found. After all, lots of other people are in danger right now if they don't recover from that sleeping disease. And maybe after you've rested a bit more, you'll be strong enough to use your…you know, your thing and find my boy."

Sam and Tucker glanced at each other before they turned to the man.

"I want to see if I can help you, Mr. F. Please?" Tucker asked as he quickly stood up. He knew he was recovering way faster than his female friend.

"Are you sure you're up to it, son?" Mr. Fenton asked in genuine concern.

"Yes. And if I get too tired, I promise to go rest. And you know there's no problem with me eating!"

The large man chuckled very slightly and said, "Well, then, okay." But when he looked at how weakened the girl still looked, his face fell and he gingerly added, "And how about you, Sam?"

Much as she hated to admit it, Sam knew she still hadn't recovered enough from all of this to try to use her powers. But she also didn't want to delay in trying to help her boyfriend any longer. She finally said, "I'm all right. And I don't want to wait any longer to try to help Danny. I have to try!"

But as soon as she tried to get up, she felt suddenly woozy and inadvertently had to sit back down.

After controlling her breathing once more, she reluctantly admitted. "I will try to rest a bit more. But not too much. And maybe I'll be okay by the time you find out about that stuff and find the cure, alright, Mr. Fenton?"

The large man smiled weakly and replied, "Sounds like a plan!"

However, just as Tucker and Jack turned and began to leave the room, both Sam and Tucker screamed when they suddenly felt a sharp pain sear their left ears. Seconds later, they felt as if their heads were about to explode from a flood of intense emotions pounding within them!

The force was enough to plunge them back into a whirlwind of dizziness before both of them slipped into another round of unconsciousness.

"Oh, no!" Jack anxiously gasped when he saw the two teens collapse to the floor for one time too many lately. "This is worse than I thought! Maybe they still need more rest or food….And I'll insist on getting both of those…er, once I can revive them again!"

**A/N: Well, I hope this was worth the wait for you. I like Pandora, but as we know, there was only one episode about her. Even still, she was rated at this level because of that nasty little box of hers. It could sure wreak a lot of havoc and it looked as if even Danny couldn't fight it. But I also thought it would be interesting to have another mythological creature 'come alive' in Pandora's maze and make Danny think that she was in control of Pandora's lair.**

**Now, in case you're wondering (just because that's the way my crazy mind works), I do plan some more… things to happen with Sam, Tucker and Jack. But just remember that this whole story only takes place over about 2 weeks. Sam, Tucker and Jack were out of commission for a little more than a week of that time; and we have discussed the physical effects of having no food or water for a week. So, really, the threesome is still recovering from their 'no food/water' thing. Tucker and Jack are recovering the easiest and quickest but Sam is not for many reasons, which I hope you see the hints about those reasons!**

**Hopefully, I'm back on track as far as updating. In the meantime, the Fantomos Ecto-Scale continues its countdown (Or is it its count-**_**up **_**since the ghosts are getting more powerful?) *scratches head*…. I better not think about it or I just know my head will explode! And speaking of exploding my head, how about making it swell by leaving a lovely review? Heh-heh! Until next time, dear readers!**

**289-LEVEL 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—Matilda**_**— truephan's original character from her story, **_**Sleepover Nightmare**_

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**289-level 6-**_**Gamma**_**—Ghost Writer**

**289-level 6-**_**Beta**_** —Walker**

**289-level 6-**_**Alpha**_**—Skulker**

**LEVEL SEVEN GHOSTS—Difficult to defeat. Would have been evenly matched with Danny at age 14. They usually have only one way of being defeated and can be defeated only after discovering that flaw. Also, Danny could only defeat them at age 14 after he picked up new skills to defeat them.**

**289-level 7-**_**Epsilon**_**—Undergrowth**

**289-level 7-**_**Delta**_**—Nocturne**

**289-level 7-**_**Gammas**_**—Aragon and Dorothea**

**289-level 7-**_**Beta**_**—Vortex**

**289-level 7-**_**Alpha**_**—Behemoth**

**LEVEL EIGHT GHOSTS—Very difficult to defeat because they are relatively more powerful than Danny Phantom at age 14. In fact, he might not be able to defeat them without outside help.**

**289-level 8-**_**Episilon**_ **—Spectra**

**289-level 8-**_**Delta**_** — ? Will appear in a future chapter**

**289-level 8-**_**Gamma**_**—Fright Knight**

**289-level 8-**_**Beta**_**—Pandora**


	43. Chapter 43 Level 8 Ghosts Déjà Vu

**A/N: Hiya, gang, and I hope you're getting as excited as me now that Thanksgiving is just around the corner! It's one of my favorite holidays (Well, really, ALL of the holidays are my favorite ones, depending on when they are! LOL!) So, it's good that I could update this week instead of next_ Friday_ when we're all _still_ sitting around the house digesting and being very thankful for everything good in our lives!**

**I'd like to thank everyone for their wonderful reviews, including the mystery reviewers. I wish I could personally respond to you, but you have no email! :( **** Anyhow, in spite of that, I do want to respond to one of those mystery reviewers since he/she did ask a question! So, the answer to your question is: all of my stories are interconnected and are in a continuum, timewise. Sam got her powers in 'Shadow of a Doubt' and became more aware of them in 'TrueHeart' and this story! I hope you'll check out those stories (as well as the others, of course, heh-heh!).**

**Now let's get back to **_**this**_** story and chapter! Danny's going to come up against a pretty scary ghost, which is actually an original character created by a dear friend/fellow author of mine. I won't reveal too much about him because it'll spoil the surprise. But I also already gave you a much earlier hint about him in Chapter 2! Feel free to re-read that chapter if you need to! Okay, then, enough explanation! Remember the "I don't own Danny Phantom' mantra. Here is Chapter 43. Enjoy! And enjoy your Thanksgiving!**

* * *

><p><strong>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 43—Level 8 Ghosts — Déjà Vu<strong>

"Madame?" a muffled voice queried right after the soft, quick rap on the still-closed closet door.

Maddie Fenton hurriedly yet carefully placed her precious weapon on her makeshift workbench made of a few boxes before she jumped up and frantically brushed the debris off of her gown.

She couldn't be discovered!

But before the human female could even get out of her hiding area, she jolted slightly in alarm when she heard another knock on the door, followed by the sound of a turning knob!

"Just a moment!" she cried a bit too hastily as she moved out of her hiding place and haphazardly pulled on the row of hanging clothes together to 'close' her work area off from the rest of the closet.

But just as she started in a hurry toward the closet's actual door, she gasped slightly when her brain finally registered that she hadn't shut the row of clothes fully. She quickly turned around to confirm that and gasped again when she could even see her weapon and several tools from here!

But just then, Maddie heard the real closet door opening! Her eyes widened in chagrin even as she heard the female ghostly voice call for her yet again. Maddie realized that at this point, she wouldn't make it back to the back row of clothes in time to shut them completely—_or_ make it to the real closet door in time to keep the maids from seeing her work area! Her mind shifted in overdrive as she frantically looked around. She reflexively gave into her very next idea and pulled an entire row of boxes down from the top shelf.

Shoes and other accessories of all sorts rained down in front of the human female until a massive pile high enough to block any sight of her and the back row of clothes.

Ignoring the cry of alarm from the other side of the pile, Maddie didn't waste another moment. She scrambled to completely close the 'entrance' to her hidden workplace before turning around, practically running back to the pile and forcing herself to fake an appropriate expression.

Though she tried to prepare herself, Danny's mother still gasped slightly when the oldest ghost maid easily phased through the pile of boxes and clothes items before calling out, "Madame! I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to frighten you. I was the one who was afraid that you were harmed just now. Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes, I-I'm alright," Maddie immediately assured her; though underneath, she was glad that the ghost mistook her fear of being discovered for being startled by the sight of the ghost maid after she had phased through the unruly pile. "I'm sorry about what just happened. I was just about to take a box down to see what other wonderful accessories were here when I somehow caused an avalanche!"

The human woman immediately stooped down to pick up the first box as she continued, "Give me a moment and I'll clean it up."

"No, no, Madame, we will do that for you!" replied the ghost maid amidst the noise now being created by Maddie's efforts to clean up.

"But I made the mess!" Maddie dutifully protested as she picked up the next box.

Suddenly, however, all of the boxes became intangible and Maddie's hand phased right through the box she was currently holding.

Before the human knew it, all of the boxes and their contents were floating about.

In no time, the oldest ghost maid—and now obviously the other two maids who had quickly joined her—had replaced all of the shoes and such into their respective boxes and stacked them neatly on the top shelf again.

Maddie was truly awed how easily, quickly and yet meticulously the three maids worked to accomplish their task. And she was very relieved that the ghosts hadn't noticed the back row of clothes' being slightly amiss even after she had successfully closed them enough to keep her hidden work area secret.

Once she could see that the maids were through, however, Maddie smiled weakly at them and gestured to them her intention to leave the closet. Without any hesitation, the human female led the way out of the closet.

Now completely relieved that she hadn't been discovered, Maddie turned to the trio and said, "I'm so sorry again. I didn't want to give you extra chores to do."

"It's our pleasure," the second maid immediately replied.

Maddie slightly smiled and remarked, "Thank you. But still, I'll be more careful whenever I feel like exploring this interesting wardrobe. I could spend hours in here admiring all those pretty clothes and things."

The human suddenly giggled at the irony of her next private thought. But she purposely meant to give another impression to the ghosts about her slight laugh when she quickly added, "And, in fact, I have spent hours in here lately doing just that. It helps whittle away the time along with those other things I do, you know?"

The three maids nodded in understanding before the leader inquired, "We have come to perform our routine evening duties, if that is all right with you, Madame?"

"Yes, quite all right. Thank you. I'm getting pretty tired already," Maddie truthfully answered.

As she watched the three worked, Maddie's mind drifted back to her makeshift weapon. Though she was confident that she would be able to solder the magnetic coil to the hairdryer, she was still worried on how she was going to get the next vital thing to make it operational.

Suddenly, the human female's thoughts were interrupted by a slight, yet obviously anxious, gasp. She looked toward it and immediately saw that the youngest maid had to have uttered it because she was nearest to her while at the moment the other two were either in the bathroom or at the other side of the room. The human female wondered why the ghost girl would seem suddenly upset when all the maid was doing was preparing her bed. Maddie tried to hide her inquisitive look and pretended to be distracted by a nearby book. But Maddie could see from the corner of her eye that the ghost girl was hurriedly pulling out what looked like strands of string that seemed to have snagged on what looked like a ghostly ring. Then the human female realized that the maid must have snagged her ring on the bedspread.

Immediately dismissing the scene, the human sat down on the chair and waited for the trio to finish. All the while, Maddie's mind searched for a way to get the last thing she needed. But then, she realized that she was too tired to come up with an idea yet.

After bidding the three maids a good night once they had announced that they had completed their nightly duties, Maddie sighed as she re-entered the closet to get her night clothes, "I sure pray that I can get something to make my weapon a truly ghostly one…"

* * *

><p>Vlad had finally had a good night's sleep and took less time than usual to return to the control room to his simulation room.<p>

The man nodded briefly in acknowledgement to his computer holograph when she looked his way once he had entered the room.

"Good morning, Sir," Maddie, in turn, said before she returned to the controls.

"Good morning, my dear," he replied before he walked over to one of the monitors.

Vlad smirked in triumph a moment later. He knew by the readings that Daniel was getting closer and closer to mental collapse.

In fact, the boy's stress factors were fluctuating wildly even when he was still in _delta _sleep, something that hadn't occurred until now. Vlad was sure that the latest mental assault had made a big impact on his younger counterpart. Good. And now it was time to really blow Daniel's mind, but only in a way that he could control the boy.

In truth, Vlad didn't want a 'good' little son at his side. He wanted a corrupt yet easily malleable one. Yet, he also wanted a son who would not be a true puppet. Once he had Daniel mentally unarmed, so to speak, he could train him into the son he always wanted…The balance was delicate but not impossible to achieve. After all, Daniel was not only naïve enough to be manipulated, but also was showing clear signs of thinking things through more often than not—and at almost reflexive speed.

The billionaire paused at that thought as he glanced at the other monitors. He wasn't sure exactly when Daniel had become less like 'a bull in a china shop' when dealing with ghostly problems—and in the end it didn't matter—but the fact that the boy was better in his fighting skills was a definite plus in his opinion. After all, if the man was going to have all his plans finally come to fruition, Daniel was going to have to be able to use that 'improvising' skill on occasion —and a mindless puppet would not be able to do that.

Vlad suddenly knit his brow when his eyes finally focused on the off-the-scale readings of another monitor—the one which had been intermittently screaming in alarm at him often enough that he had Maddie turn the sound off to it. It was 'active' again'. But _why _was it going off again? The boy was sleeping! And for that matter, what had triggered it several times already? Might this be the reason for the boy's spike in energy when he used that before unknown 'curing' power? He shook his head. No, the boy hadn't used that power but _once_ so far.

The older hybrid frowned when those incredible readings suddenly fell to normal again. It hadn't lasted that long this time…He sure hoped that his computer could give him an explanation soon…

Little did the man know that Danny _hadn't_ been the one to cause those off-the-scale readings this time…

Vlad's eyes drifted to the screen that was monitoring Daniel's power level. It was still fluctuating. Even his central core's temperature was unstable. And, that just brought to mind the other reason why he was putting Daniel through all of this: a question that had brewed in his mind almost from the moment he had first met the boy. Yes, they were both half-ghosts, but why didn't they have the _same_ kind of energy?

Why did he have a hot core while Daniel had a cold one?

True, they were different persons, but they were the only half-ghosts…He paused at his next irritating thought…Well, the only half-ghosts who were once _fully human _before their…'transformations'—which must have been one of the reasons why they were the _only_ ghosts who could not only regenerate their energy without an outside source, but could also actually _increase_ in power after they had become half-ghost. After all, 'regular' ghosts could only replenish their power from the energy generated by and the ghost food found within the Ghost Zone. And even if they could add weapons to their abilities, they never actually increased in 'natural' power.

The older hybrid paused once more when he thought about his and the boy's power levels. Well, at least _his_ own energy had been rising; though now it seemed that Daniel may be reaching his peak— or actually _losing_ energy…

Once again, the man halted in his train of thought. What if Daniel _was_ losing his energy? Would he be the powerful son he wanted or needed? He frowned. Really, his computer could not definitely confirm a _permanent_ loss in energy.

Vlad shook the thought away. He would worry about that once he had the boy under his control. After all, he could train Daniel to be his best no matter what power level he ended up with.

The older hybrid's eyes and mind drifted back to the monitor that was recording Daniel's ghostly vital statistics…

Just what was the reason why his and Daniel's cores were different? He would think their cores would have been the same, at least temperature wise…especially when he now knew that that creature that had been formed by both of their ghost halves in that alternate timeline had a _hot_ core. Hmmm. He just had to get to the bottom of this. He just had to know how he and the boy regenerated energy. If he knew how Daniel did it, he would know how he did it as well. Well, he did have his theories about it, but he could not be certain.

The man's thoughts finally came full circle and back to the matter at hand.

Vlad furrowed his brow. Though he had devised more than enough simulation programs, he had truly thought the boy would have yielded by now.

Nevertheless, this next part would still be tricky. After all, he had to actually reduce Daniel practically to mindlessness, to wipe his mind clean of his 'hero thoughts' as it were, in order to mold him. If the boy had one thought of altruism —or irritatingly more, if Daniel had one ounce of defiance —then the man would not have the son he wanted.

Vlad suddenly rubbed his eyes before pinching the top of his nose. He was already feeling the drain in energy even after having that good night's sleep. He had already deferred his other plans longer than he had expected. And that delay was now definitely taxing him physically. He would have to go check on the status of that second phase of his plans soon to make sure that things weren't out of kilter. But he really wasn't worried. Once he had Daniel on his side, fully enacting that part of his master plan could immediately commence.

All right, then. The boy would have to be mentally crushed within the next few segments of his master plan. He could always train Daniel to his liking 'on the job' so to speak. After all, Daniel did have all of the raw abilities. Perhaps this next ghost would finally break the boy; but if not, there were others still in the queue. It was only a matter of very little time, now.

He was sure of it.

Still, his mind drifted back to the next ghost in the queue…Even from the beginning when he concocted his plans to break Daniel, Vlad had debated whether or not to add this particular ghost to the lists of ghosts he would pit against the boy.

It wasn't a matter on not being able to _control_ this ghost, since Vlad was certain he could. But this ghost's unique powers still made him extremely dangerous.

And so far, the ghost had done exactly what Vlad had instructed…But the man had to be completely sure…

"Hmm… I better remind him of his place before I let him anywhere near Daniel again," Vlad muttered with a frown.

He glanced down at his special watch-like wrist device before he pressed a series of buttons. He soon connected with the ghost in question.

"Sir?" the male voice asked in anticipation.

"It is time," Vlad said into his communicator. "I do not think I need to remind you to _control_ yourself. You are to do exactly as we discussed. Understood?"

"Of course, sir. I will be waiting for him…" the specter answered.

Vlad disconnected his communicator. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he looked at his hologram of Maddie and finally said, "All right, Maddie… It is time."

"Right away, sir," she answered before activating the next sequence of commands.

* * *

><p>Sharp pain….followed by a dull, throbbing pain.<p>

That was all that filled Danny's mind and body as he groaned out loud before he suddenly awakened and gasped loudly with panic.

Clasping his chest at the sudden memory, Danny quickly inspected himself before he sighed deeply in relief.

Still, that was odd. He was still sore in his chest and head, even as he could see that he was not harmed…at least not obviously.

His dulled mind, however, was not satisfied that he was okay.

His face scrunched up in even more chagrin when several confusing emotions now whirled within his mind….

Crazy as it seemed, the teen could swear that he could actually _feel_ the haunting echoes of all those…wicked thoughts buffeting him. They were still trying to root themselves within him. He tried to push them out, but their insistence seemed to only further cloud his mind.

In fact, Danny lay there in a stupor under the duress…

But after what seemed like several minutes later, his head began to clear, though it was still filled with all kinds of emotions…However, these weren't the same kind that he had been feeling now or when he was in Pandora's maze.

Guilt was the foremost one. He should have resisted…Fate more. He should have thrown out all those enticing thoughts as soon as he was aware of them. Instead, he let them practically blind him with their pain and intensity. Perhaps if he had tried harder, he would have been able to hold out…

But then, even more emotions leaked out…

Danny was discouraged, depressed, defeated, anxious and edgy all at once. He felt that the last encounter had particularly drained him mentally. He felt so…hopeless then and still did now, just like he felt after so many of these latest tests where he …failed.

Everything had felt so real when they were happening. Yet, he always seemed to recuperate —at least physically — before another encounter was thrust upon him. But then again, he really wasn't faring so well physically. He was so tired, hungry and sore. Of course he would be, since he never remembered anything between blacking out shortly after each failed encounter and waking again. And he didn't even remember the last time he ate or drank something or —He suddenly grabbed his chin and rubbed it.

The young hybrid frowned when he could barely feel a few of the very sparse and very soft stubs. And he had no idea when the last time he had an _actual _shower. Seriously. Was _that_ the real bizarre plan of the Observants? To freak out the next ghost on how awful he looked or maybe have him finally defeat the next ghost with his stench?

But even that little side thought didn't cheer the boy, especially when his headache was suddenly worsening and he could feel the next wave of emotions washing over him... And he just as suddenly didn't care how he looked —or smelled — at the moment…

Instead, he let himself fall into all of those feelings even when he had just told himself that he wouldn't. And really, why should he care if he did or not? In fact, his headache was so bad and he was so depressed that he really believed no one else seemed to care about his feelings—or that nothing else mattered— right now.

Danny made a vain effort to shake those thoughts away. But he was so exhausted physically and now mentally that all he could feel right now was bordering on…despair. When were these tests going to end? He just didn't get why the Observants were…torturing him like this. And he knew he couldn't take too much of this much longer with how he was feeling at this moment.

Still, he made himself sit up and groaned in discouragement when he could see where he was: in that putrid Dimensional Room. Now even his jail cell seemed more inviting since he might get some decent rest. Still, he really wasn't all that surprised at being back to square one; it just meant that the Observants weren't done with him yet.

"_So…alright! Let them bring on whatever…"_ he thought in defiance—though it was more heavily laden with melancholy. _"I really don't care one way or the other."_

However, Danny crossed his legs, propped his elbows on them and cradled his still throbbing head in both hands as if in a gesture of defeat nevertheless. He suddenly rubbed his entire face at feeling his overall fatigue increase. He wanted this to end…but then again, right now, he didn't care.

But then the young hybrid heard faint echoes of some kind of noise; and as if Fate herself were still taunting him, the atmosphere around him was twisting in agony as it melded into the next phase of his…doom.

When everything stopped, the teen was in a forest of some sort. He looked around, getting that creepy 'déjà vu' kind of feeling…only that he was absolutely certain that he had been here before.

The boy walked forward; but then he unconsciously slowed down as the scenery gradually changed. He searched his worn mind. He still felt that he had been here before…but, more importantly, he sensed that this couldn't be good. Still, he moved onward until he came to a clearing; and saw a building in the near distance.

The boy's face broke out into a frown a few moments later. He _had_ been here before. But his memory was very fuzzy. Was it when he was first brought to the Observants' realm? Or at an earlier time someplace else? He wasn't sure, but somehow he knew that there was a ghost in that building —and that he had met this ghost even before that.

It hurt his head this time when he tried to search his mind.

Just then, Danny shuddered at a sudden chilling memory. That was it! He _had_ met this ghost before—in Amity Park just before he got into this entire Observant nightmare!

"Oh, no, it can't be!" he said in dread at the realization just as he instantly stopped dead in his tracks after having second thoughts about getting any closer to this place—especially when his ghost sense fired off!

He knew he couldn't handle this ghost _now_. He was just so…emotionally fragile with all of these confusing emotions swimming in his pounding head. He just knew he couldn't put up a decent fight, even though he knew he had to.

Yet, the way he was feeling, why should he even put up a fight? He wasn't going to win anyways. And he already knew from his past—yet brief—experiences with this ghost that this ghost's abilities were very powerful as they were unique. It would take all of his grit to even face this ghost, much less fight him.

And he didn't think he had the nerve to do either right now.

He glanced upward and sighed, though he had not at all been surprised when he saw an ectoplasmic netting barring his escape upward.

But when he looked straight ahead at the building again, he startled.

The ghost was coming!

Danny wanted to retreat in a hurry. But something kept him from doing that.

The boy's eyes widened as the male adult ghost floated even closer. Danny could already see his golden eyes flaring and felt uncomfortably drawn to him.

No other feature about the ghost shot so much fear in him. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ghost looked like a harmless jockey of some sort. He was very tall and slim and wore a stretchy pair of white pants with a loose long-sleeved white shirt on top which was accented with a short blue vest. His brown hair was slicked back so tightly that his large eyes seemed to bulge out of his ghostly skull. …But those golden eyes….they were hauntingly creepy yet mesmerizing at the same time.

Still, Danny managed to wrestle his eyes away from the ghost but couldn't make himself move at the moment. It almost felt as if someone had just totally swaddled him in an invisible blanket of some sort as he stood there —only that it was not a comforting feeling at all.

Danny remained in that fixed position until the ghost was close enough to speak to him, but not near enough to touch him. The boy gasped softly and stepped a bit back with a slight loss of balance when he felt as if that blanket had been abruptly yanked off of him. But that was enough of a jolt to stir the boy.

Still, Danny said nothing to the ghost who was now not too far in front of him. But he noticed that the ghost's eyes were no longer golden. They were now honey-brown in color. However, that didn't make Danny feel any more relieved.

The human-like ghost remained silent as well as he looked the boy over, which made Danny feel even creepier.

Meanwhile, while the male specter continued to look at the boy, he couldn't help but find it ironic that he was about to 'prey' on a creature just like his employer. He wasn't really sure why Plasmius was asking him to do this, but he didn't mind. In fact, from the moment that the older hybrid had told him about doing a 'special job' for him, the male ghost had been all in for it.

After all, he had always wanted to know what… half-ghost _tasted_ like…

"So, we meet again, little one," the ghost finally said, sounding almost bored already. "Funny that it would conveniently be in my lair."

"I don't know if I caught your name, jerk," Danny managed to say through gritted teeth. "Since our last encounter wasn't exactly pleasant from the get-go."

The jockey ghost chuckled, though it sounded more evil than amused.

He then replied, "I do not believe I gave it to such an insignificant insect such as you, runt. But, I do not mind humoring you. The name's Dazzler."

Somehow, when his adversary said his name, Danny instantly felt chills of dread run up and down his spine. Nevertheless, Danny swallowed hard and glared at the ghost before saying, "Well, I'm not dazzled by that, or the fact that you obviously needed to have Spectra hold your hand to meet me back then!"

Danny was still annoyed by the fact the creep had used Spectra and Bertrand as bait to lure him out in Amity Park—and he was still especially irritated with _himself _for being caught off guard by them. Then again, how could he know that Spectra would ever team up with a ghost like Dazzler? It hadn't made any sense then…or now, for that matter…

This time Dazzler scowled and gritted his teeth in anger. But then, he quickly got a hold of himself and calmly said, "Not that I care one way or the other what you said, but I needed my sister to draw you out in that human town and nothing more. And now that she has, the rest is up to me."

But Danny was so stunned by his first remark that he didn't hear the ghost's second remark. Spectra had a _brother_? He finally found himself blurting out, "T-Then that means you're a shadow ghost!"

"Impressive. The runt has some cylinders firing in that skull of his," Dazzler said, somewhat amused this time. "Yes, but unlike my sister, I have been able to not only keep my shadow ghost powers, but hone them like no other shadow ghost has!"

Danny didn't like the sound of that. He already knew what shadow ghosts could do. In fact, they weren't even ghosts. They were _spirits,_ which actually called themselves the Spectre;and if they didn't have such a benevolent leader right now, they would be unmatched in the Ghost Zone and could easily become the ultimate ruling race of everything. And the teen didn't want to find out what _this_ shadow ghost meant about his particular powers or even if they were more potent than the Spectre. Still, at the same time, he wanted to get out of this mess. Finally, he said, "I don't want to fight you. It wasn't my idea to come here."

"Maybe not, but I really do not care how or why you came here," the older male ghost calmly said. "I am just glad that you were delivered right to me so that I can have the pleasure of crushing you and savoring you even more!"

Danny's heart jumped a bit in fear but he still had the gumption to fist his hands at his sides and growl, "I really don't care to even try to understand what you mean by that, jerk! But don't get your hopes up too high. I might shove your words right down your throat!"

This time Dazzler's eyebrows shot up in surprise and a bit of amusement. "Heh-heh. What brave words, runt. But we both know how empty they are…"

He stepped a bit closer and added more sinisterly, "I can sense your power, yet I can also sense that you do not have it in you to fight me. So, let us just get this over with—as brief as it will be. I'm quite ravenous to try _half-ghost runt_…"

The older ghost took another small step closer.

Danny reflexively stepped back, as if the evil words had given him an aggressive shove. Yet, he growled in warning as he willed his green ectoplasmic energy to surround his fists, "Don't come any closer!"

The honey-brown eyed male ghost merely smiled slyly and replied, "I do not plan to…Instead, _you_ will come to me!"

Dazzler's eyes instantly flared just as his body was engulfed in a glowing purple hue. Not a moment later, the glow turned golden as the jockey ghost turned into his shadow form and locked his gaze on the boy.

Danny gasped when he felt compelled to look back. He was especially confused by the fact that even though the ghost hadn't so much as touched him, it was as if the ghost had physically grabbed his chin and held it steady enough so that his foe's power could bore holes into his eyes. That urge was slowly increasing within him, rapidly getting so strong that Danny was now beginning to feel that all that his being desired to do at that moment was to look into the ghost's eyes—and move closer.

Still, Danny managed to close his eyes and tried desperately to wrestle his chin away from the unseen force. But then he began to panic when he realized that his usual determination wasn't there! In fact, he felt almost helpless as the shadow ghost's stare barreled down on him and easily tore at his defenses while at the same time demanding that he turn his head and meet the ghost's gaze once more.

Finally, the boy couldn't take the strain anymore. Dazzler's fixed glare might as well have been beams of energy chiseling away his eyelids. Danny shot his eyes open and looked at the shadow ghost.

At that moment, Danny felt himself drifting away, drawn by the power of the shadow ghost.

But there was more.

A strange golden glow formed around the boy's body and Danny cried out in pain. It was as if that glow was ripping his skin off while at the same time peeling away any desire to resist that power. Only the desire to give into it was pounding Danny's mind. And though he knew that if he did give into it that would be his doom, Danny continued to stare at the golden-eyed ghost.

Even still, Danny stepped haltingly forward at the silent yet siren-like command to draw nearer to Dazzler. If the young hybrid hadn't felt so badly mentally and physically, if he didn't have such a lack of confidence right now, he would have been able to resist the unspoken desire to approach the older ghost.

But as it were, Danny had been so shaken by his last encounter with all the evil let loose upon him from Pandora's box—not to mention that he was so want of food and rest—he could not resist what was happening.

The boy had not gotten even two feet from the shadow ghost when Danny froze completely in place, though his eyes stayed locked onto the mesmerizing golden gaze of Dazzler.

The shadow spirit floated over to the paralyzed teen and casually replied, "Tsk-tsk. I really expected as much spunk from you as you had when I first encountered you, little one. Perhaps you are not as strong as I thought you were. That is actually more of a pity because I won't get that rush that I crave from wrestling the energy out of powerful ghosts."

Danny felt his throat tighten in dread, though he couldn't say anything as Dazzler slowly began to circle him and almost purr, "You could even say I am a connoisseur of sorts; and know a choice specimen when I feel it. I can actually sense your power surging within. It seems to taunt me with a sample of what's to come."

The evil ghost's spectral tail curled around the boy's shoulders as he continued, "And what I feel is indeed very powerful and I'm sure quite delicious. After all, I have had a taste of it earlier when you were in the Real World before, haven't I, little runt? And don't think that you had broken my spell even then, because you hadn't. I was merely distracted by that human adorned in red."

Danny merely stood helpless and speechless within the ghost's powers, even though the touch of the ghost sent shudders up his spine. He couldn't even begin to resist at this point—he simply didn't have the will.

But at that moment, Dazzler was suddenly irritated. He pulled away from the boy but kept his eyes locked on him. This was too easy. He wanted to make more sport with the boy before the end, especially when a resisting ghost's powers were more 'delectable' when taken during a struggle. Yet, here the young hybrid was easily within his clutches and not even so much as trying to twitch a muscle to resist him. It was almost as if the boy wanted to be within his power…How little did he know that that was not too far from the truth.

The shadow ghost suddenly broke his gaze with the boy and Danny drew in short pants when his body was released.

"You disappoint me, Danny Phantom," Dazzler said sarcastically. "I was up to the challenge of your fighting me as well as you did before, but this is so anti-climactic."

Dazzler suddenly smirked. "Perhaps fear will motivate you to at least kick a bit before I kill you…"

The ghost's eyes flashed golden again; but this time, Danny felt the ghost's power dig into his mind and easily dig up the fear he felt with all that had been happening to him.

Before the boy could stop it, a whimper had escaped from his throat and he backed away a few steps. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to flee from the ghost!

Dazzler grinned. "It is okay, little one. You can run. I will let you pretend you have a chance of escaping me."

Danny was still in so much emotional turmoil and near exhaustion that not even what the shadow ghost had said riled him up. In fact, the need to flee was suddenly being replaced by the growing desire to just give up. He thought that if he just gave in, perhaps the Observants would see that he couldn't fight anymore and just end these tests. And truly, he felt like totally giving up. He sighed in exasperation, "I don't care one way or the other what you think about all of this! And I don't care if you want me to put up a fight, or flee, or whatever! It won't change the outcome of what's going to happen. So, just go ahead and do what you came to do, jerk!"

"What's this? The 'boy hero' is giving up? And so easily? Interesting. Maybe what I heard about you is untrue," Dazzler said as he began to circle Danny again. "Still, I suppose whether you struggle or not means nothing in the end. You are right. The outcome will not change. You will lose. And I always get what I want."

But instead of capturing the boy's gaze and completing his objective, Dazzler said with a slightly disappointed scowl, "Even still, it is disappointing since I like the cores I take to be tough. The energy lasts longer, you know. So, I want you to put up a fight—just enough to prepare your core to how I like it."

Danny, however, replied in resignation, "I told you I don't care. In fact, I don't care if I lose any more of these tests!"

"Tests? What tests?" Dazzler asked, genuinely surprised by the boy's remark.

"Never mind," Danny sighed in resignation before lowering his head.

But, the boy really didn't care at this point what the Observants would feel or say about his not 'playing along'. He truly felt defeated at this point.

"Very well," the shadow ghost replied, his eyes beginning to quiver with power. "The cards have fallen in my favor, even when it was too quickly dealt. However, I cannot turn down an offer when I get it. So, Danny Phantom, it is time for me to peel away all of your defenses and take what I feel is rightfully mine now since you have admitted to your defeat and cowardliness, like the loser you are."

This time, however, those words—especially that last one—stung the boy. No matter how down he was feeling, Danny still hated to be called a 'loser', especially from such a jerk as Dazzler. Suddenly Danny felt a spark of defiance light up his soul. And he clung to that small piece of rope that could pull him from this pit of despair in which he was.

As soon as he felt the effects of Dazzle's stare bare down on him, Danny bolted upward into the air and willed his ice energy.

"Now, that is more like it!" the shadow ghost chuckled with an evil, satisfied grin.

The ghost's eyes jolted to gold as he, too, willed out his powers. His whole body lit up in purple before it melded quickly into a golden hue. Then a gold mist immediately formed in his hand and quickly warped into an even bigger hand. The glowing golden hand reached upward, ready to pluck the boy hovering above him right out of the sky and pull him to him.

But Danny concentrated on looking at that large hand charging at him rather than giving into the sudden urge to fix on the ghost's eyes again. He knew that once he looked at his foe, it would all be over.

All of the sudden, however, the hand-shaped golden mist clenched into a fist before it had even touched Danny and at that moment, the young hybrid felt as if an anvil had just fallen on his lungs. Nevertheless, Danny immediately resisted and tried to pry himself away.

Dazzler's dark lips curved in triumph as he calmly told his prey, "You see, runt, once I have looked at you, I can manipulate your body as I will afterward. In fact, once I have infected you with my spell, it is never truly undone. I not only take away any of your confidence like any shadow ghost, but I also feed off of it, wounding your very soul in the process. Sort of like a sore that never heals—and a painful one at that!"

Dazzler's misty hand fisted tighter and Danny felt a jolt of pain seize his whole body and pressure clamp down around his throat. He immediately erupted with choking gasps followed by gurgles as he tried to pull in any amount of air. The struggle was enough to make his already pounding head spin and his body drift downward.

Still, Danny didn't give in and refused to look at the ghost even as he grasped the misty hand around his throat and tried to pry it off.

A hideous laughter erupted from Dazzler and seemed to pile drive itself right into the teen's brain. "You are so predictable, but worth it!" the older ghost finally said.

The shadow ghost's power tightened its hold around the boy's throat and for a moment, Danny was too dizzy to notice that he was moving more quickly downward.

Dazzler jerked his shadow fist back and down toward his side, and the gold, misty hand instantly mirrored the movement. It effectively pulled Danny down as if he were a fish that was being reeled in after it had just lost its fight.

In hardly any time, Dazzler had pulled Danny up close enough to him that should the boy open his eyes even the slightest bit, he would be looking straight into the shadow ghost's flaring golden eyes.

But even though Danny just knew he was about to lose consciousness from his lack of oxygen, he still had the gumption to keep his eyes closed.

"You _will _look at me!" the controlling ghost demanded, suddenly angry that the boy had yet to obey him.

"N-No!" Danny still managed to utter, even when underneath he knew he was rapidly losing the battle of the wills.

Dazzler's misty hand then violently shook Danny in mid-air as the ghost hissed, "I did not give you an option. You know that you are afraid that what I said is true. My spell still has root in you and since you have lost all control of yourself, I now control you!"

Even though Danny was really barely hearing the shadow ghost's rant now that all of his senses were slowing to completely senselessness, he mentally frowned.

Wait. Something wasn't right! If the jerk could control him like he said, then why hadn't Dazzler made him open his eyes like before?

Danny's spinning mind tried to unscramble itself with that solid thought…He then knew! It was because Dazzler was lying. His spell hadn't taken root in him yet! Though really, with how his confidence level was almost in the bottom of the pit, Danny felt it wouldn't be long before the spell had him totally in control.

Now charged with determination once again, Danny reflexively grabbed the tangible misty hand around his neck and pulled back. He succeeded in wrenching it away, only to feel that electrical—and extremely unwanted—sensation again, the one that always originated in the center of his ghostly core before it raced outward and along his spine!

The jolt was enough to knock the wind out of the boy and he could not resist Dazzler's efforts any longer for the moment.

Though his mind was spinning from his own body's attack, Danny was now aware of a gold mist growing all around him, which tightened its hold on him so that he was now paralyzed. He looked up through his blurry vision and could see another golden hand made out of the same mist circling at the front of his body.

"Yes, just how I want it. And now it is time to end it!" Danny barely heard the shadow ghost say.

But suddenly Danny's brain finally registered what those words meant. Now panicking, Danny tried to pull away even harder against the vice-like grip that quickly countered his movements. But to more of the boy's chagrin, his body wasn't cooperating in the least. For one thing, he knew he hadn't at all recuperated from having the wind knocked out of him by that sabotaging thing that kept creeping out of his core and spine.

And then he gasped…for speaking of which! The Ghost Boy cried out as another wave of that cold white electricity surged from within his core and raced up and down his spine, which instantly weakened him more.

Danny's eyes snapped open and all he saw was the triumph in those evil golden eyes. But right after that, he felt some kind of knife-life force suddenly attacking him from the front, right at the level of his core, and that force seemed to be carving a hole in him!

Less than a heartbeat later, the teen just knew his life energy was being plucked right out of him by Dazzler.

Danny's eyes fluttered without focus before they closed as the boy's mind faded. But even amidst all the pain that was jolting his body from the outside _and from_ within, Danny's last thoughts were about how ironical it was that if this was now the _real_ end, it would all be because his powers— and not his will—had failed him…

* * *

><p>Vlad jumped up from his chair when it looked as if Dazzler wasn't going to let go of the boy! In fact, the billionaire could see the boy's life energy was half-way out his body!<p>

"What in blazes is he _doing_?! Maddie, turn off the ghost shield and put Daniel into _delta_ sleep now!" he exclaimed as he instantly morphed into Plasmius, became intangible and teleported.

Dazzler startled as a pink aura suddenly and briefly blanketed his golden mist before a strong hand wrenched the hand controlling the mist upward and away from Daniel.

In an instant, Daniel's body was released and his life energy seeped back into him. He then sloughed senseless to the ground with a soft thud.

Vlad's eyes flared in anger as he squeezed the hand still in his grip and without thinking, pumped a very strong red electrical current into it until Dazzler was yelling in pain.

"You treacherous leech! What did I tell you?" Plasmius sneered.

"I-I'm sorry, sir!" Dazzler said in a pant before quickly oozing to the floor at the pain still riveting throughout him. "I-I couldn't help myself! H-His core! H-His core is so powerful that it was too tempting for me to resist! B-But the boy is unharmed!"

Plasmius abruptly let the shadow ghost go and his mind raced at what the shadow ghost had said. Dazzler was _always_ able to detect another ghost's power level—and was _always_ accurate. In fact, he even had to admit that the shadow ghost was a bit better than he at doing that. True, the man was good at sensing the overall power level of a ghost, and even the health of its core, but he was not as accurate for sensing the _power level_ of its core. He had always assumed until this moment that the overall power level of a ghost and the power level of its core were the same.

Not only that, Vlad knew that the more powerful a core a ghost had, the harder it was for the shadow ghost to resist taking it, especially if his victim ghost had no means to defend himself…And since Daniel was definitely on the brink of mental collapse, that would qualify him as not being able to defend himself well against any mental assault by Dazzler...

The older hybrid paused, his mind calculating the possibilities... And he knew that Daniel's power level was fluctuating, falling precipitously before slowly rising again. But it hadn't even reached the level the boy was at when he _first came here_, much less nearing Dazzler's level, in quite some time. In fact, Vlad had sensed himself that Daniel was actually _losing_ power. So, how was it that Dazzler was purporting the complete opposite analysis? He just had to know!

Still, Vlad didn't want to sound excited at the news.

Now in complete control over his emotions, Vlad calmly said his employee, "I suppose your lack of control is understandable. He is powerful, isn't he?"

Dazzler nodded nervously, but then glanced hungrily at the unconscious boy.

"But I'm curious…. Just how powerful does he feel to you? What is the boy's power level, Dazzler?"

The shadow ghost slowly pulled himself up from the floor now that the pain had subsided. He quickly morphed into his human form before saying, "I would say he is at least at a level nine, if not higher."

"Higher did you say?" Vlad repeated since he wanted to make sure that he heard his employee correctly. After all, he was still reeling a bit with the news.

"Yes, sir, I am sure. He is one of the most powerful ghosts I've ever encountered that I was so close to…" He immediately stopped since he hoped not to draw his employer's ire again for almost sucking out the boy's life energy.

"Then why does it seem that Daniel is losing power?" Vlad blurted out, though he wasn't aware at the moment that he had been talking to himself. After all, he did not make a point to discuss any of his plans with his employees, save for Skulker.

The ghost jockey shook his head, and though he was surprised by his employer's unexpected question, he still replied, "I do not know, sir. All I can detect is a ghost's energy level. I am not able to determine how that energy is or is not generated. Perhaps, the runt is sick and that has muddied up your computer's readings."

Vlad's face briefly puckered in disapproval from the ghost's calling Daniel a 'runt' in front of him. But the billionaire readily composed himself again. Dazzler's discovery only generated more questions than he didn't want to talk about that anymore with the ghost. After all, he was still a bit peeved with Dazzler for his lack of control.

"You may go, Dazzler," Vlad simply said to the shadow ghost. "I will overlook what happened, but be sure to be ready when I need you again."

He pushed a small button his watch-like control device and a portal immediately formed.

"Yes, sir," Dazzler said with slight deference, though underneath he was seething at having missed the opportunity at wasting the runt.

Nevertheless, the shadow ghost quickly flew into the portal before it disappeared in a brief flash of light.

Vlad knit his brow just as the last glimmering residue of the portal dissipated. This was very important information to be sure. And that would mean more careful monitoring.

After all, he just had to know the paradox of the boy's power level!

* * *

><p>Mr. Fenton tried to keep himself from blowing himself right into sheer panic. He had thought that Danny's friends had been recuperating slowly but surely from their sleeping sickness. And he knew that somehow the two had some kind of mental connection with his son and they could sense what was happening to his boy.<p>

But he had no idea that Sam and Tucker's response to everything would be something so fierce that it would cause their becoming unconscious at all, much less_ more than once_. But worse than that, they weren't stirring yet with this last bout. And that just made him even more nervous.

The man had already carefully scooped both Sam and Tucker off of the floor after they had fainted and had put them in a more comfortable place until he hoped that they would recover.

He looked at the kids, one at a time again. Tucker actually looked peaceful while propped in the lounge chair where the large man had placed him. And, thank goodness, at least the boy was still breathing.

But Sam…though he had laid her on the couch, she wasn't lying still. In fact, the way she was moving, the man would have thought he had put her on a bed of rocks. And he could see that tears were running down the sides of her face. Not only that, she seemed to be getting paler and paler.

Jack swallowed the hard lump of worry in his throat. He just had to do something to help them…but what?

Finally, he heard Sam groaning. She must be coming to!

He rushed to her side and gently asked, "Sam? Are you all right?"

The girl frowned, as if she didn't comprehend the question. But then she struggled to open her eyes. When she did, she seemed to have trouble focusing on the large man. Even still, she managed to blurt out, "I feel…so weak."

That did it for the man. His mind jolted at his next idea. He hurriedly yet gently patted the girl on her arm and promised, "Hang on, Sam. I'm going to try to give you something that will help." He paused a bit before saying, "And sorry, just remember that this is an emergency, okay?"

Jack quickly turned and headed to the kitchen.

Once more Sam frowned in confusion, but still nodded her head at the man just as he left. But then, she had to close her eyes again at all the feelings bombarding her mind. She just knew that Danny had just been attacked by more than knives not too long ago….

The weakened girl forced herself to open her eyes and struggled to sit up. She tried to ignore how she regretted doing just that since that only made her dizzier. But she didn't care because she was going to try to reach her boyfriend's mind anyways.

Once she felt that she wasn't going to faint, Sam took a deep breath before she closed her eyes in concentration.

Her head pounded with the effort, but she was determined to get through to Danny—or at least find out where he was. She could feel that she was beginning to make a connection and furrowed her brow in even more concentration. A pathway was opening…

But she didn't expect the sudden assault of several very powerful emotions that she met at the end of that path!

The girl's head was then seized with tremendous pain at the attack and Sam felt her energy being quickly siphoned away. She tried to fight it, but after a few moments, she was panting in near exhaustion and had to dispel any effort to fully connect with her boyfriend.

She was on the verge of tears at her failure and at the gut feeling she had gotten from the encounter. She was sure that she had felt all of her boyfriend's mental turmoil. But more importantly, she was certain that he wasn't going to be able to take much more.

Sam tried to slow her pants and rid her mind of the conflicting emotions raging in her at the moment. Now in near panic, she tried to get a hold of herself.

Suddenly, her face contorted a bit at her next seemingly random thought. Odd that she should think about Danny's father of all people right now. But, really, she was secretly thankful for the distraction. She frowned again. Just how was the man going to help her? She had to admit that she was still physically weakened because she really didn't want to eat even when she knew she should. She was just too worried about her boyfriend….

But there was more that was bothering her. The girl stilled at her next thought. She had to admit: she also knew that she wouldn't be able to take much more of this mental assault, either. She really couldn't understand it. She was always good at controlling her emotions and she knew she was very strong when it came to staving off unwanted emotions, too. But it seemed as if…she was having a harder time with doing either of those things since she 'acquired' her 'Jiva complication'. Why was that? All it did was 'awaken' and enhance a power she didn't even know she had. Well, all right. Except, of course, those other more _tangible_ powers—even if she wasn't sure that she could even use them again.

Once more Sam frowned. No. That wasn't right. She _had _had certain unexplainable feelings about what was happening to Danny in the past, way before she ever got her telepathic powers 'turned on'. But there was more. She also had a certain unexplainable feelings about what _others_ were thinking then, too. Like knowing if they were lying or were sincere, or telling the truth, or….

Her eyes suddenly bolted open at the next jolting thought. Could she do more than just this 'telepathic' thing with Danny and now with Tucker? Could she sense what others were feeling? In a way, she hoped not, because she hated having to deal with emotions. But then she bit her lower lip. Once more, she had to admit it to herself. Now she understood why she hated to deal with emotions, why she worked so hard to push them aside and even hide them well…because she was sensitive, no, _too sensitive_ to how other people were _literally_ feeling.

And somehow, she must have known that when she was very little…

The girl suddenly remembered all of those incidents when she would break down and cry over such small things. It wasn't because she was weak. It was all because she was feeling the _emotions of someone else _who overreacted to whatever small or large thing that had upset them—and didn't know how to handle it. And then she remembered all of the teasing she got from others because of that…How she hated that…and therefore, vowed to…stop it. That is why she became a 'goth', why she 'pretended' to be so negative. She would not have been able to survive mentally if she hadn't 'protected' herself!

She suddenly felt stronger with that thought. And now she knew the reason why she had been out of control emotionally up to this time: she was so physically weak and exhausted. And _that_ what would explain why she couldn't reach Danny, even though she somehow knew she _would be_ able to reach him no matter how much of his emotional turmoil was blocking her! Now more set with that thought, Sam was determined to make herself recuperate physically—and that meant…eating!

She was about to pull herself back up to try to get something to eat when suddenly, she felt as if some kind of evil force was suddenly grabbing her very soul and trying to suck her life force out!

The girl tried to resist that feeling, but because she was still too weak physically, she suddenly felt herself succumbing to the assault…and she just as suddenly knew no more…

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hope I surprised you here! I've always admired pearl84's work and I was particularly impressed with her original character, Dazzler; and so, I couldn't resist including him in this story—especially when pearl84 told me that I could! He's just too wickedly delicious!**

**Oh, in case you haven't read of any of pearl84's stories, I highly recommend that you do! And if you're looking for Dazzler, he appears in her story, **_**Checkmate.**_

**Also, poor Sam, here! One of the readers pointed out that it was a shame to see her such a mess since she's such a strong character. I couldn't agree any more! But she is, after all, still human and I wanted to show her weak side here. But_ is_ it really her weak side, hmmm? Heh-heh. I'll leave it at that for now!  
><strong>

**So, there you have it! As you can see by the Fantomos Ecto-Scale, we're at the end of the level 8 ghosts….Hmmm…That means that there are even more powerful ghosts on the way…or are there? Heh-heh! You'll just have to wait and see!**

**In the meantime, be sure to part with some of your thoughts and place them right in that box below. I will take good care of them! truephan**

**289-LEVEL 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—Matilda**_**— truephan's original character from her story, **_**Sleepover Nightmare**_

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**289-level 6-**_**Gamma**_**—Ghost Writer**

**289-level 6-**_**Beta**_** —Walker**

**289-level 6-**_**Alpha**_**—Skulker**

**LEVEL SEVEN GHOSTS—Difficult to defeat. Would have been evenly matched with Danny at age 14. They usually have only one way of being defeated and can be defeated only after discovering that flaw. Also, Danny could only defeat them at age 14 after he picked up new skills to defeat them.**

**289-level 7-**_**Epsilon**_**—Undergrowth**

**289-level 7-**_**Delta**_**—Nocturne**

**289-level 7-**_**Gammas**_**—Aragon and Dorothea**

**289-level 7-**_**Beta**_**—Vortex**

**289-level 7-**_**Alpha**_**—Behemoth**

**LEVEL EIGHT GHOSTS—Very difficult to defeat because they are relatively more powerful than Danny Phantom at age 14. In fact, he might not be able to defeat them without outside help.**

**289-level 8-****_Epsilon_** **—Spectra**

**289-level 8-**_**Delta**_** — ? Will appear in a future chapter**

**289-level 8-**_**Gamma**_**—Fright Knight**

**289-level 8-**_**Beta**_**—Pandora**

**289-level 8-**_**Alpha**_**—Dazzler—pearl84's original character from her story, **_**Checkmate. (Thanks again for letting me use him, pearl!)**_


	44. Chap 44 Lev 9-Lost in Foreign Territory

**A/N: How are y'all? Did you have a good Thanksgiving and are you gearing up for Christmas? How about that? I have to say 'yes' to both, too! But in the meantime, my beta was too busy to get this back to me last week when I originally planned to post it; so the chapter had to wait until this week. And how about that? I thought it would be VERY appropriate to post today after all; as in, you know, Friday the 13****th****! o_0! And as you can see, we are at the beginning of the Level 9 Ghosts and….Spirits? Yes! I, like my wonderful beta, think that the Ghost Zone has ghosts and spirits; and spirits are stronger than ghosts overall. It's complicated, and I'll be explaining some of that in this story, but not entirely. But anyhoo, spirits will be included in our Fantomos Ecto-Scale! Don't forget the 'I don't own Danny Phantom' thing and now here is Chapter 44. Enjoy your Friday the 13****th****! Meh-heh!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 44—Level 9 Ghosts and Spirits—Lost in Foreign Territory<p>

"Ha-ha, Maddie, surely Daniel's time is up! I'm sure that even though Dazzler went a bit overboard, it was enough to finally break the boy!" Vlad said, already sounding a bit triumphal. "Did you see the look on Daniel's face just before Dazzler overpowered him? He looked like a complete wreck!"

"Perhaps, you think that the ghost of your objective is ready to be molded into being your _present_ and most ideal and powerful…son, sir," the computer-generated image began with a staid tone of voice, "But the computers monitoring the test subject's vitals and the like aren't conclusive of that."

"Yes, I know, Maddie," Vlad agreed. "But there is an element I had forgotten about that Dazzler unwittingly helped me to remember."

"And that is?" his female machine asked encouragingly.

"_Human nature_—pure and simple, my dear. Just because something scientific doesn't support it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Some people can drown in a half cup of water, while others do not die when their lungs are half-full. And that means that humans can foolishly believe things other than what reason dictates," he replied. "And I think from how abysmally Daniel performed just now, he must have finally gone over the edge."

Maddie frowned before commenting, "That is still not logical, sir. The files I have accessed in my memory banks do not support that hypothesis. If, indeed, 'human nature' was non-scientific, there has to be some kind of outward sign that the test subject's mental stability has failed. All I can analyze to say is that even though the data does support that the test subject is nearly mentally and physically exhausted, there is no evidence of complete mental instability. The test subject was still able to speak coherently and with some degree of logic; and even though the effort was small, he did offer resistance to the catalyst of this past segment of your masterful plan. And your objective is to have your test subject be unable to resist."

Vlad paused at her logic. She was right. There was a probability of uncertainty of what he initially thought. And if he timed his intervention too early, then he would definitely fail. After all, if he knew anything about the boy, he definitely knew of Daniel's tenacious resolve—or as he would really like to call it: Daniel's blasted stubbornness!

"All right, Maddie, I think you have a good point. What do you think, then?"

"Give your plan more time and implement more of it. I will inform you of any significant changes that may more reliably support your assertion that complete mental breakdown of your test subject has been confirmed," she simply reported.

"I agree, but…" he suddenly paused and winced in pain. His headache was throbbing a bit more.

The female facsimile noted that and said with a frown, "Are you all right, sir?"

Vlad looked right at his computer and paused. She sounded so concern, _so human_ for some reason with that last statement.

Still, he replied, "I will be better once Daniel is at my side. I just wished it wasn't taking this much time."

Vlad inadvertently glanced up at the clock. He furrowed his brow. It was getting late. But there was still at least another hour or so of daylight left, which would give him more than enough time to check on the other phase of his master plan.

He quickly rubbed the slight tension out of his forehead and added, "I plan to retire earlier today once I pay a visit to Central Park. I'm going to speed up my other set of plans since I still have the feeling that Daniel is finally close to being where I want him in spite of your logic, my dear. And I'm looking forward to that."

The computer frowned, but he ignored it. Maddie then replied without a hint of emotion, "That still remains to be seen, sir. But as it were, you will not be altering the chronological sequence of your master plan at all should you decide to briefly monitor your other plans. And that is because that it is time for your test subject to receive a few hours of his _delta_ sleep, which will allow rejuvenation of his body but not his mind as you planned. After that, he should be getting sustenance."

"Very well, Maddie, but only after I've had a few hours of sleep after getting back from Central Park. Then, we will be ready to start File 289-9 _Theta_."

"As you wish, sir," she simply said…

* * *

><p>Tucker's stomach rumbled enough to pull the boy out of unconsciousness. But right after that, he quietly groaned. He felt very dizzy and he didn't dare open his eyes or move yet. Maybe if he would just lie still for a bit, he would stop feeling like he was in an uncontrolled fall in spite of knowing that something solid was underneath him.<p>

It took a few moments more for him to realize why he had felt dizzy: somehow, he had a vague feeling that he had just had been attacked by knives. No. Or was it that he just had his guts pulled out of him?! He shuddered. But he couldn't have…could he? Still, he could not possibly know that he and Sam had been thrown into unconsciousness because of Danny's encounter in Pandora's maze and kept senseless because of what Dazzler had done to their best friend.

He scrunched his face trying to make some sense to these odd feelings. But then, just like that, those feelings disappeared.

The dark-skinned teen sighed; but that didn't make him feel better. He had never felt this way before and he just somehow knew all those feelings had to do with Danny—and a lot of things happening to his best friend. His mind stopped at what he suddenly knew without a doubt: it also had to do with _Sam_!

He slowly opened his eyes and swallowed down the nausea as his double vision slowed.

Finally, he was able to see clearly enough to scan where he was. That's right. He was at Danny's house. He slowly pulled himself up to a sit and tried to shake the dizziness out of his head before he refocused his eyes, bent on finding his female friend. But where was…then he saw her. Sam lying on the couch with her eyes closed.

But she didn't look peaceful—or well—at all.

He was about to call her name when he looked up at the sound of a door flying open and smacking into the wall in the direction of Danny's kitchen.

* * *

><p>Sam was slowly aware that she was staring at pitch blackness. Was she awake or still out of it? Right now, she really didn't care to be sure because her mind was so scrambled. In fact, she felt so weak that she wasn't even aware that most of her resolve she had what seemed like eons ago was gone. One thing was certain: she hadn't at all recovered from that sleeping sickness!<p>

She frowned at her next thought. There was more…

She could feel _Danny_ weakening.

She puckered her face in distress. She didn't understand why she was feeling like this even as she couldn't deny it….

Honestly, the girl didn't know what to make of these feelings. But one thought managed to clear itself out of the fog at the moment: she _didn't_ like them. She didn't like feeling weak and silly; and it was time for her to slough those feelings off as she had done so often in the past…

She concentrated and then sighed in resignation. This was harder to do than she thought. In fact, the feelings seem to intensify instead of ebb!

Suddenly, she was seized with panic, fear and worry all at once! Her breathing increased and she could already feel the tears forming and rolling down the side of her face before she knew it.

Oh. No. She couldn't lose it. She couldn't be losing control over her emotions. Not now. Not after all of these years of keeping them in check. Not now when it was something she couldn't afford to do since she knew her boyfriend was currently in big trouble and needed all the help she could give him in spite of her feeling weak physically.

Sam's logical mind tried to put things in order again and she choked back her tears and slowed her breathing. So, the only thing to do was set herself to focus on her goal and shove these things back like she had done in the past….and make sure she got enough to eat and enough rest.

She frowned. She knew she wouldn't really be successful with the 'eat and sleep' thing because she never could whenever she was worried about Danny. Still, she had to do something….but what?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she could hear what could only be one thing from all that noise: Danny's father had returned.

But she felt too upset to even realize that she had yet to open her eyes at this point….

Jack hobbled into the room. Every inch of him seemed to be laden with food of some sort—so, that was quite a lot of it!

Tucker sighed when he saw what his best friend's father was carrying. And he was thankful that the nausea was gone because now he realized that he was famished!

"Tucker!" Mr. Fenton said in relief when at last he saw that the boy was not only awake but sitting up. "How are you feeling?"

The man put down all the things he was carrying on the coffee table before glancing at Sam.

When Jack saw that she, too, was stirring, he said in more relief, "Sam! Are you all right, uh, again?"

"I'm okay," both of the teens slowly said at once before glancing in puzzlement at each other.

"Well, honestly, neither of you look okay," the man replied as he approached Tucker and pulled out a large cup out of one of his pockets.

"Thank goodness," Jack quietly chuckled to himself, "that was getting very cold!"

He handed the cup to Tucker and said, "Here, drink this. It's a kiwi fudge shake, uh, reinforced with protein powder and lots of mega-vitamins as well. It's what Mrs. Fenton drinks when she's ghost-fighting and needs a 'on-the-go' healthy, nutritious meal like this. We always have a few batches ready in the freezer just in case. All we have to do is re-blend it a little, and there ya go!"

"Hey, I didn't know it was healthy and nutritious! Kinda takes the fun out of it!" Tucker said with a weak yet sly smile as he reached for the cup. "But at least Danny and me like it. But, uh, I don't know about Sam."

Jack frowned in worry before he turned to the girl. Though the shake didn't have meat in it, it wasn't exactly 'ultra-recyclo vegetarian'—whatever that really meant.

He smiled nervously and said, "Uh, well, Sam, I'm sorry if—"

"Hey, it's okay, Mr. Fenton," Sam gently interrupted. "I know you meant best." She hesitated at first before glancing at Tucker and saying, "I'll drink the shake. Maybe it'll help me get better sooner."

Tucker's eyes widened and he bit his lower lip. Even though he didn't comment to that, he still nodded in encouragement at his female best friend.

Danny's father gingerly gave the shake to the girl and Sam accepted it. She hesitated again when she brought the cup to her lips. But then she frowned in determination and began to imbibe the cold drink. Her eyes widened a bit as she continued to drink it. It actually tasted pretty good!

In no time, the two teens had finished their shakes; and in just about as much time, Mr. Fenton had foisted some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on them. He hovered around them like a mother hen as he placed other foods on the small plates in front of them once they were finished with the sandwiches.

The man also ate his fill of food so that he wouldn't overlook his needs.

Finally, Sam was at her limit and she had to politely refuse any more. She had to admit. That did help her feel better.

She looked over to her friend and Tucker was readily accepting even more food. She smirked. Tucker was definitely back in the swing of things and obviously recuperating faster than she.

The girl sighed in some relief and closed her eyes as she leaned against the back of the couch. She had to admit it. Eating some things that had faces on them did seem to satisfy her better than her other diet. And, really, she could still remain true to her convictions and be bit different—and a more rational—vegetarian from now on. Still, she really didn't have time to argue that with herself at the moment. Once her friend was through eating—at least on this round—they might be able to try again to find where Danny was.

But that thought about her boyfriend unconsciously triggered her telepathic powers. In hardly a heartbeat, Sam's mind was literally attacked with an overwhelming feeling of shock and extreme remorse! She loudly gasped.

"Sam?" Tucker immediately asked in concern, since her outburst conveyed such anxiety.

But the girl didn't even hear her friend. Her mind was still struggling with the intense emotions volleying in it, and all of them hammered into her thoughts that something was _very_ wrong with Danny! More than all of his emotions, more than his anxiety. And it cut straight to her soul.

"No, no, no!" she suddenly screamed out, startling Tucker and Jack, before she broke out into uncontrollable sobs.

* * *

><p>Plasmius squelched a yawn as he flew onward to Central Park. He could hear the rhythmical sound emanating from the park above the flapping of his wildly undulating cape long before he finally spied the immediate area surrounding the fountain.<p>

He increased his speed and plunged through the cloud above his target. Ignoring everything else, he landed at the base of the water fountain and immediately located the carefully camouflaged control panel.

He pulled out a special key and unlocked the panel right away. He didn't hesitate to review all of the data that had been registered by the device since the last time he had been able to check on it.

The older half-ghost's vampire-like teeth glistened in the weakening rays of the westerly sun as he concentrated and pushed all sorts of command buttons to verify the data.

Finally, Plasmius frowned in disappointment at the confirmed results. The need for power outstripped the work being put into the structure. Not as he had planned at all. He had come here to give the device a boost; but the data showed that its power source was more depleted than he had anticipated. That meant that he would have to add even more of his own ghostly power to keep things working smoothly, much less being able to speed up using it in his ultimate plans.

Blast!

He would have to wait a bit more….If only if he had Daniel by his side by now, there would be no more delays…

The older hybrid placed one of his hands on the control panel, closed his eyes and concentrated. A red aura quickly surrounded his hand and then the control panel before he could feel his ecto-energy siphon through him and into the device.

His shoulders unconsciously drooped slightly at the drain, but he reflexively straightened them just as he turned away from the control panel and scanned the surrounding area…He calmed at his next thought…So far, things really weren't worse, when they could have been. He had taken care of everything, even if it meant having to drain him of more energy for a little while more.

His face puckered in slight annoyance again when the lights on the fountain seemed to grow obviously brighter. The day was rapidly retreating with the sun. He sighed in an effort to calm himself once more. This was all he could do for the moment.

As he lifted himself up into the air with the intention of returning to his mansion, Plasmius surveyed this area of Central Park once again. He wasn't all that pleased at what he saw. The delay further meant that he couldn't get rid of the changes necessary to prepare the fountain for his next phase right now. But all would return to his liking in relatively short order—once Daniel was broken and could help him do that…

For now, it was time to return back home and rest at last.

* * *

><p>Vlad woke with a start for the fourth time since he had fallen asleep. He turned over and groaned. He really needed more rest, but he couldn't help but think about some of what his computer had told him just before he had left for Central Park:<p>

"…_the computers monitoring the test subject's vitals and the like aren't conclusive of that… That is still not logical, sir…my memory banks do not support that hypothesis…there is no evidence of complete mental instability…be unable to resist…unable to resist…unable to resist…"_

The man bolted up in his bed and frustratingly blurted out, "Blast it, boy! Why do you keep resisting? Can't you see that when I have you fail in these 'tests', I mean to have you lose your will to fight? I must know if you've reached the end of your rope—now!"

Without even paying attention to his morning routine, Vlad immediately got dressed and headed to the control room of his simulation room.

Unsurprisingly, Maddie was at the controls and had briefly regarded him before resuming her duties.

"Maddie, wake the boy and run the next phase of Program 289- 9-_Zetas_ right away!" he commanded a bit more forcefully than normal whenever he was speaking to his beloved computer.

"Program 289-9-_Zetas_, sir? Program 289-9-_Theta_ is in the queue," she calmly replied.

"Yes, I know, I know!" Vlad answered in irritation. "But I need to know _right now_ if Daniel is where I want him to be or not; and they are the ones who have always been able to prove one way or the other!"

The hologram studied the white-haired man a moment before saying, "Sir, I need to remind you that you did not want to use that program for a while."

"Well, it has been a while, Maddie, but that 'while' has been shorter than most, that's all," the billionaire was quick to counter. "Just wait until the boy has been up for a few minutes before you activate it. Then if we have to, you can activate the program in the queue."

"Right away, sir," she dutifully said before she pushed several new command buttons.

* * *

><p>Danny woke up with a gasp, as if his lungs had finally filled to their capacity after getting the wind knocked out of them.<p>

In some ways, that dizzy sensation must have been lingering from his fight with that Dazzler jerk. It all still seemed so real; and Danny was sure that ghost would have sucked out his life energy if it hadn't been for the too obvious fact that the ghost had not been allowed to go through with his dark intent.

But the fact that he could breathe again and he was out of Dazzler's clutches didn't satisfy the boy at all, especially when he could see that he was lying on his back on some kind of solid surface and blanketed in total darkness once more…

The young hybrid laboriously pulled himself to a sit, crossed his legs and quickly rubbed his aching forehead. He frowned in irritation when that didn't get rid of the pain. In fact, not only did his head hurt, but so did the rest of him! He reflexively touched the middle of his chest, where his central core would be and winced.

It still hurt from Dazzler's attack.

But more than that, the boy's self-esteem still hurt. He really didn't know what to do at this point. And he didn't know what the Observants wanted at this point, either.

Danny propped his elbows upon his crossed legs, cupped his chin and closed his eyes. All he wanted to do right now was to be left alone.

But he knew he _wasn't_ alone as long as he was in the Observants' Time and Existence Chamber.

The teen raised his head a bit before he looked up into the black vastness. Right now, he felt he might as well be part of that since he was so discouraged.

He dishearteningly muttered under his breath, "When is this going to end, Justeco? What more do you want from me?"

The Ghost Boy waited, though he wasn't all that surprised when nothing answered him.

He sighed; but just when he was about to let his head fall again into his hands, the two Observants appeared right in front of him!

His discouraged thoughts vanished instantly. The young hybrid jumped to his feet and stepped back a bit as he tried to hide the pain that had shot through him from moving that quickly. Still, he made himself move closer to them because, underneath, he was a bit hopeful that they were going to call everything off.

Too bad he was wrong.

Justeco narrowed his lone eye in displeasure and sternly said, "We are not satisfied with the evidence so far, young half-ghost. Simply put, we do not believe that you are putting much effort into these tests."

Danny blinked in disbelief. What they just said really gnawed at him and he could feel his temper quickly flaring. He instantly snapped, "What do you mean? I _am_ putting my best effort —it's just that…that I lost!"

"No, you have to put _more_ effort into these tests, Danny Phantom," Konsilisto emphasized. "We need clear data to determine how we are to proceed from here."

Danny frowned at the two Observants. He had no clue what they meant…any more effort on his part would…He paused and mentally gasped at the next wild thought that suddenly popped into his head. No! They couldn't be serious!

The boy anxiously blurted out, "W-Wait a minute….Y-You're not expecting me to…to _waste_ any ghost you throw at me? You _know_ I _won't_ do that! And if you think that I'm going to do that just to prove that you were right that I was a threat to Time and Existence, then you're…_dead_ wrong! Do you want me to waste a ghost just so you can say that I'm capable of wasting a ghost? Isn't that like some kind of weird self-fulfilling prophecy that only happens in myths or with crazy people?"

He then murmured really only to himself, "But then again, the way you're torturing me, I'm surprised I'm not a loon yet!" But when Danny realized he had actually said that thought out loud, he hurriedly added, "Uh, scratch that last thing! But you can't seriously want me to actually waste any ghost, can you?"

The young hybrid paused and looked worriedly at the two spirits. His eyes widened in dread when they didn't respond. What else could he conclude but that he had guessed right in what they wanted?

"NO!" he gasped in alarm. "Y-You _can't_ want me to do that! I know that a few of my ghost friends have been…wasted…so far in this very unfair trial, but I never wanted that to happen! A-And I don't want to be blamed for that!"

He suddenly paused. He did feel responsible for those…destructions…But then when he thought of one particular friend and he stumbled to add, "Uh, uh, except for Frostbite! But that didn't count because I know those were dreams, uh, w-weren't they?"

Danny frowned with worry. He sure hoped that what happened to Frostbite was a dream...But then, his mind suddenly riveted back to thinking about another spirit's destruction: Iluzisto. But he hadn't...destroyed the evil spirit on purpose and had tried to stop it! Nevertheless, he frowned in dissatisfaction. He was now so unsure of what was real or not real at this point.

Still, when the two Observants had yet to respond, Danny thought the worse. He swallowed thickly and anxiously added, "Oh, no. I can't —_NO! I will not_ —believe that your real purpose here is to have me waste any ghost…."

Finally, Konsilisto interrupted him, "You must show us how powerful you really are and not hold back, Danny Phantom. And for that reason, we need to move on with these tests. And no matter how distasteful it is for us to say it, you _must_ fight them with all of your might!"

Danny just stared at the two, stunned at what they had just said. Were they for real? He couldn't believe it! And now he understood what that phrase, 'Catch 22' meant…If he wasted any ghost from now on—on purpose—the Observants could really stick it to him! Yet, if he didn't do that, they could still make things awful for him!

But that just made the young half-ghost angry at the injustice of it all. He growled back, "Look. You've done enough to me. I'm tired; I'm hungry and thirsty. I've cooperated and you're still not satisfied until I waste some ghost…And it seems to me that if I do waste any ghost _on purpose_ that then you can 'prove' that I _am_ a threat, right? I don't understand either of you! That's a 'set-up' if I've ever heard one! This isn't how I've come to know how the Observants are and is most definitely not like you two…I thought….."

Danny suddenly fell silent. He was now depressed over this entire thing…Yet, he also couldn't believe this was real. He finally and nearly repeated his first unanswered question he threw up in the air before the two spirits had appeared, "Why are you _really_ doing this?"

"You will find out soon enough, young half-ghost," Justeco answered almost callously. "In the meantime, we expect you to put all of your effort into the rest of our tests. And be warned that you are truly at risk in the next set of tests. If you fail to cooperate with them to the fullest, then you will forfeit your life—both of them!"

"'Truly at risk'? As if the _other_ tests weren't intense and dangerous?" Danny suddenly countered before quickly adding, "But how many more are there?"

Konsilisto merely replied, "That is not your concern, young half-ghost. Just remember that your mother is still our guest!"

Danny's eyes widened in indignation at the audacity of these two; but that comment effectively silenced him.

But his pause was brief and his face scrunched up with even more irritation over their injustice! Before he could throw any more verbal barbs at them, however, the two spirits disappeared….

In the meantime, Vlad's face also scrunched up with irritation as he watched on. The boy still had his wits about him and more than that—blast it!—his will was still strong.

True, using the Observants served its purpose in the man's seeing this, but it still didn't please him any less. Just as well, then.

"Activate Program 289-9 _Theta_, Maddie," he began. "It is time to introduce Daniel to ghosts and spirits more powerful than he! He'll need a lot of luck and have to use his talents to their utmost. And at this point, I hope he's not up to that! I'm sure these level nine ghosts and spirits will crush that infernal will of his!"

The computer replied only to the man's command and not his musing.

"As you command, sir," the computer simply said as she activated the next program….

Immediately after that, Danny's body was jolted backward by a vacuum-like force that came out of nowhere. Though the boy knew that the Observants must have activated the next test, he tried to fight being literally sucked into it this time.

"Arrgh!" the boy grunted in both desperation and irritation as he poured more of his strength into resisting the swirling atmosphere.

Suddenly, however, Danny yelled out when that electrical, knife-like pain poured out of his central core and up his spine, like it had done too many times before. But this time, the blow was more intense than all the other times and for the first time, it actually knocked him out….

Finally, the boy came to and his eyes fluttered open to—total blackness once again.

Danny groaned with dizziness and frustration. Not again! He didn't know if he could go on, but he had a vague feeling that he had to for the sake of his mother.

But when he started to get up, he frowned instantly in puzzlement and lay back down. There was something definitely very _odd _about this kind of darkness.

For some reason, he could actually _feel_ this darkness, as if it were a weight or a counter force pressing upon his entire body.

The boy shuddered. Was he back in a _f__antoma __nigra __truo_ **[1]**? After all, he wouldn't put it past the Observants to do that since they were obviously 'all in' when it came to any kind of 'double jeopardy'.

Danny raised his hand slightly and grasped at the blackness before rubbing it between his thumb and index finger. No, he couldn't be in a spectral black hole because this place was _slimy,_ as if he had somehow fallen to the bottom of a vat of crude oil. But, at the same time, it really seemed semi-solid because his arm had actually _sliced_ through the atmosphere!

Even his breathing was more difficult in this very dense atmosphere and kept him from fully clearing his woozy head. He wasn't even aware that his ghost sense had been activated because the atmosphere was so thick.

When he tried to move to his side in another effort to get up, he suddenly stilled again. He had heard what sounded like a combination of a 'whooshing' and watery sound when he moved; and for some weird reason, it now seemed to sound and _feel_ like he were immersed in jello. But there was something even creepier about this place: when he had moved, he could swear that the atmosphere had _helped_ him roll to his side, as if an imaginary hand had given him a slight nudge toward the direction he wanted to go.

Not a pleasant feeling _at all._

Nevertheless, he pulled himself the rest of the way up. His mind felt even more muddled now since he was even more aware on how hard it was for him to breathe.

But what he didn't know was that his mind was dulled because he still hadn't fully recovered from his own body's attack in addition to the poor quality of his sleep, which was sorely lacking a vital component of it.

Once he was seated, Danny immediately crossed his legs, propped his elbows on his knees and cradled his aching—and still spinning— head. He now realized he was more than dizzy. He was incredibly discouraged all over again—as well as incredibly fatigued. He reflexively rubbed his face and eyes, not aware that it did nothing to erase the dark circles that he didn't know had been under his eyes for quite some time. No amount of _delta_ sleep could cure a mind that was not allowed to rest—paradoxically—during REM **[2]** sleep.

The teen winced and then sighed when even rubbing his face and eyes _still_ hurt. He tried to blink out the pain this time, but it didn't help. But really, at this point he didn't care to think about it. He could just sit here and die for all he cared. He felt too drained of his strength and even of his determination. He might as well blend right into this icky darkness enveloping him…After all, at this point he was beginning to think that the Observants were winning what must be an awfully surreal yet _real_-feeling mind game. Why should he care to fight any longer when every battle ended in pain—_real_ pain that somehow slowly dissipated once he had lost; or worst yet, when he was never certain that each battle would be his last?

Was this the Observants' actual plan, then? Had they really just condemned him already, and so, what he had been experiencing all along _was_ his sentence? If this was how every moment of his existence was going to be—reliving countless feats of utmost failure—then he knew what hell was.

He sighed and cradled the side of his head in one hand this time before glancing back out at the nothingness surrounding him.

Great. Just as he felt: totally hopeless.

But then, Danny thought he heard something. He groaned. _Of course_ it would be coming from that denser and darker area just in front of him. Even still, he tensed when he heard the same noise once more. He could feel his nerves bristle with anxiety. He had never wanted to know how harshly plucked strings on a violin felt, but he would nevertheless guess it was how he was feeling right now.

However, all became quiet again. Maybe he just imagined all of that noise…but something inside of him denied that. Why would he be here except to have to face yet another ghost?

He sighed in both defeat and fatigue. Why should he care anymore? Or better yet, let that ghost bring what doom it had and get everything over with. He was just doomed to go through something just as bad—or worse!

At this point, Danny wasn't even thinking about his mother or anyone else who mattered to him. He was just feeling so low he wanted all of this torture to end.

He closed his eyes in resignation.

If the Observants wanted to see him utterly defeated, then they really had gotten their wish…

Suddenly, however, there was that racket again. Danny frowned in irritation. His ears still perked up with trying to determine what had made that noise in spite of the rest of him wanting to just give up.

Was it really a noise or was he going insane and all of this was in his mind?

That would explain why he was always whole—at least physically—after all of his ghost encounters so far…No it wouldn't. That pain had been _so_ real! And he couldn't deny seeing his own ectoplasm more times than he even wanted to _imagine_ seeing. But then…maybe the Observants cured him each and every time with some kind of Timeless Magic orb like Okulo once did…That might explain why he was physically healed…But then, shouldn't that also make him feel rested? He thought it would. So, why did he still feel so exhausted?

The boy shook his head before he startled a bit when he heard that same noise again. This time, he wasn't even aware that his curiosity had taken over his depression since his ears weren't letting him ignore the sound anyways.

It definitely was a very odd noise, something he had never heard before. Maybe it was distorted because of this very viscous atmosphere. But it didn't matter because he still felt that it couldn't be good news.

There it was again…

Mystified, the ghost teen frowned while trying to determine what that noise was.… It sounded like a bunch of rocks scraping against each other…only they weren't random in sound. There was a definite pattern to them.

Once again, Danny tensed; but this time, it wasn't so much as the anxiety of facing another ghost but more that he was itchy to get this confrontation over with.

The scraping sound happened again, and now it seemed as if the ghost— or whatever it was—was either moving very slowly or shifting its weight.

Finally, Danny called out, "Is anyone there? And where am I?"

The boy startled a bit at the sound of his voice. It was as if he was gargling and talking at the same time!

Still, there was no answer to his questions and that just put the boy more on edge.

Danny was about to say something else when he suddenly felt the inkling of that very unwanted feeling. Before he could try to resist it, he was reeling from that lightning-like jolt that shot up his spine, which made him even dizzier. He wasn't even aware that it was hot rather than cold as it usually was because it stung just as badly.

Panting from the pain, Danny was even more irritated when he heard that same—and now louder— scratching of rocks. Their sound was suddenly grating on his nerves as much as sandpaper would on his skin.

He crankily announced, "Look, whoever you are —and, by the way, I know you're there—we both know we're here to fight. So, can we stop with the 'tense silent treatment with occasional creepy sounds' and get it over with? I know you're going to win. In fact, I'll make it easier for you to start the show!"

The boy suddenly curled his hand up and they glowed with intense ectoplasmic energy before he shot a large blast into the abyss from where all those irritating sounds were coming.

A loud cry of pain shot out from the darkest area in front of the teen.

"_Oh, well, I guess I should be thankful that I know now for sure that whatever that is I just shot isn't a figment of my imagination,"_ Danny thought as he conjured up even more ectoplasm.

Suddenly, a large stream of hot green fire shot out from the abyss and was headed straight at the young hybrid.

"Whoa!" Danny yelled as he quickly produced an ice shield, which held firm against the assault.

Danny looked at confusion at the shield. That was the first time it didn't shatter at any ghost's blow since this whole-saga-of-Observant-tests fiasco started. But he had no time to think about it because in the next instant, a large blue beam bellowing frigid frost followed right after the flames.

"Double whoa!" Danny yelped as he activated his ice energy, which quickly absorbed the charging ice and kept him from harm.

"_What a rush!"_ the boy thought, a bit encouraged that he had somehow countered the first two rounds of force.

But then Danny yelled out, "Hey, those are pretty good attacks you just threw at me, but who are you and what do you want?"

"We want you to leave our world alone!" a male voice answered above another scraping sound.

Danny frowned as his mind searched for an answer. That voice…it sounded familiar…But in this slimy, thick atmosphere, it also sounded foreign.

The boy shook his head in denial. He couldn't know anything in this weird place!

Still, he replied, "Hey, no argument there, dude, especially when I don't even know where 'your world' is, much less want to attack it."

"But we have been told that you are a _threat _to our world. We have a duty to protect our world," the voice added testily.

"Look," Danny said, his voice clearly sounding more irritated all of the sudden, "I don't want to hurt anyone, much less destroy some world …er, as lovely as this one."

"But you attacked me first," the voice countered.

"Oh, yeah, well, I had a reason for it," Danny shot back before thinking, "_Well, he has a point. I wasn't exactly in any reasonable mood when I first got here."_

But, of course, the boy didn't want to tell the ghost that. Instead, he added, "So, okay. The reason for it was lame and I was a total jerk! I shouldn't have attacked you at all. I'm sorry. So, can we just start all over again? Can you tell me where I am and who you are?"

At first, the voice didn't answer the boy.

This time, Danny frowned in a bit of irritation and worry. He was about to say something when the male voice spoke again, and its tone was threatening this time.

"Though we do not wish to, we must…eliminate you before you destroy our world!"

"Hold on!" Danny objected, both confused and frustrated with the sudden change in attitude of this…voice. "I said I was sorry. So, why are you still threatening me? Plus, I don't even like talking to a voice echoing from who-knows-where."

Danny heard those same scratching sounds, only that the clanks of the stones were definitely louder and he could now see movement—a large mass of movement—stirring within that thick, darkened area.

The boy swallowed thickly, wincing at the taste in his mouth. "Can't you even show your…face," he added, only to stop when the dark area in front of him quickly lightened, as if something previously blocking the light had moved out of the way.

And, in fact, that was what had precisely happened. The large ghost finally emerged fully and now that the light had been fully let in, Danny could see that he and the ghost were in some kind of large room.

Now face-to-face with a very large four-headed creature, the young hybrid inadvertently added, 'Er, I mean, _faces!_"

Though each of the heads had a pair of the same greenish-yellow eyes, each of its heads were all different in color and appearance. One of the heads—and its neck—was flaming red in color and covered in warts. Another was as green as bile, and its neck was dressed in thick scales of the same bile color, which was much tougher than the orange-green scales covering the rest of its body. The third was the color of oxygen-deprived human skin, its hideous blue hue playing tag with its many deep wrinkles on its head and along its neck. And lastly, the final head was solid black with pockets of even blacker craters littering it and its neck, all of which dripped with a yellowish-gray substance, as if it were still recovering from a ravaging pox infection. All four heads shared a single body. And their massive, and tailless, orange-green scaly body towered over the young hybrid and Danny swallowed down a gasp when he could see that the size of the razor sharp claws on each of its four thick legs were about half of his height in length.

Nevertheless, Danny blurted out with some excitement, "Hey, we sorta know each other! Jazz, Tucker and Sam told me all about you! I know we really didn't get to talk to each other the only time we saw each other. But don't you remember me, Kvargvid?"

All four sets of greenish-yellow eyes locked on him just before the black-headed leader gravely replied, "Yes, we remember you, Danny Phantom. But we thought you were a good and noble ghost or else we would not have helped you to escape the prison in the Realm Beyond Time!"

Danny's mouth fell open in disbelief. Did he hear the ghost right? Still, he managed to stumble on a response, "I-I'm sorry. I don't know what you mean by that. If I were a bad ghost—and person—I wouldn't have helped you back then, either!"

"Though we admit that, perhaps it was because it suited your own dark purpose to help me in order to escape at the time," the large beast replied.

Danny still couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"How can you say that? You really don't know me, you know! I don't think that you have a right to say that, then!" Danny protested.

At first the creature didn't respond.

Danny frowned. Where would the ghost come up with such a lame idea…Danny's eyebrows shot up with the possible answer. And at this point he didn't care what _they_ would think about what he was about to say.

He blurted out, "Hey, if you're getting your information from the Observants, then you should know better than to believe everything you hear from them! You were once on the cruddy end of the stick in their prison, too, if you care to remember!"

The leader of the four heads pulled himself up indignantly at the insinuation and tersely replied, "Yes, we will never forget our unjust punishment. But since then, we have been pardoned because we were told that our world not only desperately needed us because it was always threatened in the balance of Existence, but that one day, you would come to destroy it!"

"W-What?" Danny gasped incredulously; before he vehemently asserted, "I would never destroy your world!"

"We have seen the proof! You showed yourself as being aggressive before we could speak to each other!" the ebony head insisted as his three silent brothers nodded in agreement.

"I already told you I was a jerk for doing that!" Danny insisted back. "But…"

He suddenly paused at his next thought. His eyes widened at his hunch. Could Kvargvid be talking about…? He shivered. No, it couldn't be! Still, he declared, "Look, Kvargvid, I don't know how much you may or may not 'know' about me, but if it's bad, then it's all a lie!"

All four of Kvargvid's heads jutted themselves right into the boy's face.

Danny stepped back a moment in surprise before he frowned and defiantly shoved his own face back into theirs.

Though impressed by the half-ghost's courage, the ebony leader nevertheless commented, "We will admit that you do not look the same as the ghost that was revealed to us…But you look nearly the same…"

"_Nearly_ the same?" Danny uttered, now completely confused. He had thought that the beast might have been told that his putrid evil future self would somehow be able to come to this world in the future…somehow…But then, what did the beast mean?

Danny shook his weary head. He didn't know what to think. Still, he said, "Uh, you must have seen…Well, that can't be right! Uh, uh, whatever ghost you saw was not me!"

All four sets of yellow eyes still looking at the boy blinked in hesitation at the young hybrid's words. They had to admit that they never had wanted to believe anything bad about the half-ghost in front of them. After all, this youngling had helped them to escape and had helped to fight off all those prison guards that had them cornered when the boy could have easily avoided that mess and escaped with his friends. Besides, this half-ghost was supposed to be a friend of 'Tucker'. And Tucker was their friend now. Still, they were warned about him, the _future_ him. That is why they agreed to have the young hybrid brought here. They had to be sure…

The ebony leader narrowed his mostly yellow eyes and gritted his teeth before he seriously replied, "We still do not know if we can trust you now, Danny Phantom. "We were assured that you were a threat and needed to be destroyed!"

"Wait a minute, Kvargvid," Danny interjected, not liking the beast's tone of voice. "You can't trust _me_? _I _was the one here kidnapped by the Observants and sent to your world for the sole purpose of letting you decide whether or not to destroy me! Sorry, pal, but I think I'm the offended party, here—uhm, except for my first jerky punch I gave you, that is. So, since I would say that we're even when it comes to who's threatening who, I want to go now!"

"But you can never leave, Danny Phantom. And it is our intention that you give up," Kvargvid seriously said. "We have been given strict orders to keep you here or, if necessary, destroy you!"

Looking away from the beast and into the air to where he knew the Observants were somewhere, the boy growled in both crankiness and exasperation, "I don't believe you people! I've been on the level the whole time and after all of that, you still think of me as a threat? And now you have convinced this dude to follow orders, orders that are way unfair?"

Once again, all four sets of Kvargvid's eyes blinked in confusion. Nevertheless, the leader replied, "I am sorry, Danny Phantom. I have my reasons for…"

"Then what are they if you're going to make sure I'm either going to stay or get wasted?" the boy suddenly demanded, clearly irritated. "I have a right to know!"

Kvargvid was stunned to silence. He was now undecided. He had grown in wisdom throughout all of those years in prison, yet he was still naïve in some ways. Perhaps he should tell the boy; that is, he should be 'on the level' with him.

Finally, the beast said, "You are right..."

Suddenly, however, he was interrupted by another two-headed Koncian who had come rushing into this area. With a slight, respectful but short bow of both heads, the intruder blurted out, "Forgive me, Lord Kvargvid, but the West is in need of your assistance!"

The two-headed creature pulled a piece of paper from somewhere in his hide with one of his clawed feet and jutted it toward Kvargvid.

All four sets of Kvargvid's eyes widened as the ebony head read the note. The darkest of the heads gasped, "So soon? It is too early in the season!"

"We agree, sire, but we cannot deny the signs which are happening," the two-headed beast added.

That was all the four-headed leader needed to decide.

"Very well," the black head replied, "We will leave forthwith. Tell our fellow Koncians and Theracites to remain hopeful!"

"Yes, sire," the other Koncian replied before bowing slightly and hurrying away.

Kvargvid turned to Danny and remarked, "It appears that Fate is on your side, Danny Phantom. We are still uncertain whether you are a threat or not, but we have more urgent matters at this time. You may go!"

Danny stood stunned. Did he hear the creature right?

Still in disbelief, the teen still uttered in relief, "Thank you!"

The ebony head merely nodded in acknowledgement before the large ghost beast rushed out of the room.

A smile on Danny's face was growing as he hurried out of the room and to what was obviously the outside. He glanced around briefly before bolting up into the thickened atmosphere.

Danny ignored how much more effort it took for him to plunge through this atmosphere and continued upward. But when the young half-ghost was only a few hundred feet within the Theracian skies, he spied a terrible thing.

A humongous wind-like force of flames coming from the west was nearing the land below him! And Kvargvid had set himself floating _right_ between the force and the planet.

"_That thing is way bigger than Kvargvid! And only one of him has ice powers! He's going to need help!"_ Danny immediately thought. "_Now he'll have two sets of ice powers!_

By the time Danny had altered his course and was darting as best he could toward the large beast and the threatening phenomenon, the blue head of the large ghost beast was already engaging the hot flames.

At first, the large creature's ice powers were able to stop a fairly large portion of the aggressive funnel of flames. But then, the hot movement of destructive blaze altered its course and curled around Kvargvid.

The flames were about to engulf the beast!

"Oh, no!" Danny cried as he increased his speed as best as he could through the gelatinous atmosphere.

Nevertheless, as soon as Danny thought he was near enough, he charged up his ice energy and thrust a large beam at the source of the flames almost completely surrounding Kvargvid.

But much to the chagrin of the boy, his ice beam's line of fire bent unexpectedly and unpredictably in the semi-solid atmosphere! Instead of attacking the fire storm, Danny's ice beam twisted within the thick atmosphere, veered away from the storm and hit the large creature and instantly encased Kvargvid in a large, thick block of ice!

Worse than that, a few seconds later, the hot solid winds succeeded in fully engulfing the ghostly beast, and scalding steam erupted all around him and a hot cloud bellowed toward Danny.

Danny gasped as he pulled himself up away from the hot water vapor. He had no idea that his helping would end so disastrously! And that was because he did not know that his powers would work so differently in this alternate world.

Still, the boy looked on helplessly as Kvargvid fell downward toward his world a few moments later. He couldn't possibly have known that the beast would have been successful in destroying the attacking force without the boy's help.

In the meantime, the flaming wind changed as it neared the land. It became as a hand which morphed into several finger-like extensions, ready to squeeze Thera with its fiery hand of death and destruction.

Danny floated in shock as he watched the large, hot destructive force bite into the planet below him. Thera shuddered under the blow and loud explosions of fire erupted on the land immediately afterward. Not only that, there was no signs of any of the ghosts on the planet escaping! A few moments later, the planet began to split. A large part of it oozed off of the rest, like heated caramel.

But the Ghost Boy was also stunned into not reacting because of a sudden realization: his putrid evil future self wasn't going to destroy Thera—_he_ was**, just now**! For the first time in his life, his _helping_ ended in the destruction of a whole world!

And something deep inside was beginning to come undone.

Danny was so much in shock about that he didn't realize that he was right in the path of another large digit of the flaming force! Neither did he recognize a very faint echo rattling in his brain. Before the boy knew it, he was screaming as the hot mass engulfed him!

* * *

><p>All the while that her son was struggling with his trials, Maddie Fenton was still busy working on her own challenge—namely, escaping this fancy prison!<p>

"Just a few more paper clips and I think it'll be almost ready!" the human female triumphantly said to herself in her makeshift mini-lab.

She picked up the next paperclip and put it in the electric hair straightening iron. Of course the appliance was never designed to be a soldering gun; but Maddie had made it into one to suit her purpose. Once she had removed the safety device meant to keep the device from getting too hot, it did the trick. She had been able to melt the clips well enough for her to scoop and smear the makeshift soldering paste to bond the wires to the magnetic coil for her crude weapon.

But she hadn't been able to do the actual soldering until this morning. She had planned to work on it last night, but she had almost been found out and she had to wait until today to do that.

Maddie wiped the sweat from her forehead that always formed when she was in this cramped space for this particular length of time, which was the most time she had between visits of the ghostly maids. She always used this precious chunk of time to concentrate on working on her escape plans.

Though she was satisfied that her weapon was ready for the next phase, the woman nevertheless frowned in worry. She still hadn't obtained the most important 'ingredient' that she would need to turn this hair dryer into an anti-ectoplasmic gun.

Danny's mother sighed a bit in discouragement. In all this time, she was able to obtain everything she needed in stealth. But now, she would need something that was obviously _ghostly_ to infuse and coat the reversed polarity magnetic coil that would drive her anti-ectoplasmic weapon.

But how was she going to get that? She sighed once more.

Trying to encourage herself, the woman forced a smile and said, "Well, I can't let that get to me right now. I know that an opportunity will present itself. In the meantime, it's time to work on that hideous 'art project' so that I continue to avoid suspicion."

She quickly cleaned up her work area and carefully lay her weapon in the spot she always placed it.

She took in a deep breath before she opened the closet door. She couldn't look discouraged to whatever creepy 'audience' who might be in the mood to observe her once she returned to the main part of her room.

It was becoming a habit to do even here in her 'prison'.

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><p><strong>[1] Esperanto for 'spectral black hole'.<strong>

**[2] REM sleep is 'rapid eye movement' sleep during which you dream and your brain is actually resting, though it is as active as your being awake. It occurs during **_**beta**_** wave sleep and is called paradoxical sleep because the brain is both active and resting at the same time.**

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you enjoyed seeing this OC from pearl84's and my story, _Seeing is disBelieving_! I simply had to include him in this story because I wanted to have a few AU chapters in this story and using Karvgvid in his own AU world would fit perfectly for the task!**

**In the meantime, I'm really feeling sorry for Danny and all that is happening to him. I'm getting very worried about him. Darn it! Ms. Hyde is getting too much of her way.**

**Ms. Hyde: Naturally, dearie, because I have the superior intellect!**

**Truephan (rolling eyes): Oh, please! I'm the one who created you!**

**Ms. Hyde: That's what I **_**let **_**you think! So, really, dearie, who's imagining whom, hmmm?**

**Truephan (blinking in confusion): Uh, I don't think I want to go there! In the meantime, dear readers, please drop a line or two in the review box below! And, oh, look, the Fantomos Ecto-Scale continues!**

**289-LEVEL 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—Matilda**_**— truephan's original character from her story, **_**Sleepover Nightmare**_

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**289-level 6-**_**Gamma**_**—Ghost Writer**

**289-level 6-**_**Beta**_** —Walker**

**289-level 6-**_**Alpha**_**—Skulker**

**LEVEL SEVEN GHOSTS—Difficult to defeat. Would have been evenly matched with Danny at age 14. They usually have only one way of being defeated and can be defeated only after discovering that flaw. Also, Danny could only defeat them at age 14 after he picked up new skills to defeat them.**

**289-level 7-**_**Epsilon**_**—Undergrowth**

**289-level 7-**_**Delta**_**—Nocturne**

**289-level 7-**_**Gammas**_**—Aragon and Dorothea**

**289-level 7-**_**Beta**_**—Vortex**

**289-level 7-**_**Alpha**_**—Behemoth**

**LEVEL EIGHT GHOSTS—Very difficult to defeat because they are relatively more powerful than Danny Phantom at age 14. In fact, he might not be able to defeat them without outside help.**

**289-level 8-**_**Epsilon**_ **—Spectra**

**289-level 8-**_**Delta**_** — ? Will appear in a future chapter**

**289-level 8-**_**Gamma**_**—Fright Knight**

**289-level 8-**_**Beta**_**—Pandora**

**289-level 8-**_**Alpha**_**—Dazzler—pearl84's original character from her story, **_**Checkmate. (Thanks again for letting me use him, pearl!)**_

**LEVEL NINE GHOSTS AND SPIRITS—Much more powerful than Danny Phantom at age 14 and any one of them could have possibly killed Danny if not for a combo of factors, such as outside help, luck, and using his talents to their utmost. Most spirits are level 9 –and rarely do ghosts get to this level. But occasionally—even if rarely—a few ghosts or spirits can gain even more power.**

**289-level 9-**_**Thetas**_**—Kvargvid and another Spirit who will be revealed later. Kvargvid is pearl84 and truephan's original character from their story, _Seeing is disBelieving._**

**Psst! Don't forget to drop a line or two down in the box below! Until next time, dear readers!**


	45. Ch 45-Level 9 Running Out of Time

**A/N: Merry Christmas, everybodee! Yes, contrary to popular belief, we're still in the Christmas Season—for the next 10 days in fact (you know, the 12 days OF Christmas are the 12 days AFTER Christmas, not before!) So, again, Merry 2****nd**** Day of Christmas! But I'll pass on the two turtle doves! LOL! And since I'll be posting tonight and not next week, I'm also going to wish everyone an early Happy New Year! Now, back to the story. It's getting hotter and hotter for our hero, so I'm just going to say that I don't own the DP characters but this story is all mine. Here is Chapter 45. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 45—Level 9 Ghosts and Spirits—Running Out of Time<p>

Jack and Tucker glanced at each other in utter helplessness as Sam continued to bawl. They had no idea what to do, yet each of them couldn't deny the tightness they felt in their throats as they continued to listen to her in tense silence.

Sam, meanwhile, continued to feel what she sensed was her boyfriend's reaction to something horrible. Though she wasn't sure what had upset Danny, she nevertheless felt completely consumed by the emotions of shock, sorrow, and remorse that she somehow felt had been channeled to her from her beau. She wasn't even aware that she had already dropped her face into her cupped hands while she continued to weep.

However, several minutes later and as the girl felt her crying began to ebb, a sudden thought was able to come to the forefront of her consciousness: desperation. But this was not a feeling of surrender or hopelessness. No. Sam's logical, sensible side was mentally screaming at her to get a hold of herself. That part of her was emphatically pointing out the fact that though she was tiring, she wasn't actually physically _weakened_ by this round of empathetic feelings like all the other times, _nor_ had she fainted from them. And so, that meant that she must be actually getting strong again; and—more importantly—had _no_ excuse _not_ to get a hold of herself!

But she still felt the lingering effects of her boyfriend's—and her own—emotional turmoil and she knew from her quivering lower lip that she was about to resume weeping.

Once again, the girl's more rational side desperately searched for a way to help her snap out of her funk. Almost instantly, another important thought flagged her attention. It was something she could use to pull her out of this emotional quagmire.

The thought drove itself right into the girl and she clung to it for strength as her weeping melded into soft whimpers. She lifted her face out of her hands, clenched her teeth in determination; and commanded herself to stop crying all together by purposely slowing her breathing almost to a halt.

Now irritated with herself for getting all emotional again, Sam impatiently and roughly wiped the tears from her eyes. Nevertheless, she was still slightly emotional from her ordeal. But then, she sighed deeply, which completely helped her steel herself enough for her to face the two males in the room.

When her eyes met Tucker's, however, the girl instantly felt her cheeks flush. Ignoring the heat that must now be coming from her cheeks, she still forced herself to frown in a mixture of irritation and determination. She knew she had to say something; but she didn't want to apologize this time.

She managed to control her voice in spite of its being slightly cracked from all that crying; and she felt herself grow stronger with each word: "Enough of this! Too many people are in trouble and are depending on us to help them."

But then, Sam felt a pang of anxiety unexpectantly shoot through her and she added with less self-confidence, "So, could we, uh, please, go back to the lab and find a cure to that stupid sleeping sickness? That is, after I can have another one of those shakes, okay?"

Mr. Fenton's face cracked into a big. relieved smile and he enthusiastically replied, "Now you're talking, Sam! Let's grab a shake in a lab flask….Er, I mean,…"

Sam gently interrupted him and said, "I know what you mean, Mr. Fenton."

"That would be cool as long as we make sure not to take the shake down to the lab!" Tucker added with a weak smirk.

The trio chuckled slightly in complete relief about this episode before Danny's father returned to the kitchen to make more shakes.

Once they were through with their energy drinks, the man and the teens headed downstairs to the Fenton's lab.

Picking up where they left off, the threesome went right to work on the tasks upon which they had agreed before all of those unexpected interruptions.

As time had passed and after they had finished their mini-experiments, they had eliminated several substances that they knew could _not_ be in the sample they were examining. But they still had several possible things that _might_ be the main ingredient in the black goo; and they were now tackling in narrowing the list. They all secretly hoped that they could do that before they ran out of the relatively small sample they originally had.

One fact that the trio had determined almost right away was that the black goo was of ghostly origins. They had already guessed to check on that first, considering that Tucker had detected a ghost before he had been attacked and, of course, that Danny had obviously been attacked in his room by some ghost as well. So, Jack had confirmed their assumptions with one of his many ghost detectors. That was actually good—and maybe—_bad_ news. Good, because there was usually a human equivalent of any ghostly item; and so they could use all available resources such as their archives of ghost information and what they could search on the internet about similar human things to help them in their quest.

But it could be _bad _news because often times, ghostly equivalents of real world items acted very differently from their counterparts.

Sam tried to remain focused throughout her assignment. After testing the last of her samples and writing down the results, she went over to the computer and opened a search engine tab in order to research about pharmaceuticals.

She and Tucker had already researched viruses and bacteria that could cause a sort of sleeping sickness, but they had already ruled that out. It had really surprised them all because that's what they had guessed had been the cause in the beginning…So, that only meant that the black goo must have been some kind of drug.

But the more Sam read about the medicines to induced sleeping, the more she doubted she was on the right track.

None of the research so far indicated that any sleeping formula currently available was affected by air either in solid or liquid state. She bit her lower lip. Maybe that was because these particular chemicals were artificially designed…

On a hunch, she typed in 'organic sleeping formulas' in the search engine box. She half-frowned when several 'hits' lit up the screen. Oh, great. More research!

The girl sighed at not being any closer to an answer. She wondered how Tucker and Danny's father were faring….

She looked up from the computer; and when she saw that Tucker and Danny's father were too engaged in their own tasks, she decided not to disturb them. But that mental distraction was enough for her thoughts to drift slightly. She suddenly realized that even though she was tiring faster than she normally would, she didn't think it was as bad as those other times up until now. Maybe drinking those shakes were enough to make her feel better. True, she hated to admit that she hadn't completely recovered and was still having a hard time controlling her emotions, but she did think she was feeling better physically and, more importantly, mentally…

Maybe she could try to reach Danny again…

The girl leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes before she began to concentrate on her boyfriend.

She felt the familiar pressure growing in her mind and the almost instantaneous counter-pressure from what she knew must be a kind of interference since she still felt that her boyfriend was in all sorts of trouble and in great turmoil from them.

Nevertheless, Sam concentrated harder and she felt encouraged when she could feel the beginning of a pathway open to her…

Finally, she thought she had possibly reached her boyfriend, and she mentally called out to him.

But what she heard in response was not what she had expected nor wanted to hear. And once again, she didn't expect to be overwhelmed by all the emotions that she felt were coming from Danny as a result.

The emotional blow was too much for her to fight off and she suddenly gasped in dread.

Tucker and Jack immediately startled and looked toward the girl when they heard her gasp. And their eyes widened when she broke down and started to cry her heart out again.

* * *

><p>Just as Vlad was re-checking the data that his computer had acquired, he frowned in both confusion and fascination. The results were definitely beginning to form a pattern.<p>

"Maddie?" he suddenly asked.

"Yes, sir?" she responded.

"Have you completed any preliminary conclusions about all of the data we've collected on Daniel concerning those power fluctuations and his ability to re-generate his power?"

"I would like to collect a bit more information before I answer that question, sir. I want ninety-six point five percent or better accuracy versus the eighty-eight point five percent accuracy I have at this point, sir," she answered.

The man smirked. He just knew that he couldn't egg her to make any kind of hypothesis after that statement.

She suddenly changed subjects and asked, "What is your next set of orders, sir?"

But before he could answer her, he heard a knock on the door.

Vlad briefly glanced at the clock and smirked.

"Come in," the man said in expectation.

Skulker floated in for his scheduled check on the creature in the cylinder-shaped device. His eyes met the man's and the robotic ghost nodded slightly in greeting.

Vlad frowned slightly when he could tell that Skulker was still sulking. The man honestly thought that the ghost would have moved on by now….He paused and then nodded in agreement to himself after his next thought. Maybe that would explain it. Something new must have disturbed the cyber-ghost.

The older hybrid's eyes drifted to the monitor displaying the list of programs that had been used or were in the queue. Even though Vlad didn't like to see Skulker in a bad mood, he knew that at least _he_ had to move on….

Trying to sound both casual and upbeat, Vlad instead addressed his computer as he re-scanned the _Fantomos Ecto-Scale of Ghosts and Spirits_, "You know, Maddie, it's really not fair."

"What's not fair, sir?" she asked with a puzzled look.

"To rate the ghosts with the spirits," he replied. "We really should separate them, since ghosts cannot even begin to match the spirits' strength and power…"

He paused a moment and his mind momentarily slipped away from thoughts of Skulker. Then thinking about his own power level's being at nine_ fantomos_, he chuckled, "Well, at least for _full_ ghosts, that is!" He paused at his very next thought, before he added, "Still, it is complicated… "

He mulled over that same thought, which was about his—and Daniel's—last encounter with a spirit. That had been none other than Iluzisto, an ex-Observant who had acquired a power level of thirteen _fantomos_—unheard of in the Ghost Zone or spirit realms.

And really, it was true. As far as the man knew, Iluzisto had been the most powerful spirit and supernatural being he had ever fought—even if Iluzisto had obtained that level only after stealing and then infusing himself with Daniel's and the billionaire's powers along with using other powerful items. Yet, fortunately, Iluzisto's power would have been temporary and the evil spirit had been destroyed; but only because of a few Timeless Magic objects. Vlad had to simultaneously use both Justeco's and Okulo's orbs and Daniel had wielded Clockwork's staff to defeat the spirit.

Suddenly, Vlad's face reflexively scrunched up. A completely unexpected memory bubbled up, which had to do with two things that had gnawed at him since that encounter. One of those points was when he and Daniel were in the midst of fighting Iluzisto for the last time; and the evil ghost was trying to keep them from effectively fighting him.

Even now, the destroyed Observant's words still haunted him, "_You hope in vain, Vlad Plasmius. …The boy will never be yours. He will never care for you like you care for him."_

And the echoes of that memory plus thinking of the battle and of the Time Master's staff again triggered the distaste he had for…Clockwork.

Though the older hybrid wouldn't admit it to anyone—especially himself—Vlad _was_ jealous of the Time Master's father-like relationship with Daniel. It was one of the many real reasons why he had hatched his master plan in the first place. If Vlad could finally get Daniel's will to break—which actually looked as if it was about to happen soon—the man could mold him so that he would not only have the boy at his side, but willingly so. And then he would show that smug spirit who cared for the boy the most—and more importantly—whom Daniel cared for the most!

But there was more to his plot than to get Daniel at his side. He would make it a permanent bond. And to do that, he would have to make sure that the boy would forsake _all_ of his friends.

Of course, Daniel's _human_ friends would be no problem now that Vlad was sure that they would never recover from Formula 286-psi-1_**A. **_In fact,he was sure that enough time had passed by now to make that a reality.

His face broke into an evil smirk when that thought led to another…which fit perfectly in his plans. But then, along those lines, another thread of thought immediately followed…

The man would also make sure that Daniel would forsake _all_ of his ghost friends as well. He was sure the boy was already convinced of that from all that had transpired up to now, especially for those ghosts whom the boy had thought had been destroyed from his doing.

The man paused with the thought. Too bad it hadn't been real—for now anyways! Still, he didn't care one way or the other as long as Daniel ended up being his…son.

In the end, Vlad wanted Daniel to depend on _him_ and him alone, just as any family member would.

Family.

His smile deepened at his next thought. The reality was within his grasp, especially since Jack must be gone by now — by fate's hand, of course!

It was about time, too, since fate had also brought this half-ghost boy into his life. It was only right that the half-ghost boy should have a half-ghost father.

The thought swathed his mind in his other dream: to have Maddie as his wife. After all, he had never planned to let her die from that sleeping potion. He just had to keep her safe and wait for _Daniel_ to convince her that he wanted Vlad as his father.

Especially when they would find out that Jack had succumbed….

Vlad sighed. He supposed he would have to wait a respectable period for Maddie and maybe even Daniel to grieve before all of his plans would come together. He suddenly frowned. Oh, there was the _girl_….He even supposed that he could tolerate having Jasmine as a 'daughter'. True, he suspected that she would object to her 'new family' but he really didn't care about that. After all, the girl was essentially grown, so he wouldn't really have to deal with her much. And if she decided to break off ties because of what happened, so much the better!

Yes, the crux of his desires was now almost for the taking. And after that, there was even more he wanted —what he had built in Central Park would guarantee that. Even with that slight snafu the last time he had been there, the overall preliminary test results were beyond his expectations.

"Sir?" Maddie the computer generated image finally asked, which effectively stole his thoughts away. "I am waiting further instructions from you. Should I activate the next phase of your Master Plan 485? For the last few minutes, you looked as if your processes had become frozen and were in need of a reboot."

Vlad chuckled softly and didn't notice that Skulker had paused in his task and cocked his ear toward the conversation after hearing the computer's comment. The man knew that his computer really was right. He had drifted away for a moment. Part of that was from his own fatigue. He had been taxed from all of that energy he had to use to prepare that second part of his master plan. Once he had Daniel at his side, none of that would really be completely necessary any more…

Nevertheless, as he shifted mental gears, he knew that his computer would be able to tune right back in where he had left off with her. He replied, "Yes, you're right, my dear. But as I was saying, the _Fantomos Ecto-Scale_ is more complicated than as I have it. The spirits should really be placed on a different scale, since they are much more powerful than regular ghosts…Well, that really doesn't apply to those passive and idiotic Observants. Though they are spirits with great power, they are still essentially passive creatures who are reticent to use their powers. So for simplicity sake, though their _fantomos_ are made up of different energy than ghosts since they are spirits, the most simplistic way for us to compare them is to place them on the same level as ghosts with power levels of nine _fantomos_—after taking all of these factors into consideration, of course….But as for the other spirits…."

He paused as his thoughts refocused on Clockwork. His face reflexively narrowed in irritation.

That spirit was near the top of the heap according to his calculations, though he would not let himself be impressed by that.

Still, there was the problem of severing the boy's…feelings for that meddling spirit, and that would mean moving the program up in the queue.

That would make some sense since there was still another spirit lower in _fantomos_ than either Clockwork or the Observants. And that would be Frostbite. But now that he had made Daniel think that he had killed the Far Frozen leader, he really couldn't use that program.

No, that would not do.

Still…there were those _other_ spirits on the scale between the Observant and Clockwork.

He paused.

He was actually hoping that he wouldn't have to use any more programs _at all_ on the boy. Maybe the boy was done; and there would be plenty of time for him to get the boy to reject his mentor. But somehow, he wanted to make sure. Should he use this program or wait and use it later?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something metallic falling to the tile floor.

"Sorry," Skulker merely grumbled as he picked up the small metal instrument he had been using to change the caliber of the power of the coffin-like device that kept the creature within it in check.

But Vlad was happy that the cyber-ghost had done that since that gave him an idea. He was sure that _Skulker _would know whether the boy was broken because somehow the robotic ghost was always able to sense the condition of his prey.

"Quite alright, Skulker," Vlad replied before he added, "Are you about finish there?"

Skulker looked at the man. He could tell that Plasmius wanted something. However, he simply grunted and returned back to the coffin's monitors.

"Good!" Vlad remarked before he slowly added, "And I was wondering if you could do something else for me?"

Skulker didn't answer right away until he was satisfied that the receptacle was still effectively doing its job.

Vlad, meanwhile, waited with patience for his friend to finish. If he knew one thing about Skulker, it was that the cyber-ghost didn't like to be disturbed when he was focused on a particular task.

Finally, Skulker turned back to the man and asked, "What do you need, Plasmius?"

"Even though some of the data support that Daniel has been mentally broken, I can't be sure unless you confirm it with that marvelous sense that you have," the man replied with a smirk that conveyed a mixture of expectation and admiration.

Skulker felt his central core tighten with slightly more conflict than that which he had been dealing with lately. Even though he was flattered by the man's request, he didn't want to find out the condition of the younger hybrid. Still, his…friendship with the man was the stronger of his feelings at the moment, and he knew he would…help his friend.

"Alright," the robotic ghost slowly said. "But I will have to get near him in order to smell him."

"Of course you will," Vlad agreed before he commanded the hologram, "Maddie, make sure that Daniel is in _delta_ sleep and then deactivate the ghost shield."

"Right away, sir," the female holograph replied just as she pressed the command buttons.

Skulker turned intangible just a few moments later and phased through the stealth window of the control room. But as he floated closer to the incapacitated Ghost Boy, he felt his central core unexpectedly constrict with a flare up of his internal battle.

The robotic ghost gritted his teeth in irritation and quickly threw those thoughts away. He had a task to fulfill and nothing was going to keep him from it! He increased his pace until he was close enough and hovered next to the whelp. He stared down at the pup and took in a large whiff of air.

Skulker frowned at the mixed results. He hadn't told Plasmius that he couldn't be completely sure about the condition of the whelp unless the boy was awake because his continued wrestling with his…conscience over the pup had momentarily blurred his more rational side. Still, he could tell this much about the boy right now: even though the Ghost Child was mentally distraught, he wasn't totally unstable or broken yet.

In some ways, Skulker was relieved about that, but in other ways, he wasn't. Nevertheless, he quickly retreated back into the simulation room to report to Plasmius.

"The whelp is still 'in the game' as they say," Skulker tersely reported before he quickly added, "Is that all for now, Plasmius?"

Vlad frowned in disappointment before he cupped his chin and tapped the side of his cheek in thought a moment. He then answered, "Yes, Skulker, that is all for now…Thank you."

The robotic ghost grunted in reply and wasted no time to leave.

In the meanwhile, Vlad's thoughts came full circle at the news. He had made his decision. He smirked at the unintended pun: it was still the perfect _time_ to get rid of the rest of his rivals.

Maybe what he had planned about the Time Master would work better on Daniel _now_ rather than later after all—even if it were out of sequence—because it could mean in the end that Daniel would finally and completely breakdown mentally….But if the boy didn't break, then it would definitely result in the Daniel's unquestionable rejection of that infernal Time Master!

The man smirked at that last thought in particular because one of Vlad's ulterior motives all along was to permanently rend Clockwork's relationship with the boy...

Vlad then frowned at his next nagging thought. He wished he hadn't had to come this far; and he wouldn't have if Daniel had given up by now. But the boy was too blasted stubborn! Still, if the billionaire had to use any further programs, it would be the boy's own fault. True, there was a minute risk to his plan if he had to use this or any other future programs, even how slight. And that was because with the exception of Skulker's being able to capture a very unique spirit, he hadn't been able to obtain any ecto-DNA samples from _any_ spirit except for the Observants—and that was because for the most part, they were too powerful to capture by Skulker—or even by himself, much as he hated to admit that…

And that meant that he really couldn't equal their power levels perfectly in these programs. In fact, trying to equal their power artificially with his simulation room abilities really taxed the system. He would have to shut all power to every other part of his castle to do that except for the very bare necessities and revert all that power to boost the controls in his simulation room.

Yes…his plan did allow some leeway in it for just this kind of …development. So what if that meant shuffling things around?...After all, he wanted to more than shuffle Daniel up! So, maybe moving Clockwork's program up the queue, which really had no effect on what the spirit's true power rank was on the _Fantomos_ _Ecto-Scale_, would finally push the boy over the edge…

"_Hmm…"_ he continued to muse to himself, _"If not, there are still even more powerful spirits—and even a few ghosts— that are still ready for 'their turn' to make Daniel surrender completely—if necessary, of course—which I hope won't be the case." _

"Alright, Maddie," Vlad finally said with decisiveness. "We are changing things up again. Activate File 289-9 _Beta._

"At once, sir," the computer replied without further comment….

* * *

><p>Danny's dulled mind slowly oozed out of his forced sleep; and just as slowly as molasses, his random thoughts partially focused on some kind of semblance of awareness...<p>

Still, somehow, he wasn't sure if he was awake or dreaming. And truly, he was on the cusp of being both awake and asleep. But he didn't remember dreaming anything, though his still random thoughts then realigned themselves on what he remembered before this recent blackout-timeout.

He suddenly felt the tears rush outward again. He had caused the annihilation of an entire planet! He could never forgive himself!

He just as suddenly hurt badly in his central core and he felt that white lightening charge up and stab at his spine again.

He hitched in a scream. He didn't deserve any release after what he did. After all, he was…evil!

Suddenly, that thought just made him so numb that he suddenly didn't care. But really, did it matter what he did or didn't remember at this point if in the end he didn't care? But then, that feeling of indifference suddenly terrified him. How could he not care about all those innocent ghosts that he had just killed?

The teen was so distraught that his mind slipped back to detaching himself from his true emotions; and part of him was too weak to even fight against the growing indifference. After all, why should he care anymore if all he did was cause things to get worse? Or ended up being totally worthless when trying to do the right thing? Or even worse, end up bumping his ghost friends off and nearly getting bumped off by most all of his enemies?

Why should he even try anymore?

But in spite of his seemingly cold thoughts, the young hybrid felt tears forming around his still closed eyes. He felt so depressed, so upset at how everything was turning out. He really didn't understand how it could happen. He had always been able to figure out a way to defeat his enemies and keep his friends safe. But since those lame Observants had thrown all of these 'tests' at him, his whole notion of who he was and how he should fight and act were turned completely upside down.

But then, his mind drifted toward a random thought. He was tired. He was so very tired in spite of getting some regiment of sleep. It just seemed as if the sleep weren't the right kind.

And though the boy didn't know that, he was right on the mark with that.

Not only that, he never seemed to get his hunger satisfied. In fact, he couldn't even remember when he had last gotten some decent food. And right now, he would settle for a gallon of water as well.

He really had no idea then but especially now why the Observants had expected him to 'do his best' when they weren't taking care of his needs at all lately.

He rubbed the stubbles on his chin. Especially not even letting him shave. Sure, the Observants hadn't really kept him from shaving. Lately, he had been too depressed to even think about it, much less take care of his other 'amenities' except the basic, absolutely necessary ones.

He sighed and felt a tear escape and slide down his cheek. How he wished he could just keep his eyes shut and sleep…forever. That way, he wouldn't have to make himself care about what had already happened, or anything else that might happen in the near future…

Still, he frowned. He was lying to himself. Deep down, he knew he still cared, even if this sudden numbness was trying to squelch it. Caring was just part of who he was… But the problem with that was that he was quickly forgetting _who he was._ And that only meant that if he didn't escape from this nightmare soon, he was going to lose everything that made him worthwhile.

Nevertheless, Danny scrunched his eyes tighter at all the mixed emotions swirling around him, poignantly aware that they were all vying at their chance to devour him and, yet, also feeling something….deeper…and reassuring…digging itself out from under all his negative emotions.

He lay there almost stuporous until, suddenly, he felt a soft wind caress his face…and then a smell of…flowers permeate his nostrils.

Was he imagining that?

But then, his ears perked up…

What was that sound?

The boy scrunched his eyes even tighter and his face contorted into a bigger frown in confusion.

No, it couldn't be.

He really couldn't believe what he was hearing.

It was a soft sound, a soft melody…soothing and yet all at once so full of hope, love and excitement.

Danny knit his eyebrows, though he kept his eyes closed. He still couldn't be certain if he was awake or dreaming, since his hearing this music couldn't be possible right now…Still, he felt his mind drift to other thoughts on the matter…

Some people would call what he was hearing too old-fashioned, or not 'with it' enough. But as he let himself be caught up in its sweet sound, he smiled. He really liked that melody….And one day…he really wanted to hear it when he and….

His eyes jolted open with that thought and he gasped in surprise when he could see that he was now standing up when he could swear he had been lying down a moment ago.

He didn't remember moving from the spot he had been in!

Nevertheless, the boy could see that he was in a garden of some sort. And there were several people sitting in two sets of neat rows of chairs on the thick, lush lawn just to the left of him and then to the right of him. But the rows of chairs on the left had almost four times the amount of people than the ones on the right. And he was facing a long stretch of an open grassy path right between the rows.

Outdoor arbors, which were lattice-like archways, were covered in flowers and greenery and placed along the grassy aisle ever few yards or so.

Danny inadvertently shifted a bit and startled slightly when the wooden floor beneath him creaked. He glanced downward and discovered that it really wasn't a floor at all. He was standing on some kind of platform.

The young hybrid gazed at the people again. He didn't really recognize anyone except…

But his thoughts were interrupted by a whisper….

"So, are you ready, dude?"

Danny gasped at the instant recognition; and turning his head in the direction of the voice, he blurted out rather loudly in slight shock, "T-Tucker?!"

Tucker blushed but kept a fake smile on his face at his best friend's outburst and said through gritted teeth, "Gee, buddy, I know you're nervous and all, but can you tone it down? I mean, you've been waiting for this, like, forever!"

"B-But," Danny stammered, still stunned.

He shook his head in disbelief. Tucker….Tucker was…older and taller! True, his best friend was still young, but he looked a few years older than he should be….Either that, or somehow Tucker had had a very radical growth spurt!

Not only that, but Tucker was dressed in some kind of suit. But it wasn't like any suit he had ever seen before. Unconsciously, Danny glanced down and jolted a bit in more surprise. He was wearing the same kind of grey pin-striped pants, winged-color tuxedo shirt with a grey and black striped ascot tie, sleek grey vest and long, black cutaway jacket. In fact the jacket looked like the one Tucker had worn at his first 'mayoral' speech way back in that memory of the now non-existing events surrounding the 'disasteroid'. Not that it looked bad. In fact, he liked it. And it looked, well, good on him!

Still, Danny blurted out again, "But why are you and me wearing a…?"

Though Tucker had quietly interrupted his best friend, he was smirking as he whispered, "It's called a 'morning suit'. It was your idea, remember? You don't like the usual fanfare, and it makes sense to wear this right now because, well, heh-heh, we're wearing it in the _morning_!"

Danny blinked, not having any memory of wanting to wear anything like this, though he still wondered why. Maybe he was dreaming?

But before he could think about it any longer, the music that had been softly playing swelled and Tucker quietly insisted, "Now, no more talking, dude! It's time!"

Suddenly, however, the entire scene darkened and even blurred.

Though slightly alarmed by the radical change, Danny didn't move from his spot.

And when he could finally see through the dark mist, the scenery had only lightened just a bit, until everything around and in front of him was bathed in sepia, as if he had been caught in a snapshot from very long ago, only it was not an old snapshot at all….

Oddly, though he was definitely standing still, the _entire scene_ in front of the half-ghost _was moving toward_ him and a small, modest new home on a corner lot laden with newly planted foliage and trees was fast approaching him. But even though he knew that one day that yard would probably be extremely shaded, the landscape had been meticulously planned so that everything looked attractive to the eye.

The boy's face brightened as he mused, "_Sam would love this place_!"

But then, he heard _laughter_ escaping from the now obvious open windows of that same house. And he could tell that there was not just one person laughing…there were several.

He jolted at the next lone cry of glee he heard….Was that _Sam_ laughing just now? Suddenly, he wanted to know. And then he heard the golden giggles of the innocent. There were _children_ in that house, there had to be. And one more happy cry erupted out of the brood of mirth, yet this one belonged to a man. In fact, the man wasn't really laughing; he was chuckling. And that chuckling sounded awfully like _his own kind_ of laugh.

All the young hybrid wanted at that moment was to draw nearer to what clearly was warmth and happiness surrounding this...home.

As soon as he moved, however, the scene in front of him darkened and blurred once again and before he knew it, it had brightened again and he felt his mind muddle again; yet he was suddenly aware that he was standing on the same platform he had been on when he first got here…with that melody ringing in his ears.

He turned to his left and saw Tucker again in that 'morning suit' as he called it.

Even though Tucker had his eyes on something in the distance, Danny grinned at his friend this time in spite of having a foggy head. Tucker looked _so_ happy! But then again, what was his friend looking at?

Danny shifted his eyes in the same direction as Tucker's and immediately saw the reason for his friend's grin…

The music was still playing and yet a beaming Valerie was slowly walking up the grassy path between the two sets of chairs. She looked absolutely stunning in that deep purple floor-length gown!

Danny chuckled a bit as the dark-skinned girl seemed to glide down to the platform. But when she got to the right of the base of the platform, she turned around and looked back in the direction from which she had come.

Danny glanced back at Tucker for a moment, but startled when his eyes inadvertently drifted a bit past Tucker's left. Danny could swear he hadn't seen that man a moment ago. He was sure he would have noticed a man dressed almost entirely in black.

Nevertheless, Danny checked on Tucker again, who was already looking down the aisle once more.

Just as Danny turned in the same direction, however, the scene blurred and was replaced by a sepia-draped one again.

When it cleared again, Danny knew by the aroma and the sights that he was somehow meshed right into some kind of dinner party.

All the guests there seemed to be having a good time, though no one in particular was speaking to or acknowledging him.

But then, one conversation managed to escape the rest. For some odd reason, however, Danny could not see who was speaking, though he could tell it was an old woman talking:

"Really, my dear, how do you do it? You are devoted to your family and yet you have the time to host these fund-raisers for such worthy causes..."

"Well, I really can't take credit for it," the other female voice replied, "I couldn't have done it without my hus-…"

Danny jolted and he really didn't hear what that last voice said at the end. He was reacting to who he thought to whom that voice belonged! That sounded like Sam again, only that her voice sounded a bit more…mature. But it was also very nice and pleasant-sounding.

The half-ghost quickly moved through the crowd, searching for her as he did. Then he saw a slender and tall woman who had her back to him. But her hair looked the same and so he called out, "Sam?"

But she didn't seem to have heard him…

Instead, the scene distorted as before and when it refocused, he was back on that same platform next to Tucker— listening to that same song.

He now wondered if he was spacing out for some odd reason, especially since he could swear that he had cotton stuffed in his brain during this entire time.

Nevertheless, he glanced down that aisle and this time he saw Jazz! And she was smiling as well as walking all alone up that path. She was also wearing a beautiful gown, only this one was mostly deep purple yet partial swathed in white lattice.

Danny smiled when his sister's eyes briefly met his before she gently broke their gaze. Danny continued to watch Jazz as she headed to Valerie's left, slightly nodding at the dark-skinned girl before stopping when she was at the base of the platform and at Valerie's side. And just as Valerie had done before, Jazz turned completely around and looked down the grassy lane.

Danny didn't know how this was happening, but he was catching the excitement of his sister and friends. But just as he followed his sister's lead and turned toward the empty aisle, the scene radically changed like the other times, and that dull, sepia hue suddenly oozed over the entire atmosphere, and blurred the scene.

But once the landscape cleared—if Danny wanted to call the drably dressed landscape 'clear'— he was some distance back in front of that house in which he had heard the laughter….Only the house looked…much older. Sure, it had been obviously tended to, but he could tell by how tall the trees were—which had definitely shaded that home as he had predicted— that time had had to have passed.

The small house was quiet this time. And the windows were shut. But then he saw a car pull up and a young family get out. The young man carefully pulled out a little girl and the young woman held a toddler in her arms before he protested and squirmed out of her hold. But the young woman was sure to place the young boy onto the ground and watch as he waddled to the front door.

Danny wondered who this could be, but had a sudden hunch. He swallowed thickly and watched, all the while still wondering how this was all possible.

In the next instant, the front door of the little house opened and a slender couple with white hair stepped out and greeted the younger couple and their children.

"Come in, bubeles!" Danny heard the older woman giggle as she clapped her hands and shepherded the two small children into the home.

Danny frowned. What was this about? And that old woman? Who was she? He moved closer to get a closer look. But as if to steal his answer, the atmosphere pulled out of focus and Danny was right back in the garden and on that wooden platform!

Suddenly, that melody that had never ceased while he was here in this place suddenly paused only a few moments before it swelled louder. Everyone in the audience suddenly stood up.

Danny felt something brush his arm and when he looked toward it, Tucker silently cocked his head as a signal and pulled himself up to his full height. Not to be outdone, Danny also pulled himself to his full height and looked in the same direction as his best friend.

Danny almost fell over backwards at what he saw….

Everything about her was dazzling…her gown, the cascade of white roses in her hands, her smile, the way she carried herself…And her face….it was aglow with beauty and…purity. But what really mesmerized him were her sparkling eyes…He had never seen such eyes brim with as much happiness, hope and….love as those amethyst jewels that never took their gaze off of him.

"We had it all wrong. White is definitely her color," the young hybrid suddenly blurted out and Tucker chuckled a bit in response.

And suddenly Danny's mind totally cleared. This was his and Sam's wedding day!

But then, the scene abruptly twisted into its 'blurry-and-color-change' thing and when the new scene emerged from the chaos, the sepia surrounding it was a bit darker…

This time, Danny was in a hospital, which was bustling with activity as usual. He walked along the corridor and was somehow hurriedly directed to the next door to his right. He saw the name on the door and frowned in confusion. Nevertheless, he entered.

There he saw her again…only that she was lying in bed and…old…very old. Yet, the light shining out of her mesmerizing lavender eyes was still blazing with love.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Sam's cracked, weak voice then said, "But we knew that this day would come…And I want you to know that I never regretted a moment of it!"

Before Danny could respond, however, the room twisted as if it were taffy.

Danny somehow knew he would end up back at the wedding.

And he was right…only that the scene he melded back into was not the happy serene one. He heard a loud noise…only it wasn't because of the music!

People were screaming and running amok as they tried to dodge the hot red rays that had suddenly appeared out of thin air and showered the area.

"NO!" Danny heard Tucker scream above the din. "Sam!"

But then his best friend turned back to him and with both anger and tears in his eyes, Tucker cried in anguish, "How could you, man? Why?!"

Danny frowned in confusion but he reflexively scanned the scene. And then he jolted when he searched through the melee and down the aisle and saw what Tucker saw.

Sam! She was still in the aisle but was now lying on the ground.

"NO!" Danny gasped.

The bouquet of white roses had been thrown out of her hands and had been crushed under the weight of several frantic feet trying to escape the scene.

But there was something more terrible….

Her gown was no longer white…it was scarlet. And her beautiful eyes were now staring coldly at him, no longer amethyst, but dulled and gray!

"Sam!" Danny screamed, feeling as if his heart had seized to a stop and not even aware that one of the still projecting ectoplasmic rays bit into his shoulder.

He quickly lunged forward even as he was already feeling the grief-filled pressure in his eyes and throat…only to feel himself being violently sucked backward and into some kind of black worm hole!

A heartbeat later and all was still and he was on his knees and sitting on his heels on some kind of firm surface…before the loud cacophony of clocks phased into his ears.

But Danny didn't care where he was at the moment, especially since he couldn't even see where he was if he wanted to because he was crying. Somehow, he knew he had to have just witnessed the murder of the love of his life! In fact, in the next moment, that thought seized his heart with the truth of it; and before he knew it, he was crouching down to the ground before throwing his face into his hands and pouring his grief out at the emotion of what he had just witnessed. He felt so much emotional pain tightening around his heart and mind. He could feel the veins around his head pounding and a sharp pain shot through it and seemed to make his ears ring…How could this be? He had to be having a nightmare. With all of his being he _wanted_ this to be some kind of nightmare. But something inside of him told him it couldn't be…because it all felt so _real_. But how could it be real when he was sure it was not going to happen until the future?

Future!

The boy finally began to pull himself up off the ground before he hurriedly and firmly wiped his eyes on his sleeve when he finally realized that he was hearing the sound of clocks ticking. And that meant he had to be….

He lifted his head and saw that he was indeed in Clockwork's Tower! And he was half-sitting in front of the Time Master's Viewing Orb, which was still 'turned on' to that horrific scene.

The young hybrid closed his eyes immediately after he saw that in an effort to try to steel himself in spite of the few tears that had nevertheless managed to push through his eyelids and escape.

Still, that really only upset him more because if he was at Clockwork's and seeing that awful scene on the Viewing Orb, that would only mean that it was going to happen!

Wait…or was it?

After all, his mentor had always said that the future wasn't set in stone and he knew that who he was now was living proof of that, especially when the time when he should have become evil had already passed.

Danny finally managed to get a hold of himself when he spied the youngest form of the Time Master with his back to him and standing in front of one of the only two windows in this Focal Room of Chronology. One of the windows was clear and was framed by a fairly ornate border. The boy could see the Realm Beyond Time atmosphere through that window. Just to the right of that window and separated by the other by a narrow portion of the wall that made up the support structure of Clockwork's Tower, was the other window, which had a plain frame. Its glass plane, however, completely obstructed an observer's view.

The younger ghost frowned. He had never seen Clockwork in front of the opaque, unadorned one.

"Clockwork?" Danny still called out after choking a bit on his words from having bawled moments before.

But the adult Time Spirit didn't so much as flinch at the sound of his name.

Standing up and now more relieved at seeing his mentor, Danny slowly moved toward the spirit.

"Clockwork!" he said more loudly and clearly. "Thank goodness you finally came to help! You don't know…uh, scratch that. I know you know what the Observants have been doing to me!"

But the now old spirit didn't move or turn away from that opaque window.

Danny floated over to the Time Master's right side and gently said, "Hey, I'm not mad at you, Clockwork! I know you have your reasons for not interfering and I trust you. But I don't know why the Observants are doing this to me!"

Still, young Clockwork didn't budge.

Danny frowned in confusion. What was wrong with the spirit? "Well, aren't you going to say something, Clockwork? Otherwise, why did you bring me here or show me all of that awful stuff just now?"

Once again, the mature Clockwork stayed where he was, almost as if he himself was frozen in time.

Panic now shooting through Danny, he asked more desperately, "Clockwork? What's happening?"

This time, the oldest form of the Time Master answered the boy. But he didn't turn away from the blackened window at all. He slowly and sadly said, "Sometimes, the burden of my job is immense. But I do what I must."

Danny didn't like the way his mentor had said that, and even though he suddenly had a very bad feeling about all of this, he floated even closer to the spirit.

Just as the boy reached out to touch the right sleeve of his mentor's cloak, however, Vlad tensed. The man was about to order his computer to put the boy into _delta _sleep when he breathed a sigh of relief under his breath. Daniel had hesitated at the end and had pulled back his arm.

Just then, the younger hybrid asked with a twinge of pleading in his voice, "So, why did you show me all of that, Clockwork?"

The equally young Clockwork didn't respond to the boy's request. Instead, he continued to peer out of the blackened window and said, "This window seems to have no purpose, yet it is because of what it is that gives it meaning."

Danny's face scrunched in confusion. He didn't even care to try to figure out what his mentor meant by that. Instead, he glanced at the opaque pane and remarked, "But you can't see through it."

"True, _you_ cannot see through it unless I allow it," the Time Spirit said, his voice laden with foreboding. "But it always shows _me_ things that are sometimes too horrible to see and bear."

"I-I don't understand," Danny said as he glanced between the dark window and his mentor. He was getting even more upset that Clockwork had yet to look at him.

But instead of answering the boy, old man Clockwork remained quiet while still staring out of the opaque window.

The sudden silence between the two was unsettling.

Finally, the most youthful form of Clockwork spoke again; but his voice was almost in a hush, as if he were sorry— and even afraid— to say what he had to say. And he still did not address the boy directly.

"I have tried so hard to protect the timeline and keep it on course. Without fail, I have always done my duty to Time while still preserving the free will of the lives of every being in it unobstructed…I never felt the need to do things differently…That is, until I was aware of a very special being in the cosmos…He was a shining star, only the second rarest find of all the finest treasures in the universe. His heart was on fire with purity and justice, both focused and eager to do the right thing at all times. And he was only the second half-human whose existence I witnessed that possessed these and more fine qualities. Yet, the two were very different and had completely different roles; but the one about whom I speak existed in the current timeline…"

Danny blinked, trying to comprehend what Clockwork was talking about while at the same time getting a very creepy feeling about all of this.

The fully grown Time Master continued to not look at Danny and his voice seemed suddenly slower and even sadder as he went on, "I felt drawn to this human, more interested than I ought to be…all because of whom he was…." He paused only a moment and said, "And because of my feelings for this boy…I dared to interfere with…Fate."

Danny's heart jumped and his stomach clenched in fear. Fate! Was she real then? He was about to ask when Clockwork spoke again.

Suddenly pointing to the clear, ornate window to the left of the darken one he was still in front of, Clockwork added, "As the Master of Time, I can look through time. I could just use my Time Staff or Viewing Orb to accomplish that, but I always have more than one means to do that as well. I use that window to see the present."

He unexpectedly and quickly turned 180 degrees away from the window so that Danny was now to his left. But the now youngest form of Clockwork never steered the line of his vision toward the boy.

Instead, the Time Spirit just continued to speak, "I also have three other hidden doors that can transport me to any timeline."

Danny frowned in more confusion as he listened. Except for the mysterious opaque window, he had already learned all about Clockwork's many time-wielding instruments from his mentor from the many visits he had made. So, why was Clockwork making a point to tell him all of this?

While making sure not to chance having to look at the boy next to him, the tallest form of the spirit once again turned unexpectedly back to the opaque window. He then paused for what seemed to be eons, and the air surrounding that pause was so thick that Danny felt like he was choking on it.

Suddenly, however, even in the midst of his fatigue, worry and angst, Danny felt a bit of pressure in his head and he felt that his headache might be flaring up again. His face puckered a bit at the odd yet familiar feeling but he was too tired to even try to begin to focus on or understand that feeling. The pressure really didn't really hurt at all but was demanding his attention all the same. Had he'd been more rested, he would have recognized that his girlfriend was trying to use their telepathy to contact him—like a few times in the most recent past…But then as quickly as it came, it left when Clockwork interrupted his thoughts…

Danny frowned even more when it seemed as if the white-bearded Time Master was hardly able to utter out what he wanted to say this time, "But this window which I am in front of is the one I most dread looking into and…."

The spirit trailed off, as if he didn't want to continue.

"W-Why?" Danny finally managed to say, his voice cracking with anticipation as well as sudden fear.

At first, young Clockwork didn't answer him and Danny swallowed thickly. This was bad. Really bad. But before the teen could prod anymore, the time spirit spoke once more.

"Because it shows the _broken_ timelines…"

The adult Clockwork continued to stare through that blackened window. His voice, however, seemed colder as he added, "You see, every human is meant to have a happy, content life when they have made all of the right choices…But if another human—or even ghost— makes an evil choice when crossing the path of the person who is on the right path and choses to snuff out that person's life, then that dead person's timeline is broken, lost to the cosmos. Yet, it does not escape the eyes of this window."

The oldest Time Master's eyes narrowed a bit as he added, "This window shows what that life _should have been_ before it was prematurely snuffed out, but that path is always cloaked in shadows…"

Clockwork paused.

The sense around that pause was so laden with innuendo that Danny could feel the message being hammered into his brain. The boy's eyes widened at his next wild thought. No! It wasn't possible! There had to be some kind of kind of mistake! Still, he was driven to ask, "Why are you telling me all of this, Clockwork? What's this all about? And why did you show me the future….and…" He paused briefly before choking out, "…and maybe a…broken timeline?"

Suddenly, Clockwork's usual youthful face whirled around to face Danny and his eyes were flaring red as he forcefully replied, "Because in spite of my efforts to help you stay on a true path, you will betray everything you hold dear and become the evil Phantom that in the end you were always meant to be!"

"NO!" Danny screamed in both denial and dread. "You-you know I won't become that!"

"Untrue!" The adult Clockwork insisted through gritted teeth as he moved quickly to circle around Danny so that the boy was now between him and the opaque window. He jerked his hand toward the opaque window and accused, "Your evil self killed your beloved Sam! And you also murdered Tucker and many of your other loved ones that day!"

At first, Danny was stunned to silence. He had only seen…_Sam_ dead! Not the others! So, was it true? And if it were, was it possible that his alternative evil future self had somehow been able to get into this dimension again? He had to know, even when he was still denying what his mentor had just said.

"NO!" Danny insisted back, his throat tightening with the emotions suddenly whirling within him. "You have to be wrong, Clockwork! He's back in his own dimension now, he can't possibly be—"

Pointing his Time Staff violently at the boy, the oldest form of Clockwork hotly interrupted him, "_That_ Evil Phantom _is _in his own dimension! What I speak of is that the Evil Phantom who killed Sam and your other loved ones was _your_ future!"

Danny felt a large lump hitch in his throat which choked him to silence and disbelief once more. He looked down at the floor, unable to comprehend what this might mean. It could not be possible…he would never…

Suddenly, he felt that same pain ringing in his head and then he felt as if he were floating away for a moment until he just as suddenly thought about….Sam!

"Sam, I would never hurt you!" he hoarsely whispered, feeling the pressure increase within his eyes. "I could never even _think _about killing you!"

Now in even more distress, Danny cried out, "This is all wrong, Clockwork! You know me! You know I couldn't do something like killing anyone I love or even who I hate! And you said I was not anything like that other evil Phantom! I'll _never_ be like him!"

"Untrue!" the boy Time Master hotly countered. "You killed Frostbite! And all the Theracites! Danielle's death was your doing as well! And you wanted to kill Razilo when he destroyed Johnny 13!"

Danny about choked on his gasp! But suddenly, he felt a pain form and almost boil out of him as he screamed in denial, "NOOOOO!"

Once he had stopped yelling, Danny suddenly felt a little dizzy and unfocused. But that woozy feeling suddenly left him and when his mind cleared, he looked up at his mentor and said with desperate pleading, "Tell me this is all just a bad nightmare, Clockwork, and I'll believe you."

The adult Clockwork's flaring red eyes seemed to bore holes in him as the spirit gravely replied, "I cannot deny the future when it is shown in the opaque window. And I can no longer hope any more. I can no longer deny that deep down, you want to be evil, that you want to be like that other despicable creature. In fact, your future evil self who will live in your time stream stole one of my medallions and traveled back into time…"

"No," Danny softly denied, shaking his head as Clockwork continued.

"You had to ensure your own evil future in this timeline…"

Danny closed his eyes in distress and wasn't ashamed at the tears that had finally escaped even as he whispered, "Never!"

Clockwork's white beard bristled and his words were escalating as he continued to accuse the boy, "Just like your other evil self, you had to make sure that the seed to destroying all that was good in you was sown!"

Looking squarely at his mentor this time, Danny forcefully wiped his tears away and insisted, "You're wrong!"

But as if the youngest Time Master wasn't listening—or didn't want to listen—to Danny, he emphasized each of his next words, "You had to make sure of it by killing someone who would have kept you true. By. Killing. Sam!"

Danny stood paralyzed at his mentor's words, still denying it and yet, feeling the dread of it capture his heart. Clockwork never sounded surer about the future than he did now. But it couldn't be…

But Clockwork interrupted his thoughts.

With his eyes blazing even more violently, the strongest of Clockwork's forms raised his Time Staff and it burst forth with a throbbing, ominous purple energy before he aimed it at the Ghost Boy and darkly announced, "Therefore, I must seal you away to your own inescapable fate!"

"Clockwork, please… It isn't true!" Danny begged in a whisper.

"It is all true!" the Time Master answered back coldly. "And here is one last truth for you: I asked the Observants to do what they are doing to you now. It is the least you deserve for your sins. They were right all along. You are evil, Danny Phantom. And I will never see or acknowledge you again!"

"**No!"** Danny cried as a large purple beam erupted from the Time Staff and hit him just as he tried to evade it.

The violet force quickly enveloped the young hybrid even as Danny tried to resist it. But the boy's struggle was in vain, for he was violently thrust toward and the swallowed up by the opaque window….

…and knew no more.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ah, I see you made it down here! Good! Let me tell you that I'm so glad to finally have y'all see this chapter! I've been itching to post it for quite some time but it was, heh-heh, not _time_ for it until now! (Permission to groan). **

**For one thing, it has Clockwork in it and he is one of my absolutely fav ghosts, or I should say, spirits. (Yes, I think that CW is a spirit, which means, as I explained above, he is far more powerful than ghosts. And I think he's one of the most powerful spirits as well.) Secondly, it covers a philosophical notion in which I happen to believe; namely, what would someone's life be like had he/she not died prematurely for whatever reason (murder, sickness, accident, etc.)? But the one reason for a shortened lifespan (that is, being murdered) is more fascinating to me. After all, we are creatures of free will and we can chose to give into an evil impulse (and kill someone); or we can chose not to give into that impulse and refrain from killing that same person. Sooo, if you didn't kill them, then their life would go on, right? But did that mean that they were meant to NOT be killed at that moment of impulse that was ultimately rejected by the would-be murderer? Or did that mean that that same path would have happened if they had ultimately become victim of that impulse? And so, I thought it would be interesting to 'discuss' this theory with y'all in this chapter—while allowing Vlad to continue with his evil plan, of course. Wait! Does that mean if I choose for Vlad _not_ to continue in his evil plan that Danny would kill Sam in the end, then? *Bites fingernails in indecision* **

**What do you think? Be sure to tell me in that little box below!**

**In the meantime, the Fantomos Ecto-Scale continues:**

**289-LEVEL 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—**_**Matilda****— truephan's original character from her story, **_**Sleepover Nightmare**_

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**289-level 6-**_**Gamma**_**—Ghost Writer**

**289-level 6-**_**Beta**_** —Walker**

**289-level 6-**_**Alpha**_**—Skulker**

**LEVEL SEVEN GHOSTS—Difficult to defeat. Would have been evenly matched with Danny at age 14. They usually have only one way of being defeated and can be defeated only after discovering that flaw. Also, Danny could only defeat them at age 14 after he picked up new skills to defeat them.**

**289-level 7-**_**Epsilon**_**—Undergrowth**

**289-level 7-**_**Delta**_**—Nocturne**

**289-level 7-**_**Gammas**_**—Aragon and Dorothea**

**289-level 7-**_**Beta**_**—Vortex**

**289-level 7-**_**Alpha**_**—Behemoth**

**LEVEL EIGHT GHOSTS—Very difficult to defeat because they are relatively more powerful than Danny Phantom at age 14. In fact, he might not be able to defeat them without outside help.**

**289-level 8-**_**Epsilon**_ **—Spectra**

**289-level 8-**_**Delta**_** — ? Will appear in a future chapter**

**289-level 8-**_**Gamma**_**—Fright Knight**

**289-level 8-**_**Beta**_**—Pandora**

**289-level 8-**_**Alpha**_**—Dazzler—pearl84's original character from her story, **_**Checkmate. (Thanks again for letting me use him, pearl!)**_

**LEVEL NINE GHOSTS AND SPIRITS—Much more powerful than Danny Phantom at age 14 and any one of them could have possibly killed Danny if not for a combo of factors, such as outside help, luck, and using his talents to their utmost. Most spirits are level 9 –and rarely do ghosts get to this level. But occasionally—even if rarely—a few ghosts or spirits can gain even more power.**

**289-level 9-**_**Thetas**_**—Kvargvid and another Spirit who will be revealed later. Kvargvid is pearl84 and truephan's original character from their story, **_**Seeing is disBelieving.**_

**289—Level 9-_Eta_— Frostbite **

**289—Level 9-Zetas—The Observants **

**289—Level 9-_Epsilon_— ? Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289—Level 9-_Delta _— ? Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289—Level 9-_Gamma_—? Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289—Level 9-_Beta_—Clockwork**


	46. Chapter 46 Uncomfortable Changes

**A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a great time during the holidays. I sure did! But now, it's time for the first update of the new year (for me and Ms. Hyde, that is!)**

**Ms. Hyde: Oooh, dearie, so you **_**finally**_** decide to mention me after ignoring me for the past few chapters? Ah-huh. Care to explain yourself?!**

**truephan: I didn't ignore you. I just, uh, kinda, overlooked you, since, you know, you can get a bit...carried away with some things and make things, uh, more evil.**

**Ms. Hyde: I put spice into an otherwise dull story about a bunch of teens, that's all, dearie! And it looks like I got to put in lots of chipotle and jalapeño in this chapter and the next few chapters after this one!**

**truephan: Uh, I hate hot peppers!**

**Ms. Hyde: You do? Then you won't touch what I've wrote! So, all you dearies, enjoy the spicy side. Here is Chapter 46!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 46—Uncomfortable Changes<p>

Maddie Fenton slowly opened her eyes but didn't move when she heard the familiar jiggle of keys ringing slightly in her ears. A moment or two later, she could tell that one of those keys had 'jumped' into the lock of her 'prison cell's' door. She quickly closed her eyes once she heard a soft _click_ and then the quiet turning of the door knob.

"_I just hope I can think of some way to get something to make my weapon a ghostly one," _she mentally reminded herself now that her mind was awhirl with her last thoughts before she went to sleep.

Once again, she slowly opened her eyes and then pulled herself up out of bed just as the three maids floated in.

"Time for breakfast already?" Maddie sweetly asked as she stood up and stretched a bit while keeping a sideward glance toward the still open door. She silently frowned when she saw the oldest maid shut and then relock the door—like usual.

Still, she quickly made herself smile and ask, "And what color will it be today?"

Knowing that the woman was referring to the color of the dress and accessories she was 'assigned' to wear today, the maids smiled with slight embarrassment.

"Turquoise, Madame," the oldest maid politely answered.

"Oh, that's my favorite color," Maddie replied with a slight giggle, since it was the truth.

"Mine, too!" the youngest maid suddenly gushed as she slightly cricked her neck to show off the dangling turquoise earrings while at the same time extending her hand to show the female human her ring.

Danny's mother remembered glancing at the maid's ring last night but that wasn't enough to do it justice. It had a huge turquoise stone in the middle surrounded by several smaller turquoise stones. It was perfect!

Admiring the glowing ghost jewelry, Maddie honestly remarked, 'Oh, how beautiful! Where did you get them?"

"Oh, the mas—uhh" the youngest servant began before the oldest maid jabbed her in the ribs and quickly butted in, "It was a gift from our benefactors, Madame, uhm, for the anniversary of her birthday."

Maddie's eyebrows momentarily lifted in surprise and intrigue with her next quick thought. Did ghosts actually celebrate their birthdays? And if so, which one—the one they had in the Real World or when they first came to the Ghost Zone?

Either way, it didn't matter to the woman because she had to remain focused on her task. She hid her emotions behind a sunny smile and replied, "Oh, that was very generous of _them_."

The maids paused uncomfortably at the way the human emphasized 'them'. They knew that she was hinting around that she wanted to know who 'them' really were—or was.

When the human saw that the maids hadn't fallen for her obvious hint, Maddie continued in slight embarrassment, "Well, ahem, just give me a few minutes to, uh, you know." She quickly pointed to the bathroom and without waiting for the maids' response, headed right to it.

"Of course, Madame," the oldest maid finally called after the human female. "All will be ready when you are finished, Madame…"

* * *

><p>Maddie stepped out of the shower; and as she reached for the thick, plush towel, her eyes automatically glanced over to the fancy vanity chair on the other side of this large bathroom. Half in expectation and half in irritation, she smirked as she began to dry herself off. Right on cue…A beautiful turquoise gown had been carefully draped over the vanity chair. A pair of shoes which matched the gown perfectly was at the foot of the chair. And then she could see that the same expensive-looking tray that always held all of the outfit's accessories had been placed on the vanity table. She didn't have to see what was on top of the tray right now because she could already guess what would be upon it: earrings, a necklace and sometimes hand gloves that would, of course, perfectly match the gown and shoes in color.<p>

After all, it had become part of the routine since she had been put here—wherever 'here' was. She suddenly frowned when that thought only led to another, which was the same question that plagued her ever since she first woke up in this strange place: _why_ was she here? She knew that great pains were taken to keep her comfortable, but she knew she was still a prisoner of some sort since she wasn't allowed to leave and was always locked in here. But, darn it, why the fancy 'prison garbs' and the sense of order, since there was a sort of schedule to this all?

She could almost predict it to the second: every morning, she would be greeted by the maids and then take a shower. And then while she was bathing, the female attendants would quietly and discreetly place her assigned clothes and all its accessories in the designated place. By the time the woman was fully dressed, her breakfast would be set up and ready, her room would be tidied up and her bed would be made. Then, once she was finished with breakfast, the 'Middle Maid'— as Maddie called her— would style her hair. It was really annoying, actually, but the three had always been exceptionally polite and sweet when they insisted on what she had to subject herself to.

Still….

Danny's mom sighed and started to get ready. But as soon as she glanced at the turquoise and silver necklace, a sudden idea sprung up in her brain. She smirked again as she secured the jewelry around her neck—only this time, her smile was in anticipation...

Just as she reached the bathroom door, the woman took in a deep breath to mentally prepare herself. No matter how much her idea encouraged her, she couldn't show it outward. Instead, she needed to get herself mentally prepared for even another part of her well-rehearsed 'morning routine' with the three maids.

She really hated this part, but she also didn't think she had much choice about it. She had already concluded that the three maids had been ordered to make sure that she complied and actually wore the outfit 'assigned' to her. But, really, did she have to make a big 'presentation' of her newest outfit?

Nevertheless, the human female softly and quietly opened the bathroom door before she stepped through the doorway. She was as ready as she ever would be to hear the too-oft repeated 'lines' of their 'script':

"Oh, Madame, you look stunning!" the youngest ghost maid gushed.

"You wear that gown well," the 'Middle Maid' added, while the oldest maid, who Maddie privately called 'Miss Bossy Maid', merely nodded in approval.

Sure enough, just as predicted, the three servants dutifully had spit it all out.

Making sure that her 'cue' was timed perfectly, Maddie said 'thank you' in turn to each maid.

But this time, Maddie was determined for them to go a little _off_ script…

Once she had said the last 'standard line' to the youngest attendant, Maddie ad-libbed, "Oh, do you mind letting me look at your jewelry again?"

The young maid giggled slightly before she politely replied, "Of course!"

All the while trying to think of a ruse, Maddie glanced at the young ghost's earrings before she gently grabbed and supported the girl ghost's hand and inspected the ring. But then she privately smiled in satisfaction when the opportunity presented itself—as she had hoped.

"Oh, look!" the woman said with semi-fake concern. "You snagged something on your ring!"

Maddie then pulled off some of the stray string that had entangled itself around the ghostly turquoise ring and showed it to the youngest maid.

The two other maids gasped as the youngest one's face blushed.

Turning to the guilty ghost, the oldest attendant scolded, "You did not snag the bedspread again, did you? The mas—Uh, I mean, you need to get rid of that ring once and for all!"

"No!" the youngest maid protested. "I will be careful from now on! It was a gift!"

"You said you would be careful the last time!" the Middle Maid said in irritation.

The two older female servants lunged at the younger one; and ready to pull the ring right off, quickly grasped the arm and hand upon which the ring was.

But the youngest attendant didn't give it up and pulled back.

After a very brief struggle, however, the two older maids were successful in holding the younger one still. And just as they were removing the ring, the youngest maid broke down and began to sob miserably.

Maddie frowned and bit her lower lip with sudden pity for the youngest maid. After all, even if she were a ghost, the young servant didn't look any older than her son. Still, this had worked better than her original plan.

The human quickly and firmly intervened. "Please, stop this!"

The two older maids immediately stopped and let go of their young cohort and froze in their places.

Though now also standing in place, the youngest was barely able to control her sobs. Finally, she was able to stifle her sniffles and mimic the same poker face as her sister maids.

Maddie looked at the three and the way their demeanor had changed so radically was almost funny. Still, she controlled herself; and addressing the youngest maid, said, "I'll tell you what. How about…Uhm, you do have a name, don't you?"

The ghost girl's eyes widened in fear and stuttered, "Y-Yes, Madame, but we are forbidden to tell you."

"I see. Well, can I call you, uhm, 'Rose' instead of 'Hey, you'? After all, you have been as sweet as a flower to me."

The ghost girl smiled weakly before she sighed and nodded.

Maddie slightly smirked in return.

But then, the human female placed one of her hands on her necklace and continued, "Okay, 'Rose', we can't have you worried about damaging this fine stuff in here, now can we? So, how about a trade? If you let me have your ring, then I'll give you my necklace. It will just about be impossible to snag anything with it, heh-heh, unless you have a habit of using your neck to make up the bed!"

This time, the girl laughed slightly before she looked at her cohorts.

The oldest one frowned but nodded her approval all the same.

Then the ghost girl laughed nervously as she said, "Alright, Madame, if it pleases you. But I will not be able to wear your necklace."

Though Maddie knew the answer, she also knew that she had to 'play dumb'. She asked, "Why not, 'Rose'?"

Already charmed by her 'name', the girl ghost half smiled as she answered, "Because it's not ghost jewelry, Madame. I can touch it, but eventually I will phase right through it and may lose it before I even noticed."

Still feigning ignorance, the female human replied, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know. Well, then, would that mean I couldn't wear the ring, either?"

The girl ghost nodded her head.

"Well, in that case, maybe we rather not trade be—"

"Oh, no, Madame, that will be fine!" 'Miss Bossy Maid' suddenly interjected since she was eager to get rid of the ring. "If it pleases the Madame to have the ring, our sister maid is willing to give it to you."

That maid paused a moment. She had better make sure that the human female was pleased. She quickly added, "And since they are a set, you can have the earrings, too!"

"No!" 'Rose' immediately objected.

Maddie felt another twinge of pity for the youngest ghost. Though she didn't want to lose this opportunity, she couldn't be that cruel to the ghost. She offered her own mild objection, "I didn't mean to cause such a fuss. Let's forget the whole thing, okay? I don't need to…"

"I beg your pardon, Madame," the oldest maid quickly interrupted before she glared at the youngest maid with an unerring message. "But we will not have you displeased. Take the earrings and ring. Our sister maid can always get another set."

The human knew that she couldn't miss this opportunity; but she also didn't want to seem too eager, either.

This time pretending to be embarrassed, Maddie replied. "Really. I couldn't possibly…" She paused only a moment before she continued, "Oh, all right. But maybe it would be more of a fair trade if I just put 'Rose's' jewelry away while she can still keep my necklace…."

The human female looked with anticipation among the three maids, while the entire group fell silent for several moments.

Finally, the three female servants glanced at each other briefly before 'Rose' bit her lip before saying, "As you wish, Madame."

She quickly removed her ring and earrings and offered them to the woman.

Maddie looked at the small glowing objects within her hand. They felt light as a, well, _ghost_, to the woman. Still, she grinned slightly only to herself before carefully placing all of the jewelry on a nearby small table.

Without hesitating any more, Maddie began to reach up and pulled her hands to the back of her neck.

But just before she could unclasp the necklace, the 'Middle Maid' frowned and insisted, "No, Madame. That will not be necessary. You are required to wear your _entire_ attire as ordered."

Maddie's eyes widened before she frowned and looked at 'Rose'. In all honesty she would never have taken the ring and earrings if she had known that the girl ghost wasn't going to be able to trade. True, she needed those ghostly items for her next plan. But, she had thought that an even 'trade' would offset the loss to the ghost girl.

Meanwhile, the youngest maid bit her lower lip and her eyes fell to the floor.

Maddie's brow knitted even more. Now she felt really bad for the youngest ghost. Still, she quietly told the girl, "Thank you, Rose. I won't forget your kindness."

"Is that all, Madame?" 'Miss Bossy Maid' piped in.

"Yes," Maddie replied.

Without another word, the three maids curtsied and hastily took their leave. They moved out of the room more swiftly then they had ever before. Before the human knew it, she was hearing the familiar soft _click _of the door and then the quiet slip of the lock on her door in rapid succession.

Maddie sighed; yet underneath, she really couldn't hold back her excitement. She turned back to look at the small glowing set of jewelry and her face broke out into a triumphant smile…

Now she had the item to make her weapon _ghostly_—and with the bonus of _testing_ it on something ghostly as well!

* * *

><p>Jack and Tucker stood helplessly by as they watched the bawling girl. Never since they had known Sam had they thought they would see the day when she was not only crying, but was actually being <em>hysterical<em> on more than one occasion within such a short period of time— including now!

Tucker was even more upset at seeing Sam cry. He had always thought she had a strong handle on her feelings—sometimes a bit too much control. But now…she was a total emotional basket case, as if she never had complete control of herself and had never been that strong. And his stomach tightened with that thought because he needed her to be strong now… for his best friend and for…him.

Still, Tucker wasn't far from the truth about his female best friend. Sam had always been emotionally strong _and_ weak…In fact, she had learned to harden her emotions—as a defense mechanism to protect her _true _nature. Not that her true nature was weakly, but it _could_ control _her_ if she didn't find a way to control _it_. And for many years she had succeeded in doing that. Her goth persona was the perfect strategy to protect her tendency and discipline her emotions.

But since then, Sam had fallen in love. And her 'Jiva complication' after the 'Spectre affair' had given new power to her…ability. Those two fairly recent developments had been enough to make it hard on the girl to maintain her goth persona. Ever since then, Sam had been getting more …emotional.

At first, those complications weren't a big deal because she had been quite practiced in hiding and controlling her feelings. So, for a while she had been able to go in 'autopilot' and keep them in check.

But ever since this whole strange thing with Danny's being missing and most of the town falling ill to some strange illness, she was having _more_ trouble controlling her emotions mainly because she had been especially affected by Vlad's powerful sleeping formula and hadn't really recovered her entire strength yet.

It also didn't help that her attempts at reaching her boyfriend telepathically all this while were taxing her physically, mentally and…emotionally. Her desperation in trying to connect with Danny was slowly tearing her emotional defenses down. Not only that, the times when she had succeeded, what she felt coming from whatever was happening to her boyfriend was tearing at her heart. And what she heard via her telepathy _and felt _in this last bout had been the last straw.

Finally, after the girl had been bawling for what seemed hours but were only minutes, Sam looked at her male friend with obvious distress and choked out, "Oh, Tucker! Danny thinks he's going to kill me and you some day!"

"What?!" Tucker and Jack said at once, shocked.

Sam cried a bit more before she could say anything more.

But when she finally thought she had the strength, her words were halting between her struggles to control her crying. "I-I caught only snatches of it, darn it, but I think Clockwork had him and showed him that he was going to end up being evil like his evil putrid self! And…and he was gonna travel back in time and make sure that he would be evil a lot sooner…And that meant he had to…to..."

But the girl couldn't go on and buried her face in her hands and poured the distress in her heart out again.

Meanwhile, Jack didn't know what to do or say. But when he finally looked to Tucker for some kind of guidance, he could see by the boy's face and his opened mouth that he was just as shocked. Still, Jack was stunned from any action at the moment.

Tucker was indeed speechless and upset over what he was witnessing. He had never seen Sam like this…ever! He knew she was having trouble controlling her emotions during this entire time, but he had thought that it was because she wasn't recovering from their mysterious illness as quickly as she should have because she had not been eating that much until fairly recently.

Even so, he couldn't take this any longer. Too much was at stake. His heart raced at his conclusion. If Danny was back in the Realm Beyond Time, that could be bad. Very bad. Especially if Clockwork was involved! But maybe his best friend was just visiting there? He frowned, not at all believing the wild thought because he, too, had felt that Danny was in trouble all along. So, he had to know first of all whether Danny was really in the Realm Beyond Time or not. Either way, he—and Danny—needed Sam to be _Sam_ pronto! Only she could help his friend hold on at this point until they could reach him.

He marched right up to his almost completely hysterical female friend and grabbed both of her shoulders. And even though he had expected it this time, he was still taken slightly aback when he suddenly felt a shot of electricity run through him when he did. Suddenly, his face scrunched up in determination. It didn't matter. He grasped her shoulders more firmly and shook her, but not hard enough to hurt her.

His face was grim yet sympathetic and his voice was both focused and desperate as he commanded, "Sam! **Stop this**! You **have** to get a hold of yourself! We already know that the future is not that solid, so what you saw might not happen!"

Once again, more electricity jolted him but he only held onto her shoulders tighter. Suddenly, a dark green aura surrounded each of his hands before the intensity of it pulsed right into Sam! He gasped when he saw that and immediately let go of the girl this time.

Sam, however, had felt the phenomenon as well and her friend's electrical 'blow' that had momentarily siphoned into her just now knocked some sense into her. Somehow, that 'blow' wasn't angry or harmful. And somehow, she knew that she had gotten that from _Tucker_! It was giving her strength, support and concern at the same time. She desperately clung to that feeling and struggled to steel herself.

Finally, the girl's breathing slowed and she quickly brushed off any tears that were still being stubborn. Taking a deep breath and glancing quickly between the two males, she finally managed to utter, "Y-You're right! I-I don't know…uhm, I-I'm sorry that happened, Tucker, er, and Mr. Fenton!"

She tried to ignore the heat of her flushed cheeks since she was too embarrassed about yet another of her too numerous outbursts since she had awoken from her sleeping sickness— much less admit to any of it.

"Hey, that's okay, Sam," Mr. Fenton slowly yet cautiously replied. Then trying to sound supportive, he added, "We all are guilty of being human, you know. Especially some of us, heh-heh, uhm, like _me_ more than others!"

Sam weakly smiled at the man's attempt to cheer her up. He was really trying. But before she could thank the man, Tucker piped in. But his face was still intense.

"Yeah, Sam, though you really freaked me out just now, I really couldn't blame you. You must have seen something pretty upsetting…"

"It was terrible," Sam added, slightly interrupting her friend. "But I shouldn't have…lost control like that…Danny needs me to be strong and…"

This time, Tucker quietly interrupted her, "He needs your love, too. Focus on that and that will make you strong enough to finally find and help him."

Sam's eyes widened at her friend's words. But their echo still resounded within her enough to get her to completely focus and realize something.

She bit her lower lip before she replied, "Thanks, Tucker. I needed that. And you're so right! That's what I was doing wrong!"

"What?" Tucker blurted out, this time very clueless to what she was alluding.

He unconsciously frowned even more and turned to Danny's father for help.

But Jack merely shrugged helplessly since he was just as clueless as the boy for any explanation.

Sam now smiled a bit more confidently and explained, "What I mean is that I've been so swallowed up reacting to Danny's being emotionally upset that for the first time in…years, I was losing control over my emotions. But if I focus on _our love_, which goes _beyond_ any emotions, then I can be strong enough to get through to him."

She then blushed before adding with an embarrassed, crooked smile, "Well, that is, with your help, Tucker. Somehow, I felt you helping me just a few moments ago and a few other times a while back. And somehow—though I can't really explain it at all— I know I'm going to need your help since I, uh, I still haven't gotten over this crazy virus or whatever it is. After all, you know how 'human' I can be!"

This time, Tucker's face relaxed before it brightened into a smile. Now definitely relieved and getting excited, he replied, "That's the spirit, Sam. Uh, no pun intended, you know."

"None taken," she dryly replied, sounding more like her 'old' self. "Now we've got work to do. Where were we before I was rudely interrupted by all those lame emotions? I have a reputation to keep, you know."

"Now you're talking!" Tucker almost chuckled. "And I'm all in!"

The two teens turned toward Mr. Fenton. He gasped and reflexively raised his arms in surrender before helplessly blurting out, "Uh, you go girl…and, uhm, boy?"

This time, Sam and Tucker laughed, completely breaking the tension and preparing them for their task.

Now Danny's two best friends were ready to try to rescue their half-ghost friend….

* * *

><p>Danny groaned, his mind churning with fragmented pieces of vacant thoughts. He could not tell what was flashing within his skull, yet he knew that he was…just about to lose his mind. He didn't even feel like opening his eyes to see where he was. Why should he? It didn't matter because he already felt so totally lost and utterly helpless right now. It was as if he was drifting aimlessly in space with no oxygen and yet breathing in nothing but hopelessness.<p>

But was he moving or still? Heck, he wasn't even sure of that. He frowned, trying to focus on that. _Was_ he stationary? Even if he were, he didn't even know whether he was lying down or sitting or whatever. Again, he didn't really care. What was the point?

He not only felt hopeless, he felt numb. As if he wasn't capable of feeling anything about anything anymore. As if he was no longer _human_. The thought of it suddenly sent fear throughout his spine this time. Though he really didn't understand why. Of course he was human, wasn't he? What else would he be? But once again, he really wasn't sure.

Maybe if he kept his eyes tightly shut, all of this would go away. The Observants would leave him alone and he could just dissolve right into this emotional abyss.

He couldn't take anything anymore. He didn't want to feel anything, he didn't want to know anything, he didn't want to do anything else because for a reason he couldn't grasp, nothing else mattered. His mind was so traumatized, he might as well be dead…. .

Finally, the boy's mind caught a random, though for some reason, coherent thought. But it really wasn't a thought at all. It was more of an….emotion. A strong one.

Suddenly, then, a very vague semblance of a…memory...surfaced, but the emotion associated with it wormed its way forward and seemed to plunge its hooks into him before it electrocuted his brain.

Now totally overwhelmed by that emotion, Danny felt his body turn over until he was facing something solid that must have been beneath him before he was even aware of it. In fact, he had no idea that he had been lying on the floor of the simulation room this whole time. Nevertheless, he gave completely into that emotion. He buried his face in his gloved hands and sobbed like never before. And that release finally helped him figure out what that powerful emotion was: grief, terrible, heart-gripping grief.

At first, the young hybrid didn't know why the memory that had fleetingly surfaced would have triggered this intense pain. Yet, he couldn't deny it, either.

In fact, the emotion was so intense that he didn't even realized that he had twisted around so that he was now facing empty air. Before he knew it he was screaming in emotional agony intermixed with tears.

He felt the heaviness of the empty, lost pain rent open his heart and central core all at once and suddenly he couldn't breathe! Somehow, he was able to choke air in even as the tears falling to the back of his throat rivaled to drown him.

But then, another emotion crept right up from behind that already overwhelming grief: remorse.

He twisted to his side this time and curled up into a fetal position before he sobbed even more. He felt as if his heart and soul were being torn into pieces within the crossfire of those two powerful emotions.

Still, he didn't have a clue as to why he was feeling all of this.

And that was because he was truly on the verge of losing his mind. He had been deprived of the sleep his mind craved _and needed_ with the dark purpose of enslaving it with confusion. In other words, he had not been allowed _to dream as he should have— freely and without interference._

Instead,any dream that he had been allowed to have was only devised to delve him into even more turmoil and to deprive him of any real rest of his mind: something that was needed for the health of anybody's mind; and yet, somehow, he had still been able to cling onto his sanity until… his last intense experience with Clockwork was about to push him over the edge…

And now, it seemed as if Vlad's dark plan was now finally coming to fruition….

Vlad was so excited right now that he was on the verge of laughing. All of the monitors were now verifying that Daniel must be on the cusp of mental collapse!

After rechecking them all—including the one that monitored the device in Central Park—the billionaire quickly pushed a button on his watch-like devise. This time, all he needed to do was send a signal. He wanted to share this moment of glory!

"Maddie, make sure the ghost shield around the control room is turned off. I'm expecting company," the man said with excitement.

"Right away, sir," she merely replied.

A few minutes later, he heard the door to the control room quietly open.

"You buzzed, Plasmius?" the male voice almost growled out.

The older half-ghost was so loopy with excitement that he didn't even notice the tone of the cyber-ghost's voice. He pointed to the monitors and practically gushed, "Skulker! I think I've finally got him! I think Daniel is about to break! I just knew that he would believe my 'Clockwork' program. And I am glad Daniel did since we were never able to get any DNA from Clockwork in the end. And, fortunately, Daniel didn't find out that Clockwork wasn't the _real _Clockwork because he never touched the hologram! I guess I should be thankful that the boy would believe his moronic 'mentor' in the end. "

Skulker's eyes shifted slightly and he glanced over the data. He huffed. He really wouldn't trust those indicators until he could _smell_ it for himself.

The Hunter Ghost's eyes darted back to his employer and he frowned in disapproval at the man's face.

Plasmius's face.

It actually looked _wild_, as if there was a battle happening among triumph, glee and insanity and Skulker couldn't tell which emotion was winning…It was very disturbing to the ghost to say the least. Not that he was totally surprised.

After all, in many ways Plasmius was just as affected by almost as many things as what had been happening to the Ghost Child. The man had been having more restless nights because of his anticipation and even anxiety over this important and all-too-consuming plan of his. More than that, the older half-ghost had also been expending even more energy on that secondary facet of his plan—the one which interested the Ghost Hunter more—which was also taking its toll on the older hybrid, even though neither one of them wanted to admit it.

As if the older hybrid had heard the cyborg ghost's thoughts, Vlad added, "And my device in Central Park is working perfectly!"

Skulker tightened his lips but remained silent. Somehow, though he should, he couldn't be happy about that device in Central Park. And that was because what the man had first said about the whelp was more disturbing to Skulker….A deeper feeling that the Hunter didn't want to admit—even now.

For if what Plasmius was saying was true….if the Ghost Child was indeed on the verge of total mental collapse, then that would mean that the man would soon have his 'son' and Skulker would have to become the 'second banana'.

That underlying burning feeling didn't bode well with the hunter ghost. In fact, now that those embers had flared, Skulker could no longer deny it: he _was_ jealous of the Ghost Boy's worth in his…friend's eyes. Even as the thought burned a hole in his central core, Skulker reflexively rejected the admission. Emotions were for the weak. And he was _not_ weak!

And he could prove it…to himself. He had been able to blind himself to Plasmius' ridiculous obsession over the boy and even the boy's mother; and really, everything seemed to have simmered down…until last year, when he noticed a dark change over his friend after the 'Iluzisto affair'.

That event had really affected Plasmius more than Skulker had realized after the man had announced this new plan to the Hunter. At first, Skulker went along with everything, hoping that this would have helped his friend work through the more apparent mental scars that being in the Realm Beyond Time had caused.

The Ghost Hunter had to admit that he even enjoyed the sport of his role in it at first. After all, getting the necessary DNA samples from the assigned ghosts did mean his being able to hunt virtually to his central core's content, especially when all those ghosts weren't even aware that he had taken their ghostly DNA samples!

The Hunter Ghost briefly smiled to himself at that thought. It had surely been more pleasurable than he expected, especially when the challenge and danger were foremost in the hunt. In fact, he knew his reputation would be higher in the Ghost Zone from this whole affair, especially after he had captured a member of that one…extremely dangerous species. True, Plasmius had let him borrow a special device to achieve that; but it took a master to use the device and carry out the plan. Indeed, all of what that capture entailed would be a source of his pride for years to come. He was now unquestionably the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter!

Suddenly, however, the ghost's original musings erupted back out of his brain and he frowned in annoyance once more. Enough of that. The matter at hand was what should be concerning him at this moment… How he wished he had discouraged his friend from going through with this crazy first part of his plan. After all, he really didn't think that the man would actually go through with it…He paused. Wait. Yes, that was right. Plasmius _always_ followed through on whatever plans he concocted. It was _he_, Skulker, who had chosen to deny that it was happening except when it came to paying attention to what his friend needed in this first phase of his plans; namely: hunting the ghosts for their DNA.

But once Skulker finally admitted that Plasmius was very serious in this plan of trying to get the Ghost Child and his mother as his…family, the Ghost Hunter had tried to persuade his friend to focus on the second part of his plans…He paused. Now that he thought about it, that was not the only one reason why he had not liked the plan.

All along, Skulker was convinced that once Plasmius was successful in those other, more lucrative plans that involved that 'fountain', whatever the whelp did or felt about it wouldn't matter because Plasmius would be the most powerful being in both worlds—in spite of his being half-ghost….And that would mean that Skulker would be second-in-command.

But now, that wouldn't happen! In fact why did he even waste his time trying to convince Plasmius to give up his plan to have the Ghost Boy as his son? After all, he of all ghosts knew that Plasmius wouldn't budge once his mind was made up.

Much as that didn't sit well with the cyborg ghost, his mind suddenly slipped to the other reason, the _real _reason why he had now opposed the plan…something he didn't wince at—or honestly admit—until this very second….At first, that reason was more subtle…a feeling as it were. But now, after what had happened since the plan had started, this…'feeling'….was undeniably stronger, more disturbing to the hunter ghost, something that had actually been eating at his central core for several days now—ever since he had had his own encounter with the pup…

Though he knew all along that this was Plasmius' plan, he had never wanted to see the whelp…broken. For some reason, now more than ever, it just seemed plain…wrong.

Skulker's face skewed up in more dissatisfaction. But really, why should any of that matter and why should he care? What was done was done….

Especially now, when the fruition of that plan was within the man's grasp. There was nothing he could do about it.

The Ghost Hunter sighed mentally in slight resignation. But he couldn't mask the irritation in his voice when he at last commented on Plasmius' last announcement, "So, if the pup is ready for you, why summon me? I will not take any pleasure in seeing the whelp's being a blubbering basket case as you want him to be."

Vlad's eyebrow shot up in surprise and some irritation at his friend's comment. Still, he half-grinned and dryly cracked, "I would think that you would want to see Daniel crushed to within an inch of complete insanity to make him vulnerable, just to know that he could not counter your trying to 'mount him on your mantle' as you always wanted."

The Ghost Hunter's face twitched in irritation. He didn't like the teasing tone of the man's voice just now. That is, if indeed it was _only_ a tease. He gritted teeth and sardonically replied, "For one, I know you would not give him to me. That is not part of the plan. But even if you changed your plans about him —which I do not suspect for one nanosecond —I would not want him if he is at the point that he could not offer any kind of resistance or fight…"

Skulker paused only a moment before he quietly added, "I only want truly noble trophies. They are only prized because they fought honorably and gallantly to the end."

"Yes, I suppose you would," Vlad conceded, not fully catching the bitterness in his friend's voice. He walked over to the monitors and immediately glanced over the readings. He then pointed to the coffin-like container and added, "I can still arrange that 'noble trophy' for you since I don't think we'll be needing 'our friend' over there after all. At this point, Daniel should be so mentally helpless, I will be able to control him as I want since he will essentially be 'starting over mentally' as it were and will look to me as the one who helped rescue him from total insanity. And once I mold Daniel to my liking, he will be a formidable adversary to any ghost. But then again, there would be no need for you to pursue his hide any longer because he would be your ally, too, you know."

The Ghost Hunter felt his core constrict at the older hybrid's words….

The Ghost Child his…ally?

Somehow, the cyborg ghost wanted to both embrace and reject the concept even as the thought suddenly whirled him back to his last encounter with the whelp…

And now, now more than ever, the boy's words bit into him:

"_I thought you were different. I thought that you really knew what bravery, loyalty and honor were all about; that you saw that treachery cannot be mistaken for loyalty and wanting only for yourself as being the same as honor…. You know, it's okay that we all want love, we all want honor and to be respected…But sometimes, nobody's always willing to pay the asking price!"_

_But of course Skulker had heard what the boy had said since he had been literally in the whelp's face. He remembered his own scoffing of those words, "What 'asking price'? To trick or demand all those things out of others, like I demand you fighting me now?"_

_The pup had looked back up at him a moment before he had let his eyes fall again. Then the Ghost Boy had sadly whispered, "No. As one of my …ghost friends said: To do the right thing no matter the consequences. And I will not grovel to you or anyone else, Skulker. I will __**not**__ fight you!"_

The words seemed to rattle within the Ghost Hunter metallic skull as if to hammer in his very next thought. The only way he could be the boy's ally was to be as noble and as honorable as…the Ghost Boy!

But….

What if the whelp was about to become as evil as Plasmius would mold him to be? Skulker frowned. He just didn't know now. True, the pup could become the most powerful—and feared—ghost that both the human and ghost worlds would ever know. And Plasmius would make sure that the boy would respect not only the man, but _him_ as well.

Somehow, the Ghost Hunter couldn't deny that even _that _wouldn't satisfy him….Because the boy would not be the same…treasure that Skulker had come to recognize as time went on…

He had to admit that he had wanted the boy as a mere trophy when he had first become aware of the younger hybrid. After all, he had felt cheated at first that he couldn't 'collect' Plasmius as the unique ghost he was. But since he couldn't defeat the older hybrid and actually became allies and then…friends with the billionaire, he settled for second best: the _second_ ghost-and-human hybrid, which was, of course, the pup.

But that was all in the past because the more he learned about the younger hybrid, the more he…liked —and even admired —what he saw. However….if Plasmius succeeded in his plan —which seemed obtainable now —the Ghost Child would no longer be pure of heart or have any of those attributes that Skulker found…worthy. In fact, it didn't settle well deep within the cyborg ghost to imagine the younger hybrid so corrupted that doing Plasmius' bidding would become second nature to him….

Skulker's mind drifted from his hardened persona even more…If he knew the Ghost Boy as well as he thought he did, the only way that the pup could fall to that dishonorable level was if his…free will…was exterminated.

The Ghost Hunter frowned at the thought because he served Plasmius out of _his_ own free will…And the man usually expected and even sought out his advice. Not only that, Plasmius was _open_ to what he had to say….

But what of the Ghost Child?

Skulker could only guess that all that the boy would end up being was some kind of mindless…pawn. He knew that Plasmius wanted the boy to be his son— but as the child had been _before_ all of this happened when he devised this plan—only, more willing to do evil...

But the hunter couldn't convince the man that having a vacant pawn was exactly what he was going to get after all this was said and done. After all….Skulker just didn't see how the Ghost Boy could so willingly become the man's…'son' and do evil unless the pup had lost who he really was….

Once again, for some reason, knowing that it was a possibility at this point did not bode well with the cyborg ghost.

However, Skulker's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the holographic representation of Plasmius's computer.

"Sir, there are still fluctuations in your test subject's stress readings," she said.

"As we expected," Vlad replied with a frown. "Why bring that up?"

"Because they are _identical_ to the readings that I recorded before your last program, sir," she reported.

"They are? How can that be?" The billionaire incredulously replied as he hurried over to the monitor.

"I cannot present a hypothesis on that other than to say that it is very possible that your test subject isn't ready after all. I have concluded this after triple checking the data, sir. You need to have another means to determine if your next phase should be activated or not."

Vlad paused and his brow furloughed more with a combination of irritation and slight indecision. This was a delicate situation….he had to be absolutely positive about the boy….

His eyes drifted to the monitors. Why were they the same? He was so sure that this was the point at which he wanted the boy so that he could activate the final program….

But then, his eyes drifted over to Skulker and they widened with their idea. _Of course_, his robotic friend could check the boy once again! Skulker would know one way or the other!

Meanwhile, Skulker had been watching the man's reaction to the news. He knew that Plasmius would not act unless he was positive. The cyborg ghost floated over to the monitor and looked the data over. Was the whelp still in the game? The ghost wasn't sure how he felt about that…But he knew he had to rid himself of those feelings — pronto!

The Ghost Hunter shifted his thoughts and eyes back to the man. However, his central core inadvertently constricted again when he saw that dark glee in the man's eyes and voice as Vlad said, "The monitors still indicate that Daniel is at the threshold of mental collapse, Skulker. But as you undoubtedly heard, we still have an element of uncertainty. I was wondering if you could use that wonderful scent of yours and…?"

Skulker growled only to himself at the emotions that he had unwittingly felt just now. He promptly threw them away and didn't let the man finish the sentence since he already knew what the man wanted. "I will make it quick, Plasmius."

This time, Vlad's face softened a bit and he said with a pleased smile, "Very good, Skulker. I knew I could depend on you. Maddie, you know what to do."

"On it," she confirmed as she activated the necessary command button.

Somehow, the older hybrid's words didn't flatter Skulker this time. Nevertheless, the ghost threw away any semblance of emotional reaction at nearing and seeing the whelp and hurried to finish this task.

Still, one of the Ghost Hunter's eyebrows raised in slight surprise... There was still something…

But he didn't linger with the thought and wasted no more time in reporting to Plasmius…

Though the billionaire was disappointed —and more irritated —that Daniel wasn't quite at the point he needed the boy to be, he begrudgingly admitted that he had to patiently wait a little longer….But that patience was rapidly wearing thin…

Still, he finally told Skulker, "I'm sorry that I have to renege on giving you our 'friend' over there, who has been kept safe in that ever-perfect container of yours….I really had hoped not to have used him. But as _you_ have confirmed, it seems that Daniel's will hasn't been totally crushed..."

Suddenly, the man ranted, "We have to finally break him, Skulker! I knew it would be hard, but I cannot believe he can still resist all of this!"

Vlad walked over to the coffin-like vessel and looked at its gauges. He reached out to them and then for some reason, pulled back and hesitated.

He didn't know everything about this…creature and his kind, since he didn't even know they had existed until Skulker had stumbled upon them himself and then told Vlad about them. Odd that Skulker had been able to slip in and out of their realm without any trouble when he was scouting out for ghosts to use in the man's plan. What Skulker ultimately discovered, however, was that the realm he found this creature was a realm of _spirits_, not ghosts…

Yet, what the man had found about this particular spirit and the others similar to him was that if anything was going to finally break Daniel, it was this creature. In fact, Skulker had used his _Plasonar Modulator __**[1]**_ to find this particular spirit; otherwise, it would have been impossible to locate him among all of his kin and their realm.

Not only that, but once Skulker had found him, the hunter had quite a difficult time capturing this particular one because this spirit was very different among his entire race of spirits.

The creature was extremely powerful — dangerously so — and actually almost overwhelmed the hunter. But Skulker, of course, was a master at his craft. He had studied his prey and had planned ahead way before he had actually attempted to capture the creature. If he hadn't, then he would not have devised an effective weapon to use against the spirit —which he had made from the salvaged squared Timeless Magic energy core of one of the Observants' weapons shortly after Iluzisto was defeated —and Skulker would have definitely failed in his quest.

Obviously, however, Skulker did not fail. But indeed because this spirit was very unusual and powerful, the cyborg ghost had put the spirit out of commission and secured him in a temporary container to transport him back here.

Vlad's ally had also said something about the realm having some kind of strange guardian that was placed at its entrance which had at first denied his leaving the realm once Skulker had captured the spirit.

Vlad smiled at his next memory. Of course his clever hunter friend had found another way out of that realm with his most unique specimen…

Funny that Skulker hadn't asked to keep the creature right away, since he would have made an excellent specimen in the Ghost Hunter's collection…

But the truth was that Skulker _had been_ tempted to demand his booty since obtaining it since had been the most hazardous event second only to his being able to delay Iluzisto by his overshadowing him. Not only that, but this creature had not been in Plasmius's plans originally.

However, Skulker had thought better of it because he had never had been able to capture— much less maintain control of— such a powerful, mysterious spirit before. He had even thought that he had reached his limit —and perhaps his luck —in trying to secure this creature. And so, it was best to leave his luck to Plasmius's answer to controlling this spirit: to use his Observant orb which had once belonged to Okulo to control the spirit's core and thereby render the spirit Plasmius's servant…

Once Plasmius had control over the creature, both he and Skulker learned quite a bit about the spirit and his race…enough for him to play a role in Plasmius' master plan —if necessary, which by now seemed to be the case.

Yet, Plasmius couldn't use the Orb indefinitely because the older-hybrid still had to sleep and because of a unique feature they had discovered about the spirit. So, Skulker had built the coffin-like receptacle to hold the creature until he was needed, which was in short order.

After the spirit was compliant enough to do Plasmius' bidding, however, Skulker had rethought his own idea of keeping the creature for his prized collection. But the man struck yet another bargain among the countless ones that the two friends and allies had made with each other over the years; and so, they decided upon the final fate of this creature…

Once Plasmius was through using him —which, again, the man had actually hoped would not be a reality —Skulker would indeed have him to add to his collection. And the thought of having any spirit —much less a _very_ unique one —was enough of a carrot for Skulker to see this plan through.

Now hardening himself to what using this spirit would mean, Skulker remarked, "I see that it has come to this, Plasmius. Very well, then. Once you are finished for what you have in store for him and the whelp, I will gladly take him for my collection."

Vlad smirked and replied, "Indeed, you will be getting control over him shortly and I will also shortly be getting Daniel under control as well."

The Ghost Hunter didn't realize that he had reflexively frowned at that remark. Nevertheless he walked over to the container until he was next to his ally before he said, "Very well, Plasmius. You realize, of course, that I have to weaken the spirit before we put him in you simulation room? And I have to monitor the special ecto-restraints hidden on his ankles. As you know, he adapts too quickly."

"Of course, Skulker," the older half-ghost dryly said. "And actually, I _want _him weakened because that will only make him hungrier…"

Maddie the computer merely blinked in reaction.

Skulker, however, nodded in agreement before he pushed a special button on the coffin-like container.

The cylindrical vessel was immediately surrounded by a bright, intense red aura which then seemed to be sucked right into the container at its almost non-existent seams. As soon as the entire aura had filtered through the container, the man and hunter ghost heard an ear-piercing scream come from within the vessel, which was loud enough to send shivers up their spines.

The coffin jolted violently right after they heard the scream and the way the container was shaking, even Skulker thought it might prematurely breech.

But a moment later, the vessel stilled.

Skulker glanced at Vlad, who was already holding a round crystal in his hand.

"I think we've got him under control, but just in case," the man merely commented.

Skulker silently nodded back. After all, the older half-ghost and he knew that the spirit was very unpredictable unless it was totally controlled by the Timeless Magic in Okulo's special orb.

Without another word between the two allies, Skulker pushed a few more buttons on the control panel of the coffin-like container.

A loud 'click' followed by an equally loud 'whoosh' penetrated the control room before the top of the oblong box opened as if it were a morning glory flower bud opening to greet the new day's dew.

Both the ghost and the man unconsciously relaxed when they both looked inside of the container.

With a self-satisfied smirk on his face, Vlad said, "Perfect. Remove his shackles and put him in the simulation with Daniel, Skulker."

Skulker felt his central core leap in trepidation; and at first, he wasn't aware that his face had immediately twisted into an unhappy frown. But then, when he felt his unease, Skulker immediately crushed his emotions before he tersely replied, "Very well, Plasmius."

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><p><strong>AN: Glad to see you made it down here! As you can tell, the roller coaster is about to crest over the highest lift hill; and so you know it's going to get wilder and faster from here on! Hope you're strapped in!**

**In the meantime, don't forget to throw your delicious thoughts at me in that little box below. Until next time, dear readers!**


	47. Lev 9 Ghosts & Spirits: 4th Spirit Realm

**A/N: Hiya, everybodee! I'm so excited about finally being able to post this chapter because, well, you'll see! But, uhm, I hope you're sitting under a warm blanket by the fireside with a cup of hot cocoa because, uh, …well, heh-heh, it's a VERY,VERY long chapter! *nervously chews on index finger* I'm sorry about that, but MsHyde insisted that it be this long, and when she's twisting your arm, it's very hard_ not_ to agree! But without further ado, here is chapter 47. Enjoy!**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 47—Level 9 Ghosts and Spirits—The Fourth Spirit Realm<p>

Sam and Tucker sat down on the couch, ready to buckle down and use their telepathic powers to try to reach their half-ghost friend.

But when Tucker saw that Danny's father was still standing— not to mention also still looking very uncomfortable at that—he remarked, "Uh, aren't you going to sit down and relax, Mr. F?"

The man smiled weakly and replied, "Well, can those who aren't actually participating in this séance actually sit in the circle without interrupting the vibes?"

Tucker chuckled a bit and said, "It's not a séance, Mr. F!"

"It isn't? But aren't you like trying to connect with a ghost, er, I mean, Danny, even if he's a half-ghost?" the man cluelessly asked.

Tucker smirked and wryly replied, "Well, technically, I guess you're on the right track because we sorta are 'conjuring' up our spirit powers."

Sam groaned a bit under her breath but said nothing.

But hearing Sam's reaction and knowing that it meant that she was still sounding like herself, Tucker turned to her and quickly winked at her before he turned back to the man and added, "But like I said, Mr. F, it's not a séance and you won't interfere with the vibes, okay? At least I'll feel better if you would just sit down and relax, alright?"

Jack then looked at Sam and relaxed when she smiled weakly and nodded in agreement with Tucker. Still, the large man sounded just a tiny bit disappointed when he finally said, "Alright, if you both say so. But, gee, it was still cool while it lasted. I really thought that I was finally going to be at my first séance!"

This time Sam had to put more effort into resisting to roll her eyes.

But Tucker just snickered with amusement at the man's words before saying, "Hey, I hope it's gonna be cool just the same because we've never done this before. So, okay, Sam, let's power up!"

The girl really rolled her eyes this time before she dryly remarked, "'Power up'? Where did you get that from? Some lame TV show?"

Tucker's grin never left him as he replied, "Oh, c'mon, Sam! We have to call it something and we can't copy Danny and say we're 'going ghost' especially when it's not a ghost thing and we can't 'go ghost' anyways."

This time Sam's eyes widened in disbelief at what her friend said. Was he _serious_? Nevertheless, she quickly got a hold of herself and dryly said, "It's not a 'ghost thing' either! It's a spirit …er, never mind! Let's just…er…whatever! Let's…uhm, 'power up'!"

Tucker's grin widened to a smile as he settled down and waited for Sam to begin.

In the meantime, Jack had sat down and was listening to the two. He was actually amused by the scene…He was certainly getting to know—and more importantly—_like_ Danny's friends more and more.

A slightly awkward pause passed among the trio as Sam's face twisted with more focus on her—and Tucker's—task. And suddenly, she just knew what she had to do.

A split second later, the girl grabbed her friend's hand and closed her eyes. Bent on reaching Tucker's mind, she immediately concentrated all her thoughts on him….

As soon as Sam had grabbed his hand, Tucker had suddenly felt as if his lungs had constricted and lost all air from them from all the power he had felt emanating from his friend…He really had _no_ idea until now how much spirit power his female friend had…But he hitched in his gasp and controlled his breathing. And seeing that his friend had closed her eyes, he opted to do the same. He knew this would also help him to focus and at least try to connect with Sam like he knew he had done the first time when he had somehow awakened her after she had fainted—even if he didn't in all honesty know how he had done that.

At first, when Tucker closed his eyes and tried to focus, his mind actually went totally blank, as if he had cleaned a slate of all of his thoughts. Though he could feel the hair on the back of his head bristle at the feeling, he swallowed thickly and was determined not to let the uneasy feeling make him lose his concentration. He reflexively squeezed Sam's hand a bit more and relaxed slightly when she squeezed back.

Then slowly, the blackness within Tucker's mind slowly began to brighten. But then he felt a sharp pain right in the middle of his forehead, only that it really felt as if it was _underneath _his forehead. But just as he began to try to push the feeling away, the pain went away almost immediately and he felt as if his mind was drifting, but not in an aimless way. In fact, in the very next moment, he had a very odd, but definite feeling. His first instinct was to resist it. He unconsciously frowned when not only did that feeling intensify, he also suddenly felt _drawn_ to that feeling. But before he could begin to 'move' toward it, he heard a quiet voice speaking to him.

"_Are you still with me, Tucker?"_

He instantly recognized Sam's voice, though he knew she hadn't spoken out loud. Instead, her voice sounded hollow, as if she had been speaking to him within a large cave. Yet, her voice was steady and —thankfully—definitely in control. And he felt he didn't have to ask what he actually knew at that moment: she was speaking to him telepathically.

"_Yes,"_ he found his thoughts saying back to her and he noticed that his voice sounded just as hollow as hers. Now he was more excited than nervous. This was so cool! Still, he remained focus and asked, _"What do we do now?"_

Ignoring the sudden vibes of excitement she had felt coming from her friend, Sam simply replied to his mind, _"After I explain a bit more, concentrate on Danny, but don't concentrate on Danny."_

"_What?"_ he asked in confusion.

Without a hint of impatience or irritation since she knew she was going to have to guide Tucker through this experience, Sam telepathically answered, _"What I mean is when we're ready to focus on Danny, don't try so hard that your face gets all scrunched up."_

Though a bit shocked on how she knew that, Tucker immediately made his face relax, especially when he had not even been aware just now that his brow was tight in concentration until Sam had mentioned it. He slightly opened one eye and saw that her eyes were still closed. He closed his eye again and wondered how she could have possibly known that he had his face scrunched up.

His mind jolted a little when she replied with a bit of hesitancy, _"Uh, I'm not sure how I knew that your face was scrunched up without looking, but I just do. I guess it's just more of that 'Jiva complication' stuff. I hope you don't mind that I can do that."_

Tucker wasn't even aware that he had swallowed thickly. Though he thought it was kind of cool that his female best friend could do that, he had to admit that he was a bit creeped out about it. Nevertheless, he said, _"Uh, no, sure, sure, Sam. I don't mind. I just hope you can't read all of my thoughts right now. I never know what to expect myself!"_

"_I'm not surprised,"_ Sam replied with a slight chuckle, and Tucker could tell she had been saying that just to tease him. "_And don't worry; I so won't go there without your permission. Not even __**I**__ want to know all of that!" _

When she felt him chuckle mentally and calm down after she had said that, she told his mind, _"But I'm glad you're more relaxed now, because the next part is a bit tricky. And that's because I don't know if what you'll feel is the same feeling I get. I know that Danny has a similar feeling, but it's not as intense as mine."_

"_I-Is it going to hurt?"_ Tucker immediately asked with a bit of worry.

Understanding where he was coming from, she mentally answered, "_Well, did you notice feeling a bit of pain or pressure right in the middle of your forehead, uh, I mean, right __**under **__your forehead, as if someone had placed their finger right on your brain just before I spoke with you mentally?"_

"_Uh-huh. And, by the way, that was way too much information, Sam,"_ Tucker mentally replied.

He was surprised to hear her chuckle in response. But then she added, _"Well, it wasn't like you're head was in a vice, of course; but I'm glad you understand what I mean and know it was definitely there. And you're going to feel even more pressure soon. But don't worry. I'll explain more in a second, but you can think of it just being our 'power up' thing, uh, powering up!"_

This time Tucker was aware that Sam was mentally laughing. And he could somehow tell that, underneath that laugh, she kind of liked what Tucker had called it. He mentally smirked but didn't dare interrupt her when they couldn't waste any more time. He waited patiently for her to continue.

"_Okay, let me see if I can explain a bit more about feeling that pressure before we try to redirect our thoughts to Danny,"_ Sam told his mind.

Suddenly, she paused and Tucker felt another weird, yet fleeting, sensation. Once again, he could actually _feel_ her emotions; only this time he could tell that she was extremely worried about their half-ghost friend right after she said his name. But, he said nothing about it and continued to listen for what she would telepathically say.

Needing only a second more to collect her thoughts back to their task, the girl finally relayed to Tucker's brain, _"Okay, more about feeling that pressure thing. I'm sure you felt everything that I'm about to tell you just before we connected, but I want to tell you more so you'll know exactly what it is and be more aware of it. That way, you can actually get more control over it."_

Tucker unconsciously nodded in understanding and then Sam added, "_First of all, we're both are going to try to clear our minds again before we try to use our, uh, telepathic thing. But since we both don't want to lose our own connection, try not to totally clear it. That might be a little hard to do since you've never done it before, Tucker…So, if we get, uh, disconnected, we'll just start all over again, okay?"_

"_Heh-heh, just like speed dialing on a cell phone,"_ Tucker quipped back.

"_Well, sorta, I guess,"_ his friend relayed back to his mind. Still, she continued, _"As soon as you feel that pressure again, give __**into **__it rather than resist it, all the while thinking about Danny, since we're trying to reach him of course. Then, hopefully, you'll feel as if your mind is beginning to drift, but not drift aimlessly. But drift in a definite direction, which is toward connecting with Danny. That is good but it's important to remember that it's then that you can't try to concentrate any longer. Just give into that movement. That's the easy part, really. If it works like it should, and Danny's mind is open to it, we'll connect with him. But since Danny's emotions are all over the place and some of them are very strong, we might not get through. But…"_

Once again, Sam paused and bit a mental lower lip.

Tucker, in turn, mentally frowned, puzzled why she had stopped.

"_Sam, uh, are you alright?"_ the dark-skinned boy asked gingerly, though his telepathic voice was also full of concern.

Somehow, he could hear what seemed to be a sigh coming from his female friend before she mentally admitted, _"Not really. I'm just upset that I couldn't keep my connection with Danny stable when I tried earlier since I know that he's very, very upset about whatever's happening to him and that…"_

"_That blocked your efforts, right?"_ Tucker gently interrupted her. "_Didn't you tell me before that strong emotions can block your telepathic connection? So, really, you can't beat yourself up about that, Sam. I knew all along that if it was anyone could get through to Danny, it would be you."_

Sam silently smiled and she quietly replied, _"Thanks, Tucker. I needed that. It's just that I'm still weak from all that sickness we've had and everything; and I really can't get through to Danny because of that as well. But…I know that we can do it together, uh, especially if we __**both**__ try hard enough, and so we might be able to __**barge **__in on Danny's mind!"_

Tucker felt that Sam had sent that last comment laced with a mixture of confidence, appreciation and even the love of him as a friend.

He mentally smiled before throwing his remark to her brain, _"Okay, Sam, I think I understand. So, let's do it!"_

"_Okay."_

In the meantime, Jack sat both helpless and enthralled at watching the two silent teens. Of course, he didn't know that the two were actively 'conversing' with each other only mentally while he watched, but he did notice something odd with Danny's best friends that infatuated him.

At first, nothing seemed unusual. Sam and Tucker merely looked like they were holding hands and asleep, only that they were sitting upright. But as time went on, all of the sudden, both of their faces relaxed completely. And their breathing slowed and then just as suddenly matched the other's slow, calm rhythm—exactly. It was as if at that moment they were totally in sync with each other. It was both fascinating and spooky to see that.

And really, the man was exactly right with his assumption.

Nevertheless, Mr. Fenton remained quiet, both anxious and hopeful as Sam and Tucker began to use their telepathic powers to try to reach his son. And, just as oddly, the man found himself muttering a small prayer under his breath…

Once again, Tucker tried to clear his mind, anxious to let it go blank without losing his connection with Sam. He almost panicked when he somehow 'felt' that he was losing contact with her. Of course, he knew that Sam wouldn't be upset with him if he did accidentally sever their link, but he was determined not to let that happen and he concentrated a bit more. He knew that she—and really, Danny—were depending on him.

Finally, he relaxed when he somehow knew that he was successful in keeping the channel between Sam and him open while starting a new channel between Sam, him _and Danny_. And that was because he suddenly felt that pressure that he had felt when Sam had first connected with him a few minutes ago. It was exactly as she had described to him. He tried to embrace the feeling as his female friend had instructed.

Shortly after that, however, the bespectacled boy noticed that the pressure and blackness in front of his eyes didn't change even though he was sure a few minutes had passed.

He dared to send his thoughts to his female friend, "_Uh, is this how it usually goes, Sam? Everything seems in such slo-mo."_

"_No, it's not usually like this, Tucker,"_ he heard her hollow telepathic voice reply. _"Usually it's just about instantaneous. But since I still don't feel totally well and something is definitely wrong with Danny, we're being blocked like I feared. So, that means that we're going to have to work harder at doing this."_

Tucker bit his imaginary lip in worry at the way she had said that. She already sounded tired and they hadn't even really begun yet. He mentally blurted out, _"A-Are you sure you can do this, Sam?"_

But he could actually feel his female friend's unquestionable determination and spunk when she replied, _"It doesn't matter what you're feeling about me right now, Tucker. I—uh, __**we**__—have to do it!"_

Once again, Tucker was surprised how she knew what he was feeling. But he brushed it off and girded himself with just as much determination.

They would reach their friend!

* * *

><p>Vlad was anxious but ready to finally push Daniel over the edge. Nevertheless, he waited patiently as he watched Skulker transport the creature — which had been incapacitated enough to be safely taken out of the coffin-like receptacle — to the simulation room. The man didn't notice that the scowl on Skulker's face had never lessened as the Hunter Ghost carefully placed the unconscious creature on the floor next to the younger hybrid, who had been put back into <em>delta<em> sleep just moments before. The hunter then returned to the simulation room.

Vlad eagerly waited until the creature had fully stirred from being stunned—which, unexpectedly, wasn't very long at all. One of the man's eyebrows shot up in a bit more surprise and intrigue when the creature floated up completely off of the floor before fully stretching his hands upward and uttering something unintelligible.

Knowing that the ghostly being was ready, the man signaled his computer to revive the boy…

In fact, in spite of the fact that the older hybrid couldn't make out what the creature was saying, he was 'all ears' now at what was going to happen. After all, he really didn't _know_ what was going to happen. In fact, he didn't even have a 'background' program for this encounter. True, he had used Okulo's orb to tell the creature what to do, but exactly _how_ the creature was going to do that was uncertain.

Still, Vlad swallowed hard when the atmosphere around the creature suddenly morphed after the spirit had uttered his unfamiliar words and then, the creature _disappeared_….

Skulker, too, felt his central core constrict. He suddenly had a very bad feeling about this, especially when what was happening to the atmosphere within the simulation room was _too_ familiar…

But unknown to the older hybrid and the hunter ghost, besides what belonged to them, the creature and Daniel, two more sets of 'ears' would soon be added to the scene….

* * *

><p>Danny had not even tried to get up from off of the floor of the simulation room for the last several painful minutes. He was in the grip of his tormenting emotions so much that he hadn't noticed that he had actually been in <em>delta<em> sleep for a brief period while Skulker was putting his next adversary in here with him; nor did he notice that his ghost sense had been triggered soon after that.

He felt almost stuporous; and he wasn't even aware that he still had his eyes closed after being brought out of _delta _sleep. He was too deep in wrestling with his emotions, and was essentially incapable of thinking things through at this moment. In fact, his thoughts didn't make much sense to him right now and none in particular captured his attention. It was as if he were floating aimlessly, adrift at sea without any hope of ever seeing solid ground again.

But then, his face scrunched up in confusion at what seemed to be a random thought that had bubbled up to the surface of his consciousness. Why did he think about the Observants just now? His brain jolted when that fleeting thought seemed to joggle his memory in the next instant; and he could feel his eyes begin to water. Why didn't they just leave him alone? Hadn't they seen and done enough to him?

But it seemed as if the one-eyed spirits had other plans; for in the next moment, the boy startled. The ground beneath the upset boy began to tremble and even seemed to shift right out from under him. But he didn't move from the spot.

However, Danny recovered when the movement ceased and the thought of moving from his position had yet occurred to him. Instead, he was focused on his next thought. _"So what?"_

He frowned, now surprised that other coherent thoughts pushed outward. '_Let this cursed room change!_ _I don't care if the Observants have another test for me! Can't they see that they're right and I __**will**__ be a threat to everything after all? Then why go through these charades anymore? Why don't they just waste me? _'

But the thought of 'wasting him' just triggered his grief over his dire future with _his_ wasting Sam and Tucker, which then fired up his grief and remorse over the destruction of his other ghost friends by his hand—directly and indirectly. He could feel his heart and core constrict when those thoughts quickly paralyzed any semblance of logic once again. His mind fell into an even more intense grief-stricken disarray immediately afterward.

Suddenly, however, Danny's muddled mind was aware of something extremely weird. His emotions…He wasn't sure why or how he was feeling this, but there was _more_ to them somehow. He had never felt this way before. Incredibly, his out-of-control emotions seemed to _change substance_. They were no longer feelings. Impossible and just as equally odd as it seemed, he now equated his grief to the smell of lilies…only the smell was not at all pleasant. In fact, the lilies were like those which blanketed a coffin left too long in the sun until you could no longer distinguish the smell of decay within and on top of the coffin.

Danny scrunched up his nose in disgust at the smell and immediately felt nauseous. But then, he detected other smells filling his fatigued, confused mind. These were stronger and more putrid and they attacked him all at once. The bombardment was enough to make his stomach wretch and he suddenly heaved, though he coughed up nothing.

But the smells didn't end and he continued to cough from them as if they were toxic fumes. And the more he breathed in their poison, the more his mind drifted away from him.

Now, the young hybrid was no longer aware of the odors since his mind had drifted back into grief—_all-consuming _grief this time... How could he have killed his love, his Sam? How could he even think of doing that? The thought ravaged his mind. Did that mean he would become evil, since he, too, agreed that Sam would always help him remain true to his morals?…He was suddenly afraid to answer that…Still…

How he could kill his best friend? Tucker had stood by and supported him for most of his decisions—even when he or even Sam didn't always agree with his decisions. Tucker understood him at another, different level that was just as important as his connection with his girlfriend.

Danny suddenly startled when he realized that his intangible feelings _had changed substance again_. They were more _tangible_. No. He couldn't believe it! He must be mad now…They had become _audible_!

The angst-filled boy heard the low, mournful clang of a dirge. Then each of its clangs seemed to speed up until they were sounding in the same rhythm of his heart! But the tone was never cheerful or encouraging…only echoing with dread and hopelessness. More sounds clamored all of the sudden, though they were indistinguishable; and yet all of them were assaulting his eardrums!

The pain in Danny's ears increased, which only compounded the pain in his heart! He threw his hands up to his ears trying to stop the vibrations—to no avail! He groaned under the assault and this time yelled in anguish. But that yell was suddenly echoing loudly as if he were in a cave made of metal that was being continuously assaulted with a hammer.

And then the pressure in his brain increased even more. But, this was both audible and not audible. Danny pressed against his ears even more. He thought he heard voices, familiar voices, intermingled in the other din before he felt a bolt of pain jolt his head. But somehow, that pain brought some odd comfort to him and he wanted to draw nearer to the voices. Yet, he couldn't do that, either. He couldn't comprehend that it was his friends trying to reach him telepathically...

Then just as quickly, the atmosphere seemed to snuff out all the sounds and it became silent—strangely silent— once more…

Yet, that oddity was enough of a jolt to let a sane thought escape out of Danny's mind….

_Where was he?_

Danny's weary mind finally realized that he still had his eyes closed. But when he commanded his eyes to open, he gasped.

_The sky!_

It was moving—violently! Right before his shocked eyes the heavens were changing from all violet to all green to all black and then changing again, as if someone was constantly spilling a can of paint before another can of a different color would pour on top of that one, waves and waves of other colors bleeding into the next, ever churning, ever threatening in their pandemonium….

If it wasn't so menacing and surreal, it would have been fascinating to the weary boy. Even still, his mind clamored to know where he was. Was he even in the Ghost Zone? Or was he dead and this was the Observants' designated place of his final damnation?

Danny tried to turn away from the sky when he realized that for some reason, he couldn't! His eyes were glued to the firmament even as it suddenly seemed to bleed red; the sky became so heavy with its scarlet blanket that it was actually as it were being unfurled downward! Huge drops of blood-like rain broke off and came smashing into him, stinging his eyes and staining his costume as if to be sure to mark him of his guilt on what he thought he could never do!

It was enough of a blow to send the boy's mind reeling again and riveting him back to helpless grief. He started to cry again; and he made no effort whatsoever to pull himself out of the puddle of blood-like rain that formed around him and mixed with his now reddened tears.

But then, the red liquid was hungrily drawn in by the black sand that was somehow all of the sudden under him.

Danny hadn't even been aware of the rough crumbly surface beneath him until now because as the rain filtered through, it made a sickly gurgling sound, not unlike a victim choking on the blood gushing from his slashed throat.

But no sooner had the ground drunk the blood-red liquid when the sand had dried—completely. Yet, it was no longer sand…it was now as hard as clay!

"_What is happening?"_ Danny's mind desperately asked as it tried to grasp onto some sort of logic in this…chaotic place…

But suddenly, the young hybrid felt more pressure in his head and then ringing in his ears. He could hear familiar voices once more; and this time they seemed closer, as if they were almost yelling at him. But he couldn't make out what they were saying. In fact, now he couldn't even be certain that his mind hadn't made them all up…

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, shortly after Tucker and Sam had started in their efforts to connect with Danny, Tucker had noticed that all that blackness had almost instantly started to brighten and static electricity-like shooting points of different colored light began to flutter in front of his closed eyelids, as if he had stayed up all night fiddling with his PDA until the systems had overloaded for the umpteen time!<p>

Still, Tucker didn't lose his concentration and soon those agitated points of light changed and seemed to regroup themselves into like clumps of color before slowing down and then melding into…total chaos!

The sky seemed to change colors as quickly as lightning strikes. Sometimes clouds would form only to burst outward like popping corn and splatter into fragments of themselves. And sometimes those fragment or smaller clouds would twist and turn in and on themselves as if they were in a frantic and very bizarre dance contest. Or even more, sometimes the whole atmosphere became totally blank, as if they were trying to tune into an unclear television screen.

"_Whoa!"_ Sam and Tucker mentally yelled in unison at the sight.

"_Is it always like this?"_ Tucker squeamishly asked Sam's mind.

"_I've never seen anything like this before, Tucker,"_ she answered with worry clanging in her voice. _"And all of this crazy stuff with the lights doesn't usually happen. Sometimes things are fuzzy, but they clear up in almost a blink of an eye; and then I can 'see' Danny in my mind—and he can 'see' me, as if we're sitting down somewhere and having our conversation. But this is so different."_

She hesitated once more at the sensation she was getting_. _She didn't understand it, but she couldn't deny her gut feeling about its presence. Somehow, she and Tucker were actually seeing snippets of what Danny was—or maybe _had been_—seeing! She bit a mental lip.

Tucker, meanwhile, was scanning the vision before him. He was both fascinated and creeped out by it. But his thoughts on the matter were interrupted by the sound of his female friend's mental voice.

"_I can't explain it at all, Tucker, but I think that we must be_ _connecting with_ _Danny and somehow are also getting quick glimpses of the stuff he might be seeing, like now."_

Tucker mentally gulped at her reply and the fact that suddenly, their perspective turned downward, like a homing beam zooming in on its target, which in a sense was the truth because they were still in the process of fully connecting with Danny.

And finally they both somehow knew that they had made their link with Danny because they had suddenly felt a barrage of emotions slamming into their minds.

"_We have to keep concentrating!"_ Sam desperately yelled to Tucker even when she was already feeling her powers slip. _"And we have to get closer!"_

Feeling as anxious as she— especially when he didn't have a clue what she meant by that— Tucker hurriedly replied, _"Right! Right! Whatever you say, Sam."_

But then, he felt Sam's hand squeeze his a bit harder. Before Tucker knew it, he felt as if he and his stomach had suddenly plummeted down a roller coaster with a hundred-foot dip. Yet, though he thought the sensation was both scary and thrilling, Tucker somehow knew that they were very close to securing a firm connection with his best friend. In fact, just before he could finally catch his stomach, he heard Sam almost say in a whisper, _"Danny! It's us! Sam and Tucker!"_

"_Yeah, dude! We're here to help!" _Tucker suddenly blurted out in excitement when he just knew that their connection with his best friend was stable.

But much to their chagrin, Danny didn't acknowledge them…

* * *

><p>Now certain that any piece of his sanity was lost with the sound of those annoying yet familiar voices, Danny looked at the fitful sky and found himself softly groaning out, "I must have lost my mind…I'm hallucinating this wacko world! But it doesn't matter because I can't bear all of this pain anymore!"<p>

Once he had said that, however, he felt something…_solid_ form _within_ his bosom! It put an uncomfortable pressure on him, especially when he could swear it was moving, as if a tumor was frantically beating on his insides, eager to rent his skin wide open and spill out its putrid decay!

The feeling actually terrified the boy and he sat up while trying to suppress it. But all that did was make the grief already entangling him surged to an incredible degree. His heart and central core constricted as his thoughts drifted erratically to the vision of a dead Sam, then a lifeless Tucker, then to all the other ghosts that he had destroyed during all of these…trials.

Danny's fitful thoughts halted at the word 'trials', for that's what all of these episodes had to be after all. He no longer believed that the Observants were only 'testing him'. They wanted to see him face—and admit to—his destiny of becoming…evil.

He lay back down, squeezing his eyes tightly together once more, as if that would deny that thought any more entrance into his soul… All that did, however, was compound what was practically consuming him all along anyways: his grief twisted up with guilt and remorse. But then, the pressure from that solid thing within him that hadn't really gone away increased and he felt weaker all of the sudden.

In the next instant, however, he noticed his ghost sense fire off.

Oh. No.

He couldn't do this any longer! He would go completely….mad if he was forced to fight another ghost. He had lost count. Who was left anyways?

He was sure he had fought everyone he knew except…

Danny shuddered and felt that solid form within him move more upward! Even though that made him panic, he could think of only two ghosts that it could possibly be…And he didn't want to face either one…

But then—incredibly—a small thread of hope somehow managed to filter into his brain. It couldn't be either one of those because one was locked up in his coffin and the other was in another dimension…

Wait.

The Observants had already sent him into _other_ dimensions at the blink of an eye—like they said they could do in this putrid room!

Once more, Danny's ghost sense fired off, which, incredibly, actually dispelled his disjointed thoughts.

Danny pulled himself up off of the hardened ground and stood up. But his legs unsteadily held him up since he was so fatigued and on the edge of total mental collapse.

He didn't even know why he even bothered to get up since it wouldn't matter in the end whether he was ready or not….he was going to lose.

His emotions plummeted into a spiral again at the thought. But then, once more, that same uncomfortable pressure like before pounded at him, as if a solid ball of…something was trying to force itself out of him!

Instinctively, he fought the terrifying feeling and then he startled at the sound of a strange voice echoing throughout the still writhing atmosphere.

"_Quod est bonum. Veniat!"_ **[1]** it encouragingly said, before mysteriously adding, _"Et nunc mandatum hoc desiderant!"_ **[2]**

Instantly not liking the voice —especially since he didn't have a clue what it had said —Danny frantically searched all around the ever-changing atmosphere. But he saw nothing.

The boy thought that maybe he had imagined that like all those other thoughts torturing him. Oddly, though, he immediately denied that. The voice was too….disturbing. Though Danny felt sure that it was a male voice, its quality was both hollow and raspy, as if someone had captured the sound of a rusty anvil being filed down inside a hollow metal room and made that echo talk.

But there was more. When he had heard it, it had instantly sent dread up his spine…

Danny gasped when he felt _another_ solid something form within him, seemingly vying with the other ball to shove itself up out of him. He felt his strength yield at the sensation; yet, oddly, the pain that it had caused was actually helping him to focus.

"_Ankoraŭ ne_!" **[3]** the male voice suddenly commanded, almost sounding angry. _"Arte beste. Laugarren dator lehen!_ **[4]**

Danny's eyes widened even as he reflexively filled his hands with green ectoplasm. He did that more in panic than any semblance of grief or defiance. And that's because he understood part of what the creature said just now—but only the first part. He was sure it had spoken Esperanto, then, and it had said, "Not yet!"

"_Not yet?"_ Danny's brain echoed in confusion in spite of his grief and fatigue. _"What does it mean by that?"_

Yet, oddly, those balls within him were no longer moving upward. In fact, he didn't feel any more pressure from either of them. He didn't even know he had slightly relaxed and the green energy in his hands had dissipated just as the orbs within his chest dissolved.

"What are you talking about?" suddenly spilled out of Danny's mouth, though he didn't know why he had even asked.

The raspy, hollow male voice replied, "_Quod est ius. Vobis non nostra linguae."_ **[5]**

But a moment later, Danny finally noticed that a slightly red hue lighted a small area of the now momentarily purple sky when the voice had spoken.

Then the atmosphere glowed slightly in red just as the voice repeated his words so that the young half-ghost would understand. "That is right. You do not know our languages. I find your language…burdensome, but so be it."

Danny frowned. The voice sounded more sympathetic this time. But he was too weary to care. He just wanted to be left alone to his grief.

Suddenly, however, the boy gasped. The atmosphere! It was still purple, but a part of its color seemed to _tear _itself away from the main sheet before it began to take shape right in front of him!

Not a moment later, Danny's ghost sense was screaming out its warning once again just as the….glowing being solidified right in front of him!

All the while, Sam and Tucker hadn't missed anything that Danny had been seeing since they had firmly linked with him, even though their half-ghost friend still wasn't aware of them...

"_W-What is that?"_ Tucker unconsciously asked, though those thoughts had already drifted over to Sam when he had 'seen' a creature he had never seen before.

"_I don't know, Tucker, but I know I don't like it already,"_ she mentally replied.

Even as she conveyed her thoughts to him, Tucker could feel that she had identical feelings about the creature as he.

"_Me, neither," _Tucker agreed_. "And I thought Danny was in the Realm Beyond Time and with Clockwork. This place looks nothing like either of those other places! What gives?"_

"_I don't know why, either, Tucker and I still don't like it!" _the girl mentally added.

Now getting more anxious after 'seeing' the ghost and Tucker's words, Sam desperately tried to throw her thoughts to her boyfriend's mind,_ "Danny, can you hear us?" _

But she continued to hear no response and wondered if Danny even knew that she and Tucker were even in his mind…

Danny stepped back a bit but kept his eyes on what he could see was a male ghost.

The creature was taller and more slender than he. It was dressed in a floor-length, mostly purple robe with full-arm length sleeves. The main part of the robe facing Danny looked as if someone had slapped a dark purple rectangular piece of material right onto the front of the ghost, only it wasn't completely solid in color. Starting at the center of and under the robe's squared neckline and plunging straight down the front part of the robe was a very narrow strip made of a lighter shade of lavender. That thin line glowed brighter than the ghost or its gown and seemed to point the way to the bottom of the robe, where it ended in what could only be described as a lavender-colored sun which seemed to be afire. Four thick rays shot up from that sun, only that those rays never reached above the bottom third of the front of the gown. The rest of the gown flared out in pleat-like yet seamless folds of different shades of purple toward the sides and back.

A similar glowing light purple belt girted the male ghost's waist. The sleeves of the robe matched the color of the front part of the robe and tightly hugged most of the length of his arms before fanning slightly outward from the mid-forearm down. That portion of the sleeve also had pleat-like yet seamless folds of different shades of purple.

The creature's hands and fingers were long and slender; and they were of the same light lavender color as his skin and the belt around his waist. But long black fingernails jutted out from his fingertips.

The skin of the ghost's face was smooth without even a hint that it had ever grown a beard, which only accentuated its angular, dull lavender tone, thin anemic lips, and large, oval-shaped and solid red eyes devoid of pupils. His black hair was cut short enough in the front for his eyes to peek from just under the full bangs, but the rest of his hair was long, thick and straight, and flowed down his back until it ended nestling around the top crest of his hips.

Yet, the creature seemed full-grown in spite of its youthful appearance. The ghost really looked like any other human ghost of a time gone by except for one feature that distinguished him from any other ghost. A pair of full satiny black wings that looked large enough to easily support him aloft if he chose to fly jutted out of his back. In spite of his angel-like appearance, the ghost oddly seemed to exude more menace than hope.

However, before Danny could think, say or do anything else, all of the sudden more…_things_ began to ooze out of the purple atmosphere! But the outlines of these entities' entire bodies were barely separate from the atmosphere in clarity and color. In fact, their dull purple outlines barely glowed; and if it weren't for the fact that they were obviously moving, Danny would have sworn that the entities were merely odd bulges in the surroundings.

The creatures were much, much smaller than the winged ghost and even shorter than Danny.

The boy could not discern any clear features on the beings —like faces or even eyes. But each of them did seem to have some semblance of a body that looked almost human, only that their surreal silhouettes did not hint of any clothing being on them. The creatures said nothing to him or to the taller ghost but they immediately clustered around the winged ghost and squatted at his feet.

Danny —and really, his friends—were stunned at this newest development. They had never seen anything like this before.

But Danny recovered faster than he thought he would. After all, in the end, it didn't matter to him whether these ghosts were here or not. He was through fighting. He had been only momentarily torn from his grief at the sight of these creatures, but they had not succeeded in fully pulling him out of the grief-stricken abyss he was in.

"I haven't seen a ghost—or ghosts—like you before, but it doesn't matter. And I don't know why you're here because I won't fight you. I just want to be left alone," the boy finally sighed, as he began to turn away from the group.

Suddenly, however, the young half-ghost felt another wave of grief grip his chest. He hitched in a gasp when that was followed by a new pressure in his chest. He just knew that another solid sphere of some sort had formed again and was pushing upward from out of his central core!

The winged creature didn't comment on the boy's immediate verbal response. Instead, he was more interested in and excited at what was happening to the boy at that very moment.

"_Jes__, lasu ĝin__iri_," **[6]** the spirit encouraged almost hungrily as his slanted, oval eyes widened a bit and the purple aura around him turned red momentarily until he had stopped speaking. He was so excited that he had momentarily forgotten to speak only in English.

Danny's eyes widened. He had never before seen a ghost's aura do that...

Meanwhile, the humanoid-like forms at his feet moved violently back and forth, as if they were getting more agitated and excited. Yet, they didn't make any noise at all.

"_Let what go?"_ the boy mentally asked himself, repeating what the winged ghost had said since he understood that the ethereal creature had spoken in Esperanto once again just then. It was still odd to the boy that the winged ghost seemed to not speak in one language alone.

But then, his curiosity was piqued. "What…I mean, who are you —all?" Danny blurted out, not knowing what to think, yet trying to beat down the sudden panic that, oddly, seemed to have become another different, yet solid lump within his chest again. It, however, did _feel_ differently than the lump he had felt when he was grieving.

"Who am I?" the winged creature replied. Once again, his aura flared a bright red for a moment just as he spoke before it returned to the dull lavender it had been.

But the tone of the question was as if the ghost was an amnesiac and was really asking the question to himself. And it seemed as if he had purposely ignored the boy's asking about the beings at his feet.

The purple-robed creature then spoke again, but this time, his voice was a bit more assured even though its quality still sounded hollow, raspy and tinny all at once.

The red aura engulfed him again as he spoke, "The spirits here have no names except…."

Interrupting him, Danny blurted out in disbelief, "S-Spirits? You're some kind of spirit?" Now the boy was even more anxious, especially when he felt one of those hard lumps grow within him. He nervously added, "But I've never seen any spirits like you before. A-Are you part of a new race of spirits?"

The spirit splayed out his black wings and stroked them gently downward until he was aloft. The folds of his purple gown seemed to ripple as he floated a bit closer to the boy.

He continued to answer in English. "My concentrating to have you understand is tiring. But, no matter. The tone of your question resonates in the heart of this place," the spirit responded in slight amusement, though the sound of his freaky voice—or the red aura that had briefly sparked as soon as he had spoken again— didn't calm the young hybrid. "But we are not new to existence."

Danny frowned, not understanding what the spirit meant by that. But really, he didn't care to know. He was more worried about those now _two_ solid lumps which seemed to be pressing against his chest, as if they were itching to get out. He then realized that he had felt more paralyzed once the spirit had moved closer toward him.

Sam suddenly mentally gasped! Somehow, she felt as if the inside of her chest was burning!

"_I don't know what's happening to Danny,"_ Sam mentally whispered to Tucker with a voice that had suddenly sounded raspy. _"But I know it's bad and we have to try to get his attention again."_

Tucker mentally frowned. Somehow, he could feel some kind of pain coming from his female friend. That couldn't be right! How could that be possible?

But before any of the three best friends could say any more, the spirit spoke again.

"I will answer your question only once, _iuvenes humano idolon_ **[7],** because you shall not have another opportunity to ask again," the male spirit added, that red aura momentarily flashing as he spoke.

Danny didn't like the sound of that at all. Yet, somehow, he had the sudden feeling that he couldn't really object, especially when he was concentrating on containing those solid…things —that now felt as big as softballs putting pressure on his sternum —and trying to keep them from drifting _upward and getting out_! Instinctively feeling that this was not a good thing, Danny was now too panicked to let them go.

And the fact that he was in more danger from being here had yet to cross his mind.

Nevertheless, the boy's concentration was broken by that eerie, hollow, metallic voice, who was finally answering the question the boy had asked before his mind had fallen into disarray again.

"We spirits here do not own our own name, but have been named by _The Others_."

"_The Others'?"_ Danny repeated mentally only to himself, since he noticed how the spirit had emphasized those words. Not only that, he was also afraid to open his mouth to ask because one of those solid ball seemed to be moving more rapidly upward and actually shoving that _other _solid orb ahead of it!

Sam and Tucker, meanwhile, loudly heard what Danny had just said.

The winged spirit continued, "The other _spirits_—each on the farthest direction of the Ghost Zone in their own realms…"

The spirit suddenly paused, and looked more hungrily at the obviously now panicked Danny, whose body was now partially contorting in place now that he was trying to keep whatever was moving inside of him contained…

Meanwhile, Vlad's eyes widened at the news, as he turned to Skulker and blurted out, "There are **three** more races of spirits other than this one? But I thought there were only _two _others—the Far Frozen and the Realm Beyond Time, and this was a _third_ race of spirits you had discovered!"

His brow furrowing, Skulker tersely replied. "I thought so as well, Plasmius. This is indeed as interesting a development as the fact of what this spirit has done to the simulation room... It is not unlike the place in which I had captured the creature."

Vlad's eyebrows arched up more in surprise… Could it be? However, he didn't want to say anymore at the moment. Fortunately, the spirit had paused and it didn't seem as if Vlad had missed any more important information so far…

Sam and Tucker also raised their mental eyebrows at hearing what the creature had said. They, of course, knew of three races of spirits; but they had no idea about a _fourth_ one…

Nevertheless, the robed spirit felt compelled to continue since it didn't look as if what was still happening within the young half-ghost demanded his _intervention_…yet.

Even still, when the spirit spoke, it seemed once again as if he was musing to himself alone, "Yes, each of our realms are in the farthest corners of the Ghost Zone….One of cold nature to the North, one which is hot to the South, one to the East—that _annoying _realm of _order_ — and ours…"

The winged creature suddenly paused again, as if he was uncertain on what to say next.

Even though he was struggling all this while, Danny had been listening to the spirit. He knew of the other realms. The Far Frozen was at the northernmost border of the Ghost Zone, the Spectre Realm was at the southernmost border, the Realm Beyond Time was indeed at the eastern end and was a realm of order and propriety...

Danny suddenly stopped squirming with his next radical thought. Wait. There was some kind of dichotomy in those realms! But his thoughts were interrupted once more at the sound of the spirit's voice.

And like all the other times, the angel-like spirit's purple aura momentarily flared red before returning to purple between his words.

"Our race has been named by the other three because we were unable to do so. We would not think of naming ourselves because we have no real… identity."

Danny frowned, but he didn't get —or want —a chance to open his mouth as the black-winged spirit continued in that raspy, hollow voice.

"They have called us 'the _Anĝeloj_' **[8].** Though that name is one recognized in our languages, we have also been called 'the _Aingeruak_'**[9].** But our most preferred language is different than the other realms, just as we as a race of spirits are very different from the others. That is why we prefer to be called 'the _Angeli_' **[10]**, while a single one of us is an _Angelus_…I will not, however, translate its meaning to you otherwise, since your language is little spoken here."

Suddenly, Danny felt those two solid spheres within him seemed to scrape their way even more upward. He groaned at the pain even as he still tried to resist the movement. The boy wasn't even aware that the red-eyed spirit had now felt that the time was at hand for him to interfere with what was happening to the young human ghost and was drawing closer to him.

The spirit continued to speak in order to keep Danny distracted from what the spirit's real purpose with the boy was.

"However, since soon you will know everything I mean, I will continue," the winged being began, his voice calm, soft and calculating as he slowly made his way closer to the still-struggling Ghost Boy, "We have no identity….We change with a whim…or due to…other things…"

The spirit smiled in satisfaction when he was nearly where he wanted to be. His black wings hardly made a sound as they continued to propel him closer to the thrashing half-ghost.

Still, the angel-like creature continued to speak, "Ironically, there is only one among us who can claim any semblance of leadership because he is the only one who can become all and command all like no other _Angelus_….Therefore, he has command of his…name."

Suddenly, the robed spirit bent down toward the boy. He jutted his purple hand forward toward the mouth of the writhing boy and then like a flower suddenly erupting from its thick stem, just as suddenly opened his hand wider. The aura around his hand turned a deeper shade of purple.

The moment that the _Angelus_ did that, Danny screamed in pain just before he felt both a force and that strange solid object clog his throat! He started choking on the feeling as he fell to the ground in agony.

Just then, the _Angelus_ splayed his black wings to their fullest width and cried, "I claim this, for I am _Angelus-_**_aegrum_**_!_" **[11]**

As soon as the echo of the spirit's voice died out, Danny felt a large hard ball being yanked out of his throat! The boy cried out in pain once again just after a glowing purple orb was pulled from his mouth.

And at the same time, Sam had felt as if she were choking and gasped as the orb was pulled from her boyfriend's mouth! But the sensation ceased for the girl when she felt Tucker's hand squeeze hers back. Yet, all the while, the girl felt drawn to the orb she saw floating toward the ethereal creature's hand….She couldn't understand why she thought that the orb felt so…emotional. Maybe she was losing it, too!

In the next second, however, the girl had forgotten that thought, for the aura around the spirit's hand dulled before he slammed it shut around the purple orb and snapped his arm back. He then suddenly pulled the glowing sphere to his own lips and quickly devoured it!

The silhouette lavender creatures at his feet almost instantaneously increased their movement in agitation. Danny could see poorly defined limbs reaching upward toward the orb before the spirit had eaten it, as if they had wanted the thing as well. However, they still did not utter any sound even though they looked very agitated.

But then, the winged spirit unexpectedly began to weep! Right after that, his black wings completely covered him as if they were a shroud and for a few minutes, he trembled underneath his wings.

"Yes, just what I needed," the _Angelus_ finally said as he folded his wings behind him again.

Danny, however, felt a rush of panic sweep over him.

Though deep purple tears were still streaming down the spirit's flawless lavender cheeks, the tone of the spirit's voice was not comforting at all. It was now an odd mixture of greed, strength _and_ intense sadness.

All the while the winged spirit was speaking to the half-ghost, he had ignored the excited beings at his feet. Not only that, but his aura had immediately brightened right after he had consumed the purple orb.

Sam and Tucker were not aware that their mental eyes had widened in both surprise and dread at what they had just witnessed, especially when they could feel their half-ghost friend's panic even when it was a strong enough emotion that should have blocked their ability to sense it.

Indeed, they were right. In spite of still panting with the pain, Danny's entire face lit up in panic with what the spirit had just did and said. And the more that feeling swelled in him, the more that second orb seemed to swell within him and _move upward_ again! Not only that, Danny had felt weak, even drained, after that spirit had taken that glowing purple orb out of him….as if he had….lost something very important.

Just as the boy was slowing his breathing down, however, he realized that he no longer had any strength to fight the panic that seemed to be taking root in him at the moment! He tried to fight its becoming full-fledged panic, but he was barely succeeding. And even though he might regret asking, he wanted to know what that purple orb was and so he stammered, "W-What d-did you do to me?"

_Angelus-__aegrum_ smiled mournfully and purposely didn't answer the boy's question as he added in a slow voice mindful of a poet reciting a dirge, "Sadly, I am so hungry…We hardly are given victims anymore…"

"_Victims?"_ Danny's mind screamed, before feeling his heart and central core tighten.

"_Victims?"_ The word also echoed in Sam's and Tucker's minds.

They, too, felt their hearts constrict, but they still concentrated in order to be able to listen to what was happening; and more importantly, try to help their friend as best as they could at the moment. And even though they didn't like the fact that they could somehow sense that their friend had been weakened by the spirit a few moments ago, it was sort of fortunate that it had because now Danny couldn't block their telepathic link in spite of the fact that their half-ghost friend's emotions had significantly increased…

"_Victims?_" Vlad almost blurted out in near panic as well. Just what kind of creature had he brought here, especially to face such a disheartened Daniel? He couldn't just 'shut the program' off because this creature was _real and creating its own 'program'_! Still, he was so close to breaking his young foe, he couldn't make himself do anything about what was happening right now. Besides, he felt that he would be able to control the creature in the end if he had to, since he had Okulo's orb.

Skulker, meanwhile, tensed at the word but said nothing.

But the man's and the Ghost Hunter's thoughts were interrupted by Daniel's next words…

"W-What do you mean by that?" Danny half-demanded, even as he felt as if his spine was now alive with his increasing panic.

_Angelus-__aegrum_ locked his eyes on Danny and the boy felt as if he couldn't break away from the mournful stare emanating from the spirit.

Nevertheless, the spirit didn't change the sorrowful tone of his tinny voice—though the tone was still mixed with a kind of threat—as he sighed in sadness, "Our central cores are constantly changing, under a constant civil war as it were, for each core always has embers of the nourishment it has consumed in the past. Each ember is always struggling to not be the last to burn out, even if that has never happened to an _Angelus_ in all of history. But also, each spark of nourishment wants to be the strongest within the struggle. And so, each of those embers vies for any new food it is given to be enkindled in renewed strength and pronouncement. We do not care which ember is the strongest. But whatever is the strongest at the moment governs our central core. Therefore, as a result of this crescendo of forces, our central cores are never static in temperature. We adapt quickly to whatever sustenance we can take from our victims."

The spirit's solid red oval eyes flared in more malice than sorrow as he added, "But more importantly, we adapt quickly to any circumstance that will provide us with our victims."

The _Angelus_ then resumed with a more mournful tone to his voice, "For this reason, we _Angeli_ are the most feared of the spirits. So feared, we must be guarded from ever escaping our realm. In fact, even the name of our realm inflicts the other spirits' central cores with fear, especially our counterpart in the East. Ironical, though, because once again, we did not name our realm. _They_ named us in their inferior language…"

"Why are you telling me that? And I still do not understand," Danny managed to interrupt the spirit in spite of the fact that his panic was increasing by the millisecond. And with his mounting emotion, he just knew that solid orb inside of him was _growing in size_.

Once again, it seemed as if _Angelus-__aegrum_ either didn't hear or was purposely ignoring the boy. He turned slightly away from Danny before he continued, once again, as if reciting a soulful ode only to himself, "We hunger for any ember of nourishment, which your kind call 'emotions'; yet we have no command of them. It is truly ironical once more that we are always hungry; yet once we have eaten, we are never satisfied. Nevertheless, we can go for eons with the pain of starvation until we are allowed a victim."

The spirit turned his red eyes back upon the young hybrid and Danny felt that solid sphere within push upward in a hitch! He immediately began to squirm at the discomfort. Not only that, he panicked even more when he saw the hunger in the spirit's eyes.

"_Yes, you are ready now!"_ _Angelus-__aegrum_ suddenly cried in one of his native languages, his voice more excited than mournful now. And he looked the best of strength.

Suddenly however, the entire atmosphere turned from being all purple to being completely orange. And almost as sudden, the winged spirit morphed. Though almost everything was the same about him, including the length and style of his hair, his features, his wings and his long robe, he was no longer black-winged or black-haired or wore purple. The spirit now had red-hair and equally red wings; yet his skin-tone was now sickish orange in color though his long fingernails were now blood-red. His robe, however, was also now painted in different shades of orange. The main body of the robe was the color of carrots with lighter shades of orange in its pleats, belt and the abstract flaming sun which adorned the front of his gown. His spirit aura was a dull orange as well; but his eyes, though still solid and red, were more vivid in color, as if the solid orbs were now filled with fresh human blood!

And the barely formed creatures at his feet had also changed from solid dark lavender to a dark apricot in color. No sooner had they changed in color than they became excitable, with their bodies writhing in anticipation.

His wings now fully expanded again, the _Angelus_ then commanded, "I claim it once more, for I am _Angelus-**aestus**_!" **[12]**

As soon as he proclaimed his new name, the now orange aura around the winged spirit flared red between each word as what had happened when the _Angelus_ was dressed mostly in purple.

But in the next instant, the spirit's long, slender arm reached over to Danny.

Danny reflexively pulled back this time. But oddly, he didn't think of filling his hands with his energy in defense. His exhausted mind was slowing becoming paralyzed with terror. However, his body was still lying on the ground and twisting in agony as it had shortly after he had first encountered this _Angelus _face-to-face. Not even a moment later, however, Danny was once again choking on that large sphere as it moved upwards and through his mouth!

This time, _Angelus-aestus_ captured a glowing orange orb that he had called forth from out of the young hybrid. He ignored the boy's scream of agony as the sphere came out and rapidly took a large bite out of the orb! But then, instead of continuing to feast on the orange ball, he reached down and extended it to the orange-colored creatures at his feet.

Sam, meanwhile, had felt her own strength wane at what was happening to her boyfriend and she unconsciously squeezed Tucker's hand for strength. She had already felt as if she had begun to choke at the same time that her boyfriend did. But more than that, she was more certain that the…ball that came out of Danny was somehow, an _emotion!_

Tucker mentally frowned. But he hadn't felt what Sam felt. He was so stunned at what was happening to his best friend that he felt compelled to keep his mental eyes glued onto the scene….

Danny wasn't even aware that he had pulled himself up to an unsteady stand. All his attention was focused on the immediate change of events. He could see long, emaciated orange finger-like extensions jut upward from each of the creatures before their sharp orange nails tore at the orb. And like the victim in the midst of a frenzy of hungry piranhas, the orb convulsed as it was quickly destroyed and its pieces then devoured by the apricot-colored creatures.

Once again, Danny felt even more weakened by the event. He also felt lighter for some reason. He chanced to look down and he gasped. But then he frowned. He didn't gasp in panic as he had expected because that was what he had feeling before the _Angelus_ 'attacked' him just now. He gasped in surprise. Still, it didn't change the fact that his feet were now translucent and were actually beginning to blend into the orange surroundings!

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Vlad, too, had noticed that Daniel's feet were becoming translucent. And that all of the monitors' readings were in more of a scramble and were jutting erratically on and off of the charts. But he had had thought that was because of the state of the boy's mind; little did he know that that was only part of the reason.<p>

The other reason was because Daniel's telepathic powers between his friends had been activated, even if the boy wasn't even aware of it at the moment because of all of his out-of-control emotions. But more importantly, Danny was not aware that his link with Sam and Tucker was intact because he was too fatigued to really block their combined effort to reach him, even if his emotions were high because no emotion was able to fully command his mind at the moment.

Vlad turned to his computer and asked, "Maddie. I know that I did give this spirit some leeway in whatever means he wanted to use to control Daniel. But is how Daniel's legs looking real?"

"Uncertain," she replied after looking at some monitors. "The test subject's life vitals are not in any kind of critical stage. They are heightened, but that would be expected under the circumstances. However, the readings of the state of his mind are in a chaotic flux; which means you may have reached your objective."

Vlad frowned at pondering her comments. True, he had wanted to have Daniel reach this point. And though it had taken longer than he had even imagined it would, his simple objective to deprive the boy of his much needed REM sleep so as to cause the boy's mental collapse was finally a success. Even his contrived 'dreams' that he had thrust upon the boy did not qualify as the unrestrained REM sleep all humans needed. He knew that Daniel's stubbornness had been part of the reason as to why it took so long. The boy's blasted 'hero complex' was another factor no doubt.

But what he could not know, however, was that another reason why it had taken so long was because being sleep-deprived was part of the 'usual' routine for the boy in his life as a superhero; and therefore, the teen would have been able to withstand quite a bit more of sleep deprivation. But the main reason that Daniel had been able to resist getting to this point of nearly complete mental collapse after all that had happened to him was for a deeper, more profound reason—something of which neither of the hybrids were even aware…

Nevertheless, Vlad was beginning to get uneasy about the turn of events. He unconsciously glanced over at Okulo's orb and felt a little better. Nevertheless, he finally said, "Alright, my dear. We'll wait a bit more. Just be sure to let me know if Daniel's vitals get any worse."

The man then turned back to the window and continued to watch.

He barely had heard Maddie say, "As you command, sir."

* * *

><p>In all this while, however, Danny had neither objected to what was being done to him nor thought about defending himself. From the moment he had heard the <em>Angelus's<em> voice, all that filled his mind were his jumbled thoughts oddly intermixed with a curiosity to explain all of this…and a sudden new sensation: an odd 'affinity' toward the _Angelus!_

_Angelus-aestus's _face almost looked as that of a father caring for his children as he looked down at the creatures at his feet as they fed.

In short order, the groveling creatures were done and the red-winged spirit was pulling his eyes back on Danny.

He said, "You are a choice victim, Danny Phantom! Your being is full of what I and my _Parvuli_ **[13]** need." He paused and added more definitely, "Yet, it is harder than usual to get from you what we want. I do not understand why, but it does not matter in the end because I always get what I want and what I need. For you see, though I can thrive on **all **of the emotions, I am most nourished by the good emotions of ghosts or spirits, while my _Parvuli_ live off of the bad emotions. In case you did not understand, I devoured all of your grief that I pulled out of your being. Grief is in reality a positive feeling for it comes from love, which is the strongest and purest of emotions."

Danny looked straight at the spirit in disbelief. Did he hear that right? But now that he thought about it, he was _no longer_ grieving for anyone or anything shortly after that purple orb was pulled out of him. And then he startled slightly. He no longer felt _panicked_ as well once the _Angelus_ had yanked that glowing orange orb from out of him! But the loss of those emotions didn't make him feel any better. In fact, he felt totally drained—and even _empty_— and so weak that he thought his knees might buckle. But his dulled mind couldn't comprehend that the reason why he felt that his knees might buckle was that the translucence of his legs had spread upward. Nevertheless, the teen pulled his eyes up and looked at the _Angelus_ when the spirit began to speak again.

The _Angelus_ inadvertently confirmed the boy's thoughts when he then said, "But 'panic' is a negative emotion, which is why I only ate a little of it. My _Parvuli _thrive only on negative emotions and depend on me to feed them whenever I come across such emotions!"

Though definitely not thinking clearly at all because he was so weak from his lack of adequate sleep, food and what the _Angelus_ had done to him, Danny blurted out, "I don't understand".

"It is not necessary for you to understand, _iuvenes humano idolon_ **[7]**," the red-winged spirit assured him. "For, soon, it will not matter. In the meantime, I will have it!"

Danny hitched in a gasp when he felt another solid orb suddenly form within him! Not only that, but he suddenly was washed in an emotion he hadn't been feeling at all a moment ago! Even though it really was very appropriate to be feeling this emotion now, he couldn't help but be very scared at being here. In fact, the emotion was so strong, he felt as if he were a deer in the headlights and frozen in place. Yet, his face belied the fearful emotional turmoil swirling within him.

"Please," Danny began to beg, feeling his spine and really his entire body weaken with the mounting fear. "Please stop it!"

But as every time before, the spirit still seemed to either not hear or purposely didn't pay attention to what the young hybrid had said because the red-winged spirit then raised both of his arms overhead. Immediately the sky bled yellow and quickly enveloped the tall spirit and his _Parvuli_. In nearly an instant, the color of the main part of the spirit's robe had morphed to a bright canary with its pleats flaring out in varying shades of yellow; his skin had a deep olive hue; and his wings, fingernails and hair had become emerald before he cried out, "I claim it, for I am _Angelus-**adficio**_ **[14]**!

This time, Danny's body jerked upward and his head unwittingly fell back at the force the spirit was asserting upon him. The pain started again as the orb formed and moved upward. But the orb now moved more swiftly upward since Danny was so paralyzed with fear and had already been weakened that he could not resist it. In fact, the boy was so seized with terror that he couldn't even yell out from the pain.

Not a heartbeat later, and a bright yellow orb was pulled out of Danny's mouth in the same manner as the other two orbs had been taken.

Danny crumbled to his knees against the yellow ground as soon as the emotion was taken from him.

Once again, the emerald-winged spirit carefully cradled the buttery-colored glowing orb to his mouth. He took a small bite from it before extending it to the writhing yellow-colored _Parvuli_ reaching upward while still at his feet!

And as before, the _Parvuli_ ripped at the orb and consumed it even faster than they had the last orb…

Meanwhile, Danny's two friends were also panicking at what they were 'seeing'.

"_We've got to do something, Tucker! That thing is killing him, I just know it!"_ Sam immediately cried in panic to her friend's mind before looking in desperation at the spirit. She suddenly jolted at an odd sensation that unexpectedly ran through her. But she shook it away, turned back at her boyfriend and mentally screamed, _"Danny! Danny!"_

But Danny didn't acknowledge her cries; and even Tucker was getting seized in the same panic as his female friend.

Meanwhile, Skulker continued to observe everything in silence. But Vlad was growing more concern at the turn of events, but hesitated to interfere. After all, he just knew that Daniel was going to be completely broken mentally any second now…

* * *

><p>Sam and Tucker continued to wrestle with their own emotions over what they had been witnessing. They really didn't know what to think of it, and, more importantly, what to do about it. They felt helpless at first, and also felt their telepathic link waning. But they tried to remain focused as they searched their minds on what to do...<p>

However, before they knew it, they were gasping out loud. Each of them opened their _real_ eyes fully, and gasped in panic now that they realized that they had unwittingly broke their link with their half-ghost friend!

Though Sam had a strange sensation that the telepathic pathway to her boyfriend was already 'marked' just as easily as a hewed out path was to an explorer, she was still very upset when she fully came back to 'reality'.

She turned to her friend and anxiously blurted out, "I'm sorry, Tucker! I didn't mean to have that happen! I should have tried harder and not let our link weaken. But I couldn't think of what to do, and that broke my concentration!"

"Don't beat yourself up anymore, Sam, okay?" Tucker replied with a concerned yet sympathetic frown, especially when he could see how obviously drained she looked. "It's not like I was having any better of a time controlling my emotions, either! And I didn't know what to do, either!"

Suddenly the two startled when another voice piped in.

"What happened?" Jack finally blurted out, no longer able to keep quiet.

However, when the large man saw that he had startled the two, he sheepishly added, "Uh, sorry to scare you like that. It's just that you both have said nothing for over thirty minutes. And, heh-heh, there was this purplish-pink aura surrounding the two of you the entire time, until, uh, now, that is. Though that was kinda spooky to see it, you both were still breathing the entire time, so I decided not to interrupt you. But I'm glad you're back…"

But Tucker excitedly interrupted him. "We had some kind of aura around us? Sweet!"

Sam was also amazed at the news but immediately reacted to the part she didn't like. She groaned in chagrin, "Purple-pinkish? Why couldn't it have been black?"

Tucker looked at her and chuckled slightly before they both sobered up. After all, both of them knew they had little time to come up with some sort of plan and get back to helping their friend. Still, they obliged Danny's father and hurriedly began to tell him what had happened so far. Maybe he could think of some way to help Danny!

"I knew you would find my son, kids," Jack finally said appreciatively. But then he added with more apprehension, "But you say some kind of spirit has Danny as his prisoner?"

"Yes, Mr. Fenton," Sam confirmed, swallowing thickly right after that. "But the important thing we have to figure out is how to keep this spirit from hurting Danny even if we can't actually be there. And we have to hurry!"

Both Jack and Tucker's eyebrows shot up in surprise and confusion. They knew the girl was still weak, but they didn't think she had completely lost it. How could they really help Danny when they couldn't be wherever he was?

But before either of them could ask her what she meant, Sam continued, "We have to do something! That spirit was able to pull several…things…out of Danny…and then he ate them!"

"Or fed it to these creepy creatures that kept near him," Tucker said with a shudder.

Mr. Fenton gasped, "Creepy creatures?"

The two teens hurriedly explained that detail before the man added, "And you say that that winged spirit took something…uhm, permanent out of Danny?"

"We don't know; but it was something important that was definitely…hurting Danny!" Sam said, her voice cracking a bit.

Jack's eyes widened in dread and he immediately asked, "Have you seen this spirit before?"

He paused when he saw the two teen shake their heads denoting a definite 'no'. Now he was very worried. Even his next thought made him even more apprehensive. But he felt the urgency of not thinking of himself and said with a sliver of hope, "Danny's mom and I have been compiling a list of ghosts and spirits. Maybe we can see if we have any information about him."

"Well, he called himself a few different names—at least three of them," Tucker began. "I wonder why…"

"And he also calls his race of spirits 'the _Angeli_,' Sam piped in, though she had furrowed her brow in thought at Tucker's question.

"Or the _Anjellojoj_' or something that sounded like '_Angerwok_' or something like that," Tucker added.

Sam nodded and continued, "But we don't know the name of their lair, though we know it's at the westernmost part of the Ghost Zone."

Jack grabbed his chin in thought and frowned. "That doesn't ring a bell when it comes to the ghost list we have. But you sure that he had a least three names, Tucker?"

"Yeah, and it spoke at least four different languages, too," the boy replied.

"Wow, really? That sounds like one mixed-up ghost," Jack flippantly said.

"_Mixed-up?"_ Sam mused silently to herself, _"That's it! That feeling I had…Maybe that means that that Angelus isn't that strong…He might be weak—"_

She brightened at her next wild thought. Why hadn't she thought about it before? She hadn't tried to do _that_ before… Still…Maybe it was possible because she had noticed for a while that her 'Jiva complication' had enhanced other stuff, stuff she didn't want to admit to herself, much less her friends.

Immediately disagreeing with herself, the Goth girl mentally frowned. She still felt weak from that sleeping virus, or whatever that was….No. She frowned again, now irritated with herself. She may still not have fully recovered, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from doing whatever it would take to help her boyfriend! Especially when she had a strong hunch that the _Angelus_ had just given her the key to defeating him!

Now both excited and determined about her idea, Sam suddenly blurted out, "That might do it!"

Meanwhile, the two males had been at a loss for words right after Mr. Fenton's last comment, and were especially perplexed when they noticed how quiet Sam had gotten, only to startle at her sudden outburst.

Smiling a bit sheepishly, Sam said, "Sorry about that." But then she got a bit more excited and quickly added, "But I think we can still help Danny!"

"Really?" Tucker replied, his face brightening.

"That's great, Sam!" Mr. Fenton piped in before frowning in confusion. "Uh, how are we going to do that?"

Sam paused. She knew it sounded crazy; but in the end, she didn't care what the two males would think, because she just knew she was right. She then replied, "Okay. Tucker, you know how we had a hard time keeping our connection with Danny because his, and, uhm, our own emotions were so erratic?"

Tucker slowly nodded, though he still didn't have a clue what she was going with this.

Mr. Fenton, all the while however, just looked back and forth at the two as they continued with their conversation.

The girl swallowed a bit thickly but continued, "And remember that the _Angelus _spirit said he and his race had 'embers of emotions' within their central cores? And that they were always hungry for emotions and never satisfied even when they had already did, just like after he said he actually, uh, ate Danny's emotions?"

Mr. Fenton gasped at the girl's comments but the two teens ignored it.

"Yeah, that's right, Sam! He did," Tucker replied before shuddering and adding, "He also said that they were hungry all the time. Very creepy!"

Sam nodded but didn't stop. "But this is the important thing. Didn't you notice that each time that _Angelus_ spirit ate what must be…emotions from Danny, it actually _showed_ a lot of some kind of emotion after that?"

"Yeah," Tucker agreed once again, though he was still confused about the girl's point. "But what's that got to do with helping Danny?"

Sam huffed a bit in exacerbation before answering him, "But don't you get it, Tucker? Don't you think it's odd that this very powerful spirit is actually controlled by _the very thing_ he eats? And even odder that he changes his name and language a lot? And that he always wants to have more and more? So, maybe that means that in the end the _Angelus_ might not be able to control his emotions—or maybe even his thoughts. And if that is so, then that means we might be able to control any of those kinds of things within him!"

Both Tucker and Jack blinked in total confusion at what the girl just said.

"Uh," Tucker finally uttered, "Uh. I know you're upset and still recuperating, Sam, but how do you know that?"

She looked at him in that same strong stare that she had when she knew she was right. It still creeped out the dark-skinned teen a bit because it seemed as if she could look right through him, but the boy swallowed thickly and pressed on, "Okay, maybe you do know—somehow. But then, if you're right, you're talking about trying to control a _spirit_, Sam! I mean, I don't even know how to control _a ghost_, much less control a spirit, which is definitely way more powerful than a ghost!"

Jack then piped in, "But didn't you kids say you got your 'power up' thing from spirits?"

"Yeah, from the Spectre!" Sam replied, encouraged that it seemed as if at least Danny's father was catching on—as odd as that seemed to her.

"Yeah, I know that, Sam!" Tucker said, now getting exasperated. But then he strongly reiterated, "But you're talking about trying to control a _spirit_! We can't do that!"

"Hear me out, Tucker," the girl said in earnest. Yet then she hesitated a bit. Growling at herself for worrying about what the two males would say, she made herself say, "I've had a lot of, uhm, different feelings with the 'Jiva complication'. And I, uh, can sometimes, uhm. Well, I can actually feel the thoughts and, uh, feelings of others."

"You can?" both makes said in unison, shocked at what she said.

She wasn't even aware she was blushing when she continued, "I-It's not like I'm trying to pry, you know. Sometimes, it just…happens! The good thing is that I can block it. But I can't help when it happens sometimes. Like I think I could feel the _the emotions_ and even _some of the thoughts_ of the _Angelus_; and I wasn't even trying to do that… And his thoughts were definitely all over the place! But the emotions weren't even noticeable until he, uhm, ate those different colored orb things…But what if we try to connect to the thoughts of this spirit on purpose? What if we could control his thoughts, too, especially when they are so chaotic?"

Tucker's eyes widened at the thought. It both fascinated him and freaked him out since it was a very dangerous thought. But at this point, he—and he knew Sam—was so desperate to save Danny that he was willing to do anything even something crazy like this!

However, before Tucker could share his thoughts on Sam's idea, Jack spoke up. "Wait. Hold on, kids. This sounds like some dangerous territory. And I don't just mean the obvious danger, but….. Sam. Tucker," Jack said with that surprisingly tone of complete seriousness. "Even if you both could do this, I want you kids to at least think about what it is you'll be doing. You'd be controlling another being's mind… That's something that could affect you kids mentally and emotionally… I am willing to do anything, too, to save my son; but I also can't be selfish and just let you all jump right into this idea without you being sure of _what it would mean_…"

At first, Sam's eyes widened in shock at his words. She had never thought about it in that way. She was just so emotionally distressed and wanted to save Danny! But now that Mr. Fenton had mentioned the morality side of things… her level-headed nature began to pull itself out from all her emotional distress.

And yet, she frowned in sudden indecision. She knew all too well how it felt to do things with good intentions and then have them turn into horrible things. She knew how it felt to be so close to evil… and taking over a being's mind—ghost or not—could bring her closer to evil again if she wasn't careful.

Tucker seemed to be debating his own sudden impulse to tell Sam that they should try her idea anyways. But in his case, it was more with the fear of the consequences of what doing something like this could be….

Tucker looked at Sam and said quietly, "Do you really think you—or we—could do this Sam?"

But the way he asked it, he clearly was implying so much more.

Sam's shoulders slumped in defeat as she replied, "Maybe Mr. Fenton is right, Tucker. I-I thought this was the way we could help Danny. I-I didn't mean to sound as if I wanted to control—"

Mr. Fenton interrupted them. "Just a minute, Sam."

The set of amethyst eyes met the man's own blue eyes.

"I never meant to imply that you would _want_ to, uh, control anyone's mind, let alone use your powers for evil," he assured her. "After all, I know you well enough to say that I don't think that you would ever really want to control anybody, especially, heh-heh, because I think you really don't care what others think about things, uh, right?"

The man smiled sheepishly when Sam nodded in agreement before he continued more seriously, "Well, we all know that Danny is in big trouble, probably even in grave danger. And when it comes to life-and-death, if there is any way to stop this creature from trying to hurt him and we don't try, then I think it would be worse for us not to use that…gift you and Tucker and my son have…"

He grew even more sober as he added, "I only felt it was my duty to make sure you both thought this true completely, so that you don't regret anything later. I want you all to be sure of what you are thinking of doing before acting on this. Trust me, I've done more than enough impulsive things in my life and… I don't want you kids making the same mistake…"

But as he said the last sentence he looked away as he shamefully remembered how he had hurt others because of his impulsiveness.

Sam and Tucker stared at the man for a moment. But they looked both surprised and awed by this side of him they had never seen before. Nevertheless, the trio was quiet for what seemed like eons mulling over what everyone had said when Tucker finally broke the silence.

He quietly said, "I still don't even know if you really can control anyone's mind, much less a spirit, Sam. And I know I can't even begin to try…But I also know you wouldn't use it for evil. So, if it's our best shot in helping Danny, then I say let's do it! And I'll do whatever you tell me to do!"

Sam sighed in relief and replied, "Thanks, Tucker. I think I can try to do it with your help."

Tucker nodded at the girl before she turned to Danny's father and frowned. Though she knew she didn't have to say it, she felt she had to. After all, she realized that the temptation to use it for evil would always be there…

Sam swallowed hard before she continued, "And I promise you, Mr. Fenton—and Tucker, too—that I promise on my love for Danny never to use this…gift for evil."

Mr. Fenton softly smiled and quietly said, "I already knew that, Sam, but I'm glad I heard it directly from you."

"Me, too, Sam," Tucker added.

Jack then urged , "Okay, now that we know all of that, don't you think you two should get going again and try to do your 'power-up' thing again and help my boy?"

Danny's best friends nodded and smiled weakly back at him. They immediately took a deep breath, lay back against the couch, closed their eyes, and concentrated.

At first, they weren't certain they could do it. Their emotions were as much afire with multiple emotions as their half-ghost friend. But as they tried to steel their minds toward their mission, one strong emotion surfaced from all the other ones they were feeling to the forefront: determination. And they were determined to somehow help Danny!

And not too long afterward, Mr. Fenton saw that purplish-pink aura appear again…

* * *

><p>Sam and Tucker soon found out that they had to actually concentrate harder to re-connect with their half-ghost friend. Somehow, they could feel that Danny's thoughts and emotions were even more erratic than before and that was therefore making their attempt to re-connect with him extremely difficult.<p>

In fact, Sam and Tucker shared a fleeting thought that they would fail. But when each of them realized that thought, they reflexively increased their efforts to reach their friend.

Finally, the path opened to them. They both relaxed momentarily until what they heard next:

Danny was screaming in pain as yet another emotion was being sucked out of him!

Sam and Tucker's hearts skipped a beat in unison but they didn't lose focus as their mental eyes and ears drew near the scene.

Both of their mental faces puckered in worry and slight confusion, however, when they could see that they had stopped moving mentally, which meant that they should have been connected to their half-ghost friend. But the scene they could 'see' was blurrier than it had been before. And most of the atmosphere was now more copper-like in color than when they were last here.…They wondered why when, suddenly, their brains startled at what could be the reason. They could sense that the scene was blurry because Danny was quickly losing all focus. Nevertheless, they could still 'see' and 'hear' well enough of what was happening…

"Yes, this emotion is even sweeter than the previous one," the raspy voice of the winged spirit practically gushed while wiping his mouth with the back of his hand in satisfaction.

Sam and Tucker could make out the _Angelus_, only they were looking up at him, as if they were near the ground. Once again, the spirit had transformed only in color—except for his eyes. His hair and nails were now greenish-blue in color and his robe was in various shades of glistening copper.

The two teen instinctively knew that the winged creature must have taken even more from their friend, especially when they now concluded from this angle that Danny was on his knees at the foot of the spirit and that he was still panting in pain from having another emotion yanked out of him.

And they were indeed right. In fact, the creature had called himself _Angelus- **abundantia **_**[15] **right before he had yanked a copper orb out of Danny.

The creature continued, "Your compassion for others is extraordinarily strong and it and of itself could nourish me indefinitely. But I must have more for my _Parvuli._ Nevertheless, it is both a shame and an honor that you will be totally mine soon."

"W-What do you mean by that?" Danny managed to pant out —though, coincidentally, he and his two best friends had actually asked the question at the exact same time.

Though the copper-robed spirit had not initially planned to answer most of the young human ghost's questions, he paused for a moment…And that was because—and without his permission—the _compassion_ that he had just taken from the boy stirred within his bosom; and now, he _couldn't_ keep from answering the young creature kneeling at his feet.

_Angelus-abundantia_ pointed down to the copper-colored entities writhing on the ground not too far from the Ghost Boy, and replied sympathetically, "You see the creatures here at my feet? They were once human ghosts who wandered into our realm either by accident or folly. They endured what you are enduring these past moments, which is, of course, having their emotions leached out of them…"

The _Angelus _then pointed to Danny's lower body, which was now transparent and also blended into the copper atmosphere and continued, "Like them, your becoming a part of this realm is more and more evident."

Oddly, the winged spirit suddenly turned away from the boy and looked right at what was supposed to be the stealth window of the simulation room.

Vlad's eyes widened in disbelief and he squelched a shudder that began to run up his spine. It was as if the _Angelus_ could see right through the window _and him_ at the same time! What did the creature mean by 'a part of this realm'? The spirit was still in his stimulation room! Still, the man refused to believe anything but that the spirit must have forgotten where he was and had misspoken. But then, Vlad's thoughts were interrupted when the spirit continued to speak. When he redirected his gaze, he reflexively felt a chill run up his spine when he could see that the creature wasn't taking its red glowing eyes off of _him_ even as the spirit continued to speak _to_ Daniel…

"Once I or my children have consumed all of the emotions in you, you will also become a _Parvulus; _and so, you will be hopelessly a part of and yet separate from the _Angeli _and this realm…." The winged spirit pointed back to the small copper-colored entities at his feet and said with pity, "Yet, you will remain separate only in the vague consciousness that you will soon be a hollow reminder of what you once were, while at the same time always hungering for what you once were…"

Sam and Tucker mentally gasped while Danny gasped out loud.

But then Sam concentrated harder and sent a telepathic call to her boyfriend.

"_Don't give up, Danny! Fight him! You can do it!"_

Tucker heard her and mentally yelled as well, "_Yeah, dude, hang in there until we can figure out how to help you!"_

Tucker then hurriedly threw his thoughts at his female friend, _"Uh, can we get on with figuring out how to help Danny, Sam?"_

"_Shh!"_ Sam then hissed. _"Let's see if Danny heard us first!"_

After a few moments, however, they couldn't tell whether they had gotten through to their friend or not. Yet, each of them felt encouraged and excited when they could sense that some kind of strength was beginning to stir within Danny!

But before either Sam or Tucker could send even more words of encouragement to Danny, they gasped at what they 'saw'.

The _Angelus_ was beginning to morph again _and_ they could feel Danny struggling against whatever the _Angelus_ was doing to him as the spirit morphed!

The two human teens snapped to attention when the _Angelus_ began to speak to Danny in the midst of commanding his own transformation.

"Ahhh! I sense an even stronger emotion…though, really, not an emotion, but a part of who you are, is that not correct, _iuvenes humano idolon_ **[7]**?Then what you have will last even longer than any emotion you can give me!"

Suddenly, the spirit cried, "Surrender it to me, for I am _Angelus-**argentum**_! **[16]**"

At his words, the _Angelus_ finally completed his transformation. He was now dressed in pure silver, though his gown was more vibrant than his hair, wings and accents on his gown.

Danny's upper torso and head unwittingly jerked upward under the spirit's command, though the boy still struggled to keep the solid ball that had shortly formed within him from rising upward. Not only that, he heard that buzzing in his mind again, as if very faint but familiar voices were yelling at him. But he couldn't make out what they were saying and didn't even know if they were real since his mind was so confused at this point anyhow. Still— and even though he didn't know how—Danny felt a surge of strength pulsing within him right after he heard that buzzing sound. And suddenly, he gritted his teeth and fought even harder against the movement of that ball. He wasn't going to let the _Angelus_ take his _courage_!

Now that Danny had bought them some time, Sam hurriedly threw her mental thoughts to Tucker, _"Okay, Tucker, now it's time for that 'thing' we talked about to help Danny'. All we have to do now is do the same connection thing we did to connect to Danny, only this time think of connecting to_ _Angelus-argentum __**instead.**_

"_What?! Eeww!"_ Tucker mentally blurted out while shuddering at the same time.

"_Tucker!"_ Sam telepathically yelled back in desperation as well as irritation.

"_Okay, Sam!"_ he yelled his thoughts back. _"But can't I be grossed out even though I'm going to do it anyways?!"_

But the two didn't argue the point from then on since they were having the same gut feeling that they had no time and that they had their work cut out for them to do this incredible task.

Nevertheless, the two teens focused intensely, trying to reach the spirit's mind….

At first, the two best friends felt that they were going to fail because the spirit's mind was so jumbled! In fact, they were surprised from the sense they were getting from the winged creature that the _Angelus_ really had _trouble_ making himself _make sense_ when it had spoken to their half-ghost friend! His thoughts were that chaotic!

In some ways, that encouraged the two teens because that meant that Sam was right when assuming that the _Angelus_ could very well be weaker than he seemed. But that thought didn't distract them from their task and the two humans concentrated harder and pressed on.

Trying to build up their special telepathic powers, Sam scrunched her eyes more tightly and unconsciously squeezed her friend's hand harder. She hadn't admitted to Tucker that she wasn't completely sure their powers would work in the first place since, of course, they had never tried this or, of course, dealt with this kind of creature before…Not only that, she wasn't sure that the spirit would be open to having any kind of 'intrusion' into his mind. But she was certainly going to try, because she knew if the spirit succeeded in sucking out what she now somehow sensed was Danny's courage, her boyfriend wouldn't be able to fight the spirit anymore…

Sam was the first to recognize that they had connected with the spirit— at least she hoped they had. Both of the teens had felt the pressure on their minds just as they had expected. But then, the pressure—and pain—increased more than either of them thought, especially when they were suddenly bombarded by all the random thoughts that they knew had to be from the spirit.

Nevertheless, Sam clung to her mission as if she were clinging to a tree branch hanging over a great chasm.

And just when she thought the connection was as stable as it was going to get, she threw her thoughts to her bespectacled friend, _"Okay, Tucker, I think we've reached the Angelus! And now I'm going to try to 'talk' to him 'our way'. So, just stick with me for as long as you can, okay?"_

"_Uh, sure, Sam,"_ Tucker slowly answered, wondering why she would think he would leave her and Danny now. In fact, he felt slighted a bit by what she had just said.

Sam spoke again, and Tucker could tell that the tone of her mental voice was soft and even apologetic. _"Sorry, Tucker. I didn't mean to say it like that."_

Tucker mentally jolted a bit in surprise. She 'heard' his musings again! But before he could answer her, she inadvertently interrupted him.

"_It's just that I'm not sure how long we both can hold onto this connection because his thoughts are so friggin' strong and more erratic than I thought!"_

Tucker mentally smiled, easily sloughing off his hurt and reassuringly replied,_ "Hey, that's okay, Sam. I'll do my best no matter what." _

"_I knew that, Tucker, and thanks," _Sam said.

Tucker could actually feel some semblance of tenderness for him as a friend in the tone of her voice. He mentally smiled and quipped, _"Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let's do it!"_

And both of them concentrated even more….

When Sam had sorted through her own thoughts on what_—and on how—_ to say, the girl bit her mental lower lip and threw out her thoughts to the spirit, thoughts uttered so that she knew that the spirit would understand, "_Do you hear me, Angelus-argentum? Listen to me if you do! Aren't you tired of all these mixed-up emotions that keep you a slave to your realm?" _

Tucker jolted in surprise at what Sam had just said, but then his heart leapt a bit afterward when he felt his connection weakening! He immediately had to throw that thought away so as not to completely lose it. Still, he couldn't believe it. Sam was speaking in Esperanto! _He had no idea!_ But he dare not say anything for fear of screwing up what his female friend had in mind. Instead, he continued to concentrate and listened in…

The silver-clad winged spirit startled momentarily at the clanging in his head and unwittingly released Danny, who immediately slumped to the ground.

"_What is this?"_ _Angelus-argentum_ replied in surprise before searching his mind_. "A strange thought that has the voice of a female and in the language of The Others?"_

"_How do you know that I'm not just one of the many random thoughts that I'm sure torment you?" _Sam nonchalantly answered back, this time speaking in English.

The spirit was taken aback again. True, he always had random thoughts bombard him even as he fought for more logical ones; but he knew he never had a thought that sounded as if a _female_ had spoken them.

Not only that, something was not right about what he thought was a mere thought. For one thing, he felt no emotion coming from this thought. For another…He paused. He immediately knew that that 'thought' was not of his origin. He quickly countered, _"You cannot be of my own thoughts, for you do not speak in the Angelus language as I would expect. How are you here…within me? And how is it that you speak the young half-ghost's language as well as that of The Others?"_

Sam steeled herself when she could feel the spirit's power trying to throw her_—and Tucker_— out of his mind. Somehow, he had not been fooled by her! And even if she knew that the jig might be up before she could even begin her plan, she steadied her mental voice and replied as calmly as possible in Esperanto once more, "_It doesn't matter how I am here. It's more important that I am here—to offer you a __**choice**__!"_

Now growing irritated, the _Angelus_ suddenly yelled out loud to the 'voice in his head'. But what was more telling: he wasn't aware that he had yelled in _English_. "Who are you to dare speak to me this way?"

"_Really, it wasn't very hard considering how chaotic a mind you have,"_ Sam countered in a very controlled mental voice, which was also in English.

_Angelus-argentum_ was even more agitated at this event. It was not of his doing! Usually _he_ was the _only_ one who had the most control in this Realm! He was so upset, he didn't notice that the gleam of his silver color was rapidly dulling…Still, he was not one to give in so easily—especially now that he had feasted so heartily on the young human half-ghost's emotions—and more.

Not aware that he was speaking in English or that he was speaking out loud again, the spirit replied, "This cannot be possible. _No_ being has ever been able to reach the mind of an _Angelus_!"

"_Precisely why I am here,"_ Sam coolly said, though underneath she was relieved that she and Tucker not only got through but were still able to keep their link with the spirit. Still, she knew that she was growing more tired at the mental effort—though she also knew that she wasn't going to give into that. She added, _"And you know that I still offer you that choice."_

"**A** choice? I have _plenty_ of choices to make every single moment of my existence! In fact, they constantly buzz in my head with as much nuisance as the ghost mosquitoes is some parts of this realm buzz in my ears," _Angelus-argentum_ scoffed. "How is your 'choice' better?"

Meanwhile, Danny moaned as he began to stir. He frowned in confusion at the loud talking that had pulled him out of his stupor. As the boy's vision began to clear, he looked up at the spirit and startled with anxiety. The _Angelus_ was still yelling and was angry— but it seemed as if the _Angelus_ was arguing only with himself! But all that did was send chills of dread up the young hybrid's spine. Oh. No. He was in even more trouble now! Still, he felt too weak—and too fretful— to move! Instead, he covered his ears and closed his eyes in dread as the _Angelus_ continued to verbally 'battle' himself.

The _Parvuli_ that were still at _Angelus-argentum's_ feet were also confused at what they were witnessing. But they were more frightened than anything that their master seemed _even more_ out of control than usual. They had never seen him argue almost incoherently to himself. And he was speaking in the hybrid's language in the entire time and had trouble understanding what he was saying! They had no idea what this could mean and writhed in terror at the thought!

Vlad, too, could not understand why the spirit had suddenly gone on such a vocal rant to what seemed to only himself. He already knew that this spirit was very odd. Perhaps, this was just what should be expected from this kind of spirit.

Meanwhile, Skulker continued to listen to what was happening and made no comments...

Though Sam maintained a mental 'poker face' outwardly, she smiled to herself. Maybe the vibes she had gotten from the spirit were correct. She continued with control in her voice, _"My choice is better only if you do what I want."_

"'What you want'?" the spirit again scoffed. "Who are you to place demands on me? I will no longer listen to you!"

"_Oh, I think you will listen, since you are still curious about what choice I'm talking about,"_ Sam wryly said before pausing and biting her mental lip. She _hoped_ she was right about the feeling she had gotten from this creature and he would indeed be the 'curious' type.

"Who are you that I should listen to you?" the _Angelus_ suddenly demanded.

But Sam purposely didn't answer him. Instead, she firmly replied, _"Give back all of the emotions you stole from the half-ghost at your feet and then leave him alone, and I will offer you a __**quieter**__ mind!"_

Tucker, who had been listening all the while, hitched in a mental gasp. Just how was Sam going to pull this off? Nevertheless, he kept quiet. After all, even though he was clueless on what she had on her mind, he trusted her no matter what her plan was. Still, he grew worried and hoped she was right.

But then, he and Sam frowned at the spirit's unexpected reaction.

_Angelus-argentum_ started to laugh at the proposal of the voice in this head before he half-chuckled and half-growled, "You take me as a fool? _Angeli_ can _never _have peaceful minds! It is against our nature."

"_But isn't it also against your nature to have __**a leader**__, hmm? Yet, you are the leader of your race of spirits, aren't you? And an especially curious one at that, which is also __**against your nature**__, isn't it?"_ She casually asked.

The winged spirit paused. The voice had good points. But he didn't want to admit that—even though he didn't realize that he had just admitted it—since Sam was actually able to read his mind at this point!

But then as was usual, the _Angelus_ was bombarded by all sorts of emotions and thoughts as the slight pause had made him lose focus. It took him a few moments to push them all away enough to come back and ponder about what this 'voice inside of his head' had said…

The proposal was tempting, but _Angelus- argentum_ didn't know whether all of this was yet another wayward figment of his imagination bubbling up to torment him... Not only that, he didn't want to give up the young half-ghost when there was so much still to get from him…

Still, the voice was right about one thing: he definitely was a very curious _Angelus_—almost unheard of in his race of spirits because they never had _a chance_ to be curious when so many thoughts and emotions were always throwing themselves at them and therefore always clouding their logic and sense of purpose.

Now stirred more by that emotion than any other at the moment, _Angelus- argentum_ finally replied out loud, "Show me what you will do to give rest to my mind."

"_Not until you promise to let the __**iuvenes humano idolon**__**[7] **__go_," Sam firmly insisted to his mind, even when she was surprised that she somehow had spoken some of the _Angelus's _language! Still, she threw that thought away and pressed on, _"And you have to also promise to give him back all of the emotions you stole from him. Though I know that you constantly change on any whim, I believe that you will keep your word if you give it."_

Once again, the spirit paused. But of course, when he did, he was assailed by all the thoughts and emotions that he had been able to keep at bay for a while when he was focused with speaking to this female voice. He was within the mire of the twisting and turning of the thoughts as they danced with his mind and he was quiet for several more minutes this time around.

Meanwhile, Sam bit her mental lip in fear. Why wasn't the spirit talking back? Maybe she had lost the connection because he seemed lost at the moment. She frowned in concentration. No. She could still feel some semblance of a connection…The spirit's mind had just jumbled up more than what she had felt during their 'conversation'.

She frowned more with worry, but made sure she blocked her thoughts from the spirit just in case… Maybe she had pushed the spirit too far. But really, she had no other choice. Somehow, she had to stop him from…killing Danny. But what if this plan didn't work? What if the spirit was able to throw her out of his mind and he just went on?! The thought made her heart constrict in near terror. Maybe the spirit was going to call her bluff. After all, she really _didn't_ have a more lasting plan on how to give him peace of mind. The only way that she knew to give him any kind of steady thoughts was to try to reach out to his reason —or even to the more hopeful side of him he seemed to hold dearer than any of his bad points —just long enough to guide his mind through all of the other thoughts constantly vying for his attention — however fleeting that attention would last —until Danny could get away.

But if this idea of hers didn't work, what was going to happen to her boyfriend? She shuddered. She really didn't know how to control this spirit when its mind was a very confused chaotic one in the end —especially when she was having to fight off her own fatigue at the same time. It would take a power strong enough to change it. But what kind of power could un-confuse the confused?

_Confused_…The word practically attacked her and she paused at her next wild thought. The only power she could think of that had anything about confusion….She mentally jolted. That was it!

She mentally smiled. _Now_ she had a 'Plan B'. Yes, a dangerous one….but still, a plan. Anxious now to get all of this done, she then steered her thoughts toward the spirit once more…

Meanwhile, Tucker, who had been listening in during this entire time, was getting more nervous as the conversation between the _Angelus_ and Sam continued. He had no clue what Sam had in mind, but he had a gut feeling that it was a dangerous one.

But now that the spirit had hesitated again and Tucker could tell that its mind was full of very confusing thoughts right now, he took a chance to 'talk' to his female friend.

"_Sam?"_ he mentally and hurriedly whispered to the girl. _"Can you let me in a bit on what you have in mind with all of this stuff you're promising this dude? I'm already getting creeped out enough just peeking into his crazy mind. But I need to know where you're going with this, okay?"_

Sam mentally frowned in worry. She _had_ forgotten to clue her friend in! And she owed him an explanation since she was going to depend on him to help.

But she began to tell him what was on her mind, the boy suddenly and nervously interrupted her, _"Uh, he can't hear us now, can he?"_

Sam quickly searched her mind. No, she was sure her mental block was strong. She hurriedly replied, _"I don't think so, but just in case, I can only say this once, okay?"_

Tucker mentally nodded as she quickly filled him in.

Still uncertain of the girl's plan —especially when neither of them had tried anything like they were doing now, much less an even riskier plan —Tucker also felt that since he didn't have a clue on what to do otherwise, Sam's plan was their best chance. He finally said, "_Even though that's a very wild hunch, Sam, I think at this point that anything's worth a shot if it gets Danny out of this mess!"_

"_I knew you were going to say that —and I didn't even have to read your mind to know it, either, Tucker,_" Sam said with a slight tease.

"_Uh, gee, thanks for creeping me out more, Sam_," he quipped back, though he knew she was teasing him.

"_Anytime_," she nonchalantly said before adding more seriously, _"Now once the Angelus gets out of his latest spazz attack, it'll be time for 'round two'."_

She didn't have to wait long for that to happen. But she could tell that the _Angelus _was still lost in his thoughts even though he was also still trying to decide on what to do after the last thing she had said to him.

Even still, she knew it was time to add more fuel to the fire….

* * *

><p>In all the while, Jack Fenton had been watching the two teens in anticipation. Yet, during the entire time, his son's friends seemed like statues —statues surrounded by….a…purplish-pink aura, that is.<p>

But several minutes had pased and the two teens had not changed. Before the man knew it, he started to doze off…

However, Jack startled awake once his head a bobbled a bit. He frowned, irritated with himself. Here he was, not even able to stay awake while these two youngsters were doing something very important: trying to help his son!

Still peeved with himself —which only stirred him into wanting to do something, anything —Jack snorted, "Well, then, since I'm totally useless even waiting here, and don't know how much I'll have to wait, I'm going to try to get to the bottom of that black liquid goo-thingy that's still in the lab!"

Promising himself to check on the teen from time-to-time to make sure they didn't need him, the man quickly headed to the lab…

* * *

><p>Finally, the <em>Angelus<em> leader was able to rise out of his entwined thoughts and focus once more. He still couldn't believe what he had 'heard' from that voice. It actually _believed _that he was capable of keeping any word that he chose to give? Figment of his imagination or not, no notion like this had ever been brought to the forefront of his mind before. He had never thought that his word would bind him to honor and accountability to a point that he would act upon it…Yet, somehow, he felt that the voice had spoken the truth…If he would but give his word, he could embrace what this voice proposed… Maybe some kind of strange power was behind this after all…Still, he was uncertain. But he then startled a bit when the female voice suddenly spoke again. And once more, it spoke with confidence and assurance.

"_You shouldn't doubt your potential, Angelus argentum. And don't you want to have a name that will always be yours alone and never change? So, what have you decided?"_

The spirit frowned in displeasure. He had never been pressured by anything but his own chaotic thoughts. And not any particular _one_.

The _Angelus_ finally growled in defiance, "I will not subject myself to the whim of a lone thought. I will not release the _iuvenes humano idolon_!"

"_Okay, then, you leave me no choice, either!"_ Sam defiantly, yet coolly threw her thoughts back at the spirit.

Even as she was concentrating on doing what she hoped she could do, she hurriedly whispered to her beret-wearing friend, _"Tucker, don't let go of my hand not matter what and make sure you keep all our connections open!"_

Tucker's face scrunched up in determination and he increased his pressure around the girl's real hand. A few seconds later, he wished he could let go! His hand seemed to be on fire now, but he steeled himself, especially when he could feel that Sam was tiring. He had to send her his strength so that they could help Danny!

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Jack was making one of his quick checks on the two teens. He hadn't noticed anything different with them until now—even that odd aura around them hadn't changed.<p>

Tucker was squirming!

The man hurried over to the two kids and his eyes widened.

Both of Tucker's and Sam's joined hands looked as if they were squeezing a ball of fire!

Tucker looked obviously uncomfortable and his movement showed it. Sam, however, wasn't even flinching, though she did look awfully paler than she had been looking.

But a moment later, the ball of red energy surrounded by a violet aura split, shot upward and penetrated the two teens' heads at the same time!

Once again, only Tucker seemed to be reacting more vigorously to it; though now, if the man didn't know better, Sam's skin looked almost _ghostly._

But after a few more minutes, Jack was now convinced that even though the phenomenon was extremely odd as it was fascinating, the two teens didn't look like they had been harmed by it.

Now eager to return to his work—especially when he thought he was on the right track of finding a possible cure for the mysterious 'sleeping sickness'—Jack hurried back down stairs to his lab….

* * *

><p>Vlad, meanwhile, could not make out what was in the <em>Angelus's<em> plans in finally making Daniel mentally collapse. Now he was beginning to think that this part of his plan was not going his way at all. Still, he was too proud to admit that.

He glanced at his friend and couldn't tell what was on the Ghost Hunter's mind. He didn't like that. But since there was nothing else to do, the man turned back to the window and watched in anticipation —and silent worry…

* * *

><p>In the meantime, Danny was slowly coming out of his funk, though not completely. He had not even yet moved from the spot where he had fallen just after the spirit had last attacked him. He couldn't, partly because he had been so weakened by the spirit's attack and partly because he was now even more a part of the atmosphere! And he was still very scared, and even confused. Not only was it because the <em>Angelus<em> was still creepily arguing with himself, but it was also because that the spirit had taken so much of his…humanity, including his courage among many of those qualities.

But then, one part of his human nature unexpectedly emerged from within him: hope. He desperately clung to it. He didn't know why the _Angelus_ continued to argue with himself, but he didn't really care since the creature was leaving him alone.

But as the minutes dragged on, the boy frowned. He was not so frightened at the thought than he was curious: why did the spirit stop attacking him?

He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the spirit.

He was even more confused by what he was seeing. The _Angelus_ was no longer arguing with himself. And the spirit looked confused!

Then, all of the sudden, the spirit was briefly encased in a reddish-purple aura!

Danny's mind jerked to more alertness, struggling to put two-and-two together….

But unbeknownst to him, his two best friends were way ahead of him.

* * *

><p>Indeed, little did Danny or even his father know that but a few minutes after he had seen those two small ball of energy enter Sam's and Tucker's heads that <em>Angelus-argentum<em> jolted at a sudden blow of energy that had come out of nowhere and entered into his spirit brain. His mind was wiped clean and he suddenly had _no_ thoughts at all!

Both of the human teens sensed this and their mental eyebrows shot up in surprise. The Spectre energy that Sam —with Tucker's help —had thrown at the spirit had **not** made the _Angelus_ **more confused** like Sam had hoped. _It had done just the opposite! _And even though it had drained Sam more than she would admit, her quick mind knew how to take advantage of it…

At first, the absence of all thoughts terrified the spirit. But then, for some reason, he calmed when he heard that same feminine voice calmly commanding, "_I want you to give back all of the emotions you stole from the 'iuvenes humano idolon'__** right now!"**_

And because that was the _only_ thought echoing in his mind at the moment, the winged spirit felt compelled to obey.

But instead of mentally acknowledging the voice, he quickly willed his transformation. And in the midst of the change, he cried, "I can give it all, for I am _Angelus-**aureus**! _**[17]**

Within a heartbeat of Sam's and Tucker's in sync hearts, the spirit was changing from entirely silver into a completely gold color. But this time, his wings and hair shown more brilliantly than his robe and the accents on his robe. Yet, his eyes never changed and were still as red as blood.

And no sooner had the spirit made his declaration then he stopped a moment. He still felt compelled to fulfill the female voice's command, which continued to be the only thought in his mind. But since the spirit had given Danny's fear, terror and several other negative emotions to his _Parvuli,_ he felt compelled to take from his own emotional embers.

* * *

><p>Danny, who had been unable to move from being too weak and attached to the atmosphere, had been helplessly watching the strange behavior of the spirit in the last few moments. Though he was internally thankful that the spirit had stopped attacking him, he was more apprehensive about any possible reason for that.<p>

Suddenly, however, something was happening! The sky and the _Angelus_ were turning gold and the spirit was yelling out a command again! Feeling that that couldn't be good news, Danny cringed. Then his eyes widened at what happened next.

Several glowing orbs of all colors of the rainbow eked out of the spirit's mouth one-by-one in rapid succession before he commanded them to hover in front of the young half-ghost. The _Angelus_ outstretched his hand right afterward and all the orbs merged to the center until they blended into each other, twinkling more fiercely as more and more colors were added to a single ever-changing globe until only one large glowing golden orb remained. No sooner had the ball of glistening energy formed when the _Angelus_ threw it at Danny!

When Danny saw the rapidly approaching orb, he didn't know what to do.

But it was too late!

Before the Ghost Boy could even try to react, the golden globe had penetrated him and bathed him in an intense golden glow. But the impact had also momentarily stunned him when all of his lost emotions and essence washed over him as violently as a tsunami!

_Angelus-aureus's_ golden gleam dulled with the effort, which left him weak and panting in pain for having to give up so much of his substance all at once for the first time rather than take it from other creatures. In fact, he was so weak at the moment that his bond and control over the _Parvuli_ were broken and the creatures had leeched back into the atmosphere.

Not only that, but Danny had also been freed; and his legs, though still transparent, were now separate from the atmosphere and slowly becoming solid.

Danny's friends mentally frowned when they could tell that their friend had been stunned. But he must not have been knocked out completely because they had somehow been able to hang on to their telepathic connection to him.

The two teens also knew that their mental link with the spirit had also survived this ordeal so far. And Sam sensed that the _Angelus_ had been significantly destabilized by his last act. And now that the spirit was weakened, Sam hoped that once Danny had recuperated, he would be on more equal footing with the _Angelus_.

And in spite of the fact that Sam was struggling with her mounting fatigue, she still wanted to make sure that the spirit wouldn't try to hurt her boyfriend again.

The girl mentally and tiredly smiled when she suddenly could sense that Danny was stirring. But then she mentally jolted at her next feeling. The _Angelus_ was also recuperating —very quickly! She had to hurry!

She quickly threw her whisper to Tucker's mind, "_Tucker, I'm sure you can tell that the Spectre energy I threw out at the Angelus helped Danny. We both know that Spectre energy really messes up humans and ghosts and makes them all confused, which is what I hoped would happen to the Angelus. But we both saw that it actually has an __**opposite**__ effect on things like the Angeli whose minds are already all jumbled up. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but we have to make sure that he won't be able to suck anything else out of Danny. So, I'm going to try to throw a lot more Spectre energy at him and hope that makes him __**less **__confused, okay?"_

This time, Tucker's mental eyebrows rose and he blurted out, _"Oh, so that was all that stinging energy I felt pulse through me before it went at the Angelus dude had wiped out all of the his confusion! Sweet! Uh, I mean that about what happened to the spirit dude, not the pain."_

"_Oh, it hurt you? I'm so sorry, Tucker!" _Sam immediately said.

"_Hey, don't worry about that, okay, Sam? I told you I was on for the whole ride! And all I care is to finish it. So, let's get on it, okay?"_

She mentally bit her lower lip and added,_ "Well, honestly, I don't know if I can do it again. But I might if you help me some more! So maybe we might be able to give him that 'peace of mind' like I had bluffed I could do after all. We're gonna have to try..."_

"_That's the spirit, Sam!" _Tucker blurted out before mentally blushing and adding_, "Er, no pun intended, of course!"_

However, the girl didn't answer him because he could feel that she was concentrating. He, too, took that as a clue to get serious, and focused all of his thoughts in helping his female friend…

And in the next instant, Tucker felt the same pain and movement within him at what he knew must be Sam's telekinetic Spectre powers melding into their combined telepathic powers.

Suddenly, however, the boy felt the intensity of the feeling wane. Sam must be weakening! Determined to send some strength to her, he concentrated harder. He had no idea that a green aura was quickly forming around his _real_ body before it spread to hers. He felt his heart leap in hope and excitement when he felt the feeling intensify right afterward.

But as the strange yet strong sensations increased, Tucker suddenly felt like he was weakening. He scrunched up his mental brow and concentrated even more as he tried to counter the feelings that might cause them to fail. Finally, he knew that he and Sam were successfully sending their combined power to the _Angelus_.

But the intense feelings didn't last long like the last time and Tucker knew that another 'blow' must have been delivered to the _Angelus_.

Even though Tucker wasn't aware of his own panting, he could mentally hear his female friend panting shortly after that. Yet, somehow he could feel that even though she was reaching a breaking point with her fatigue, she was determined to finish what she had started.

So much like the Sam he knew—and cared for.

Before he could think about it any longer, however, Tucker could hear that the girl had thrown her thoughts to the golden-winged spirit.

"_Thank you, Angelus-aureus. I wish you only peace of mind from now on."_

Suddenly however, the two teens frowned in confusion. They could sense something happening!

A moment later the entire atmosphere around the golden spirit was turning as blue as any clear day in Amity Park. And then dripping out of the atmosphere, the _Parvuli _reformed before they groveled at the feet of their master.

Then the _Angelus _cried out in his native, dead language once spoken of the humans of ancient Rome, _"Numquam sensit hoc ante! Nunc, ego sum Angelus-**alvus**!_ **[18,19]**

As soon as _Angelus-**alvus**_ **[19]** had said that, his hair and wings turned as white as snow bathed in the noon light and the main part of his gown changed from gold to blue, while the folds of the gown faded into lighter colors of blue. And finally, the sun emblem adorning the front of his gown and its belt glowed in a light blue hue. His ghostly skin, however was a pale as a babe's and long blue fingernails hung off of his fingers. But his eyes had never changed during any of his transformations. They were still slanted and as vibrantly scarlet as blood.

Once his transformation was complete, he murmured once more in his ancient tongue, "I, _Angelus-alvus_, have never known any peace of mind. Yet, I am afraid of it even as I am drawn to it!"

He immediately fell to silence for what seemed an eternity contemplating it.

The _Parvuli_ at his feet, however, grew restless at the change in their master. They mirrored their master's feelings of being lost or even being hopeless.

Danny, meanwhile, had finally stirred. Though he was still a bit drained from the incident, he strangely felt so much better in every way, as if he had finally gotten some rest and food, even if not that much. He had been especially recharged by all of those emotions and qualities that the spirit had taken from him—including emotions not of his own that, unbeknownst to him, the _Angelus_ had been 'persuaded' to give him by Sam and Tucker. He was even no longer translucent, but had regained all of his ghostly form. Nevertheless the Ghost Boy continued to lie still, both still shaken and dazed by what had happened to him and taking in the wonderful feeling now pulsing in him.

* * *

><p>All this while, Vlad and Skulker had been watching in both concern and some fascination at the turn of events unfolding in the simulation room.<p>

Turning to Plasmius, the Ghost Hunter grumbled with displeasure when the _Angelus_ was in the process of turning gold, "Seems like the creature has an intense desire to change costumes a lot. I do not think that is a good thing, especially when I have seen firsthand how this particular kind of spirit works. I told you that I had actually seen it destroy a ghost by sucking something completely out of it before I captured it after rendering it helpless with my Timeless Magic weapon. "

"I said I could handle him, Skulker," Vlad remarked a bit rudely after realizing that his ally was almost chiding him. "Remember I have Okulo's _Timeless Magic_ orb."

"_Remember_ that I barely escaped his realm, much less escape his realm with him as a prisoner…And remember that this race of spirits is guarded for a reason, Plasmius," Skulker tersely countered. "Otherwise, how can you explain the fact that the creature was somehow able to pull some of the _realism_ from out of his own realm into your simulation room without your planning that?"

The man actually scowled at his friend but turned back to what was happening in the simulation room. He didn't want to admit to himself— much less to Skulker—that the Ghost Hunter was right and that he was beginning to regret having brought the spirit here. Yet, Vlad was sure that this would be the last pawn he would need to finally make Daniel crack mentally. And he was determined to see it all through…

During this time, however, Maddie the computer had been working without any emotion. She was engaged in monitoring and analyzing the erratic data on the younger hybrid spewing out of the mainframe. She was dutifully gathering more information about the unusual phenomenon that had been occurring in the last couple of days—and not just the fact that her master's test subject's power level was fluctuating more violently now. She had been fixed on cross-referencing all the data that occurred when the teen's brainwaves would go off the scale. She had long since muted any sounds the alarms had made to indicate that, since her circuits had concluded that there was an undetected malfunction in the alarm system. Not only that, she still had gotten no definitive facts before or after the occurrence that would formulate a solid hypothesis for her as to the cause of the test subject's brainwaves shooting off of the scale.

On the other hand, she was very close to forming a theory as to why the test subject's power level was fluctuating so wildly—and, more importantly, why it was, in fact, was actually _increasing_ in strength. She also had a strong thread of evidence on how that energy was being generated, including cross-referencing it with her master's information as she had been ordered. Though it all, however, she was still able to monitor the boy's vitals throughout this 'test session'.

And right before the _Angelus_ had turned gold, she noticed that the boy's vitals were quickly oozing below the standard deviation she was programmed to accept.

"Sir, the test subject's vitals are falling into the critical stage!" she dutifully and firmly reported.

"What?" Vlad practically yelled as he turned slightly to his computer.

But then Skulker yelled, "Look!"

Vlad jerked his head back toward the window.

The _Angelus_ had just completed his transformation, turned gold, formed a golden orb and then threw that golden orb at the boy.

Maddie immediately noticed that the boy's vitals had shot upward and above what they usually were after the orb had been absorbed by the boy. Once again, she double-checked the readings and was about to report this happening when the voice of her master interrupted her…

"What is happening now, Skulker?" Vlad said, his voice quivering a bit. He quickly tried to wipe the tiredness from his brow and blink back the heaviness of his eyelids. All of this current stress and his secondary plan was beginning to tax him more and more.

"I do not know for sure, but I would guess that _Angelus-aureus_—as he is now calling himself—had somehow given something to the whelp," Skulker answered.

"We don't want him to do that! Why would he do that?" Vlad suddenly snapped, since he had immediately rejected his ally's assumption.

"I said I was just guessing. I do not know," Skulker replied rather acidly. "But even though I cannot explain this as well, I have had no difficulty smelling him even in here—and believe me, his scent is all at once repugnant, pungent and definitive—and I can tell that whatever the creature did to the Ghost Child has weakened the spirit a whole lot."

Then, all of the sudden, they saw the spirit meld yet again, his hair and wings turning white and his costume blue before it announced his newest name: _Angelus –alvus. _But once the spirit had changed, neither he nor Daniel moved for several moments.

Both as the older half-ghost and hunter-ghost were pondering why, their eyes widened at what they saw next….

* * *

><p>Now panicking at the strong sense of hopelessness and loss, the <em>Angelus<em> searched his mind for some kind of emotion. He was suddenly vividly aware of the two teens' presence still in his mind. He had thought that he was merely having a random, though strong emotion before. But now, he was sure.

He finally mentally growled to Sam and Tucker, _"What is this? I sense two entities. How dare you!" _

The two teens steeled themselves from reacting to the spirit because Danny was still in danger. But then, they relaxed a bit when they felt a change in the spirit again. The Angelus's indignation had lasted only a fraction of a second before his original lost feelings overwhelmed him again; and he was still again.

But even that was short-lived. For a few moments later, the Angelus's white wings and light blue emblem on his floor-length gown began to pulsate before _Angelus-alvus_ said with trepidation in his voice, "I cannot stay this way! I am used to the utter chaos of our realm and my mind, not to just one emotion or no emotion. Having peace is too terrifying. I do not wish it anymore!"

Suddenly, _Angelus-alvus_ reached down and grabbed one of the groveling _Parvuli_ still at his feet. He ignored the terrified scream of the former human ghost and to the horror of all the on-lookers—Vlad, Skulker, Sam, Tucker and now even Danny, who was still half-dazed and was beginning to half-pull himself to a sit—the spirit quickly sucked the blue-colored _Parvulus _completely into his mouth!

All of the remaining _Parvuli_ immediately shrieked in terror and quickly melded back into the blue atmosphere in escape.

_Angelus-alvus_ frowned slightly in annoyance and murmured, "It may be not enough to change me back to my original state, but it is enough to find the strength to find the way to get me back to how I was!"

He suddenly yelled, "Though I am still _Angelus-alvus_, I have consumed _revenge_ and will now have it!"

Violently splaying his white wings, _Angelus-alvus_ quickly threw himself aloft. With only one downward swoop of his wings, he was upon Danny as rapidly as a falcon upon its prey!

"I will have all that I have lost and more from you, _iuvenes humano idolon_ **[7]**!And more than that, I will make sure that you will become my greatest yet most servile _Parvulus _for all that you have done to me!" the spirit growled angrily.

Danny immediately yelled in pain at the surge of emotion bombarding his mind before he could feel a lump bigger than any he had felt since encountering this spirit form within him. And when the large sphere moved violently upward shortly thereafter, Danny screamed even more with the pain since it couldn't move without causing serious internal damage within him! The boy felt weaker by the second, especially when the spirit had attacked him so fiercely in revenge and desperation.

But even if that could be said, it was fortunate that Danny was being overwhelmed by all of his emotions and then weakening because that actually kept any one strong emotion from blocking his telepathic powers!

In the meantime, Sam and Tucker felt their hearts race at 'seeing' the spirit attack Danny.

Sam practically yelled to Tucker's mind, _"We have to get Danny to fight back!"_

"_Okay, let's do it!"_ Tucker yelled back before swallowing down the dread already rising from his stomach.

But in her anxiousness to strengthen their connection to her boyfriend, Sam didn't fully sever their connection with the spirit.

Now that _Angelus-alvus_ was attacking and hurting the Ghost Boy, several things happened in very rapid succession:

Danny now clearly heard two very familiar voices frantically urging him to fight back…

Maddie the computer hurriedly reported to Vlad and Skulker that the younger hybrid's vitals were plummeting precipitously again….

Vlad grabbed Okulo's energy orb, ready to finally intervene….

And Skulker tensed in dread for what he could _smell _was about to unfold…

Now sure that his friends had somehow been able to find and connect to him, Danny clung to their strength and hope as desperately as a shipwrecked victim clung to floating debris. He dug into his inner strength in spite of the pain that seemed to be splitting him in two. After all, he knew that if he didn't at least try to get this spirit off of him, he would surely die.

At first, the teen felt that his efforts had triggered that same sickly white energy because it quickly grabbed a hold of his spine and threaten to snuff out his strength like it had all those other times. But his friends' cries of encouragement and worry were still ringing throughout his mind. He hitched in a more painful gasp and continued to concentrate.

_I'm trying, guys! I'm trying!_ he hurriedly relayed back to their minds, and he could feel their slight relief that they knew that he had finally knew they were there.

Even as Danny's mind was drenched with the words of his friends, he really was no longer thinking about all of his woes or anything else because his instincts had now kicked in. All he was focused on now was to get this thing off of him!

Suddenly, Danny felt an incredible powerful surge of icy energy coat his spine before it rapidly spread throughout his entire being. It was more powerful than he had ever felt before; but more importantly, it didn't hurt or drain him at all! That intense ectoplasmic energy quickly engulfed and then soared past that orb that the Angelus was trying to yank from him, stopping its movement and dissipating it all together! In the next heartbeat, Danny was surrounded by a bright green energy orb which he had produced before it began to electrocute the spirit upon him.

_Angelus-alvus_ immediately yelled and recoiled at the powerful, painful blow and began to lose his grip on his victim.

But that was not all.

The flow of the boy's energy was so powerful that a moment later, Danny was able to resist the spirit while pulling himself off of the ground just as that energy bubble burst outward and jettisoned the _Angelus_ right off of him!

Yet, once Danny had succeeded, he felt totally drained and dropped back to the ground; half-dazed and panting with the effort.

Vlad and Skulker gasped in awe just as the _Angelus_ was shoved violently right into the wall farthest from the younger hybrid with such force that the spirit slid down the wall and lay crumpled on the ground.

Sam and Tucker also gasped in both surprise and slight pain at actually _feeling _Danny's energy charging through them momentarily before they could tell that the effort had drained their friend—and them. In fact, all of the teens were so drained that they had not noticed that the area that Danny was in had _boundaries_!

However, _Angelus-alvus_ did not need or take much time to recover. He pulled himself up off of the ground and violently splayed out his wings in defiance. With malice in his voice, he angrily cried, "No _humano idolon _**[20]** has ever been able to resist me, much _less_ fight me!"

The _Angelus's _wings, hair and the emblem on his gown flared more brilliantly as the spirit willed forth all of the power he possessed. He raised his hands upward and screamed out boldly, "It is time for you to see and _feel_ why the _Angeli_ are the most feared spirit creatures in the entire Ghost Zone and why I am their leader! You will regret that you had ever existed!"

The glare in his eyes flared and was so intense that flames of red fire were licking out from his eyes.

"I call upon all of the forces within the _Sfero de Ĥaoso_ **[21]**!" the _Angelus_ cried out almost desperately.

A split second later, the entire atmosphere rent violently open and quickly became as black as the skies just before a maelstrom bursting at midnight. It twisted and turned viciously within moments of starting. Then, it looked as if a flock of very large ravens had emerged from out of the convulsing atmosphere.

No one but _Angelus-alvus_ knew it was the host of _Angeli_ heralding his command and that he had indeed been able to bring his realm into this one!

Suddenly, however, the _Angeli_ drew closer to the others before flying so tightly that no one could distinguish their individual bodies any longer. The sky which was now in fact they dove sharply downward and quickly pierced the body of their leader!

_Angelus-alvus_ writhed at the onslaught, yet his white aura did not dim at the attack. Instead it began to brighten! The atmosphere continued to pump itself into the spirit's body, as if it were feeding the _Angelus_ leader and was now giving him its strength!

A moment later, the spirit's color began to meld. Though _Angelus-alvus's_ aura remained white, his gown became as black as the atmosphere while his hair and wings rapidly grayed, as if the black color that was painting his gown had spilled and mixed with the whiteness that had been his wings and hair. The belt around him and the emblem also changed to a pulsating dark gray, which seemed to proclaim the terror that was about to be unleashed.

Meanwhile, Vlad's eyes widened at the sight. What had he done? It looked as if the spirit was completely out of control!

He turned to Skulker and said in a bit of panic, "I have to stop the _Angelus_, Skulker! The last time he attacked Daniel, Daniel's vitals plummeted!"

The man instantly willed forth his black transformation rings just as he turned to his computer at the same time.

"Maddie, the ghost shield!" he hurriedly said as he turned invisible and threw himself toward the control room's large window.

"On it!" she enthusiastically said.

She deactivated the shield just as Vlad reached the viewing window, turned intangible and invisible, and phased through it.

In the meantime, Danny was struggling to pull himself back up. He knew that if the _Angelus_ attacked him right now, he would probably not be able to defend himself. Nevertheless, he concentrated, desperately digging down once again, trying to reach that well of energy that he called his 'inner strength'.

However, no sooner had the young hybrid sensed that he had touched that reservoir, when he felt another electrical bolt rip through his spine and then spread outward from it, as if a single firework had ignited and then burst from inside of him. He screamed at the pain and fell back down and now his mind in a whirl.

Of course during this whole time, Sam and Tucker had not been out of the loop of what was going on. Even though they were a bit relieved that they had gotten through to their friend, they also knew that he was still in danger.

But then, they had no time to think about it, for out of the blue, they felt an electrical bolt surge through them. Though it had not been enough to sever their strong connection with Danny, their minds were just as dazed —and helpless —as their friend at this moment; and they could barely comprehend what was about to happen.

No sooner had the teens been knocked for a loop when the _Angelus_ cried out, "I am _Angelus-_**_anxietudo _[22]**_,__ iuvenes humano idolon _**[7]**! Your soul is mine!"

He splayed his grey wings and swooped upward toward the still stunned Danny.

Danny, in the meantime, had heard the Angelus's cry and struggled to counter his dizziness. He fought to get up, only to fall into a half-kneeling position. Then he yelled when it seemed as if his spine was on fire! But this was not the same kind of pain that he had during all those times when he lost energy. He couldn't understand it. This was as intense as his ghost sense, only it was not cold. It was _very_ hot. He tried to swallow his pants and forced himself to look up even when he knew his vision was blurred. But then, he couldn't believe his eyes!

A vibrant glowing blue beam shot out from nowhere and struck the _Angelus_ who was about to pounce on him again! The boy recognized that beam! It was Timeless Magic! Had the Observants finally decided to stop all of this awful torture? Though he was strangely encouraged about that, he was too dizzy and weak to look in that direction to see if the Observants had come.

_Angelus-anxietudo_ screamed at the blow and was thrust back. But that attack was strong enough to weaken the spirit. Moments later, he had rapidly melded back so that his hair and wings were white and his gown was blue again. He had returned to the passive _Angelus-**alvus**_ with the blow!

Nevertheless, _Angelus-alvus_ would not be daunted! He had had enough of all of this! He growled and renewed his charge at the still hapless young half-ghost!

Another blue timeless magic ray shot toward the spirit.

Though still airborne, the _Angelus_ halted in place. He suddenly laughed in glee before he actually grabbed the beam within one of his hands and squeezed it until it was no more!

Vlad stopped in mid-flight. He was utterly shocked that the spirit had destroyed the beam coming from Okulo's Timeless Magic orb! That was…impossible! He was so shocked, in fact, that he hadn't realized that he had lost his invisibility.

"Fool!" the spirit's raspy voice sneered. He knew that Vlad had been the one who had been trying to subdue him with the orb. He continued speaking in anger to the older hybrid once he saw him, "Do you not know that no weapon works on me or my kind twice? Your servant did! Now, you will pay for your insolence!"

Skulker, who was still in the control room of the simulation room, scowled at the spirit's remark about him even as he had tensed with what the spirit had done. Nevertheless his hunter instincts were high in gear….

Sam and Tucker, who were still a bit dizzy from being attacked by Danny's energy, were vaguely aware that they were somehow still telepathically connected to Danny.

However, Sam frowned at another strange sensation. Not only was she still aware of what Danny was experiencing, but she had somehow been able to maintain a channel with the _Angelus_!

Not questioning how that could be, the girl quickly tried to search the spirit's mind and when she did, she gasped at what the spirit was seeing!

But before she could say anything to Tucker or Danny, she gasped again when, in the next flash, several things happened in rapid succession:

With revenge to destroy the young half-ghost still bleeding in his eyes, _Angelus-alvus_ swooped down upon Danny, and began to draw out his emotions again. Though Danny had tried to resist, he hadn't fully recovered from that weakening blow that had started in his central core and had raced up his spine. Before the Ghost Boy knew it, the winged spirit had jerked him up and rammed him harder into the ground.

The spirit dug his long blue nails into the stunned teen and began to pour some of his own rainbow-colored spirit energy into Danny in order to quicken absorbing the boy's emotions.

Danny and his friends screamed in pain at feeling the attack; and Vlad finally snapped out of his shock and began to soar downward.

But then, the older hybrid pulled back when he caught sight of an intense _purple _beam heading in his direction! He barely missed getting hit, especially since it had appeared out of nowhere. Seconds later, however, _Angelus-alvus_ was the one yelling in pain after being engulfed and then electrocuted by that intense purple beam!

Plasmius snapped his head in the direction the mystery beam had come from; but before he could react to the other entity now in the room, his attention turned to the younger hybrid after hearing his screams.

Vlad gasped in alarm, but he was unable to understand why the boy was in so much pain when the beam had not struck him… Unless…was _Angelus-alvus_ somehow still hurting the boy?

But little did Vlad know, that not only was Danny in pain, but Tucker, and Sam were also screaming in agony….

Suddenly, the room began to shake violently under the strain of trying to contain the spirit's powers, and the energy emitted by the Timeless Magic weapons. The overload quickly began to fry the room's circuitry...

Almost instantly after that_, Angelus-alvus_ was engulfed and then being absorbed by a very bright bluish-white beam, which quickly pulled him away from the hurt Ghost Boy.

In spite of having the _Angelus_ fail in his objective, the experience was too much for Danny. Moments after, he unwittingly morphed back into his human state just before he _and_ Tucker fell into unconsciousness.

Sam struggled to stay alert, but the strain was too much even for her strong will and powers. But just before her mind rapidly blurred into utter blackness, her real voice was barely able to utter what she had seen from her rapidly waning connection with _Angelus-alvus_, "Vlad!"

* * *

><p>In the meantime, all of the alarms were blasting and the wires were smoking in the control booth of the simulation room while Vlad was fighting the <em>Angelus<em> with his orb.

Finally, Maddie the computer was able to gain control and the simulation room was now still. But every inch of it was bathed in white since its programs had been immediately thrown offline by the powers fighting within it and it had returned to a neutral state. Now, the unconscious Ghost Boy, Plasmius and Skulker were in stark contrast within the completely white room.

Skulker's upgraded Observant weapon still had purple smoke emanating from it and his spirit trap was still shaking from having just captured the very powerful _Angelus_ spirit.

But the Ghost Hunter's face was not dressed in triumph. He was obviously very peeved. "So, you thought you had everything under control, right, Plasmius?" he growled.

Vlad scowled back at his ally. He ignored the hunter and instead turned to the unconscious younger hybrid.

The man's face puckered in worry. Practically all of the color had drained out of Danny's features. He worriedly uttered, "I didn't think he was hurt that seriously. What's wrong with him?"

"I do not know," Skulker barely grumbled. "I only attacked the spirit. But just before that, the _Angelus_ had violently slammed the whelp back into the ground. Perhaps that was enough of a blow to just knock the pup out."

They couldn't be more wrong. The truth was that because Danny, Tucker, and Sam were telepathically linked to _Angelus-alvus, _they had also received the full blast of Skulker's Timeless Magic weapon even when the beam had not physically struck the half-ghost teen…

Vlad frowned, not satisfied with the answer. He bent over and easily scooped the boy up into his arms, still worried how _hot_ and limp he was. But the older hybrid slowly let out his breath in slight relief when he could still see that the boy was still _breathing._

He suddenly yelled up into the air, "Maddie, activate Program 288OJ."

The room instantly morphed into the Observant jail.

Vlad gently placed Danny on the cot and commanded, "Maddie, check and report on Daniel's vitals immediately."

Maddie's neutral-sounding voice emanated out of a nearby speaker, "The boy's vitals are stable, sir, but his brainwaves are now in the _alpha_ range. They will not respond to my commands to move out of that range."

Vlad rubbed his forehead before he asked. "_Alpha_ range?"

The man paused, searching for a reason for the unusual brainwave pattern. He knew that people exhibited _alpha_ range brainwaves whenever they were waking from sleep. But Daniel hadn't been asleep….But then, Vlad also knew that _alpha_ brainwaves could also be indicative of sleep _pathology._

He then gasped when he realized what that could mean. "**He's in a coma**?"

"All monitors indicate that, sir," she replied.

"But how? He wasn't that hurt."

"Inconclusive evidence, since many systems are still off-line," she merely stated.

"No…. No. How can that be?" Vlad again questioned, though it really was to himself.

He really hadn't seen from his angle of sight that Danny had also been accidentally electrocuted by Skulker's Timeless Magic weapon since the spirit was connected to him at that moment.

The billionaire searched his mind for a reason…He knew that he purposely wanted to deprive Daniel of true _beta—or REM—_ sleep because that was to the key of unraveling his mental fortitude, stability and acuity. After all, it was important for the brain to dream because it was truly at rest when it was dreaming—as long as it was unhampered dreaming. And it was just as important that the brain and the body rest in order for normal functioning.

But since the man had purposely either hadn't allowed the teen to dream freely or to dream at all, he thought that would have broken the boy by now. However, it was never in his plans to put the boy into a coma.

He furrowed his brow in worry, not knowing at the moment that he was partially wrong about his hypothesis. Though it was true that normal people did lose their mental stability and faculties by being deprived of their dream sleep, Danny was, of course, not a typical human. The boy had been able to resist being essentially sleep-deprived during most of this ordeal so far because he had been _used_ to resisting that ever since he became a hybrid. And those few years of habitual sleep-deprivation had essentially trained him enough that he could resist losing his mind up to this point. Not only that, but the boy was not in a coma because of being sleep-deprivation. He was in a coma because of his telepathic and physical connection with _Angelus-alvus_ at the time the spirit was attacked and put out of commission.

The older hybrid suddenly felt the presence of his ally brush his side and he turned to look at the Ghost Hunter.

Skulker was still frowning but kept his voice steady as he informed his employer, "I will be returning the _Angelus_ back to his realm. I no longer want him; nor do I think it is possible for me to keep him. He is much more dangerous than _we all_ knew…"

Vlad caught the sarcasm and slightly puckered his face in disapproval. But deep down, he knew his friend was right. Bringing the spirit here had been a mistake. Before he could comment, however, Skulker spoke again.

"I will need to use your booster transportation device to return to his _Realm of Chaos_ as he properly called it straight away. You have to admit that this creature and all of his kin need to be guarded by that realm's own sentinel for the sake of the entire Ghost Zone—and the Real World as well…"

An uneasy pause fell upon the two allies.

Finally, Vlad quietly said, "Yes, of course, Skulker. You know where I keep the controls of that transportation device."

Skulker grunted in understanding, carefully picked up the receptacle which contained the _Angelus,_ and turned to leave.

But just before the Ghost Hunter was out of earshot, Vlad called out.

"Skulker?"

The Ghost Hunter twisted back slightly but said nothing.

"You were right…and…thank you for intervening."

One of Skulker's eyebrows rose in slight surprise before it lowered back into the irritated wrinkle that had adorned it for the last several intense minutes. He hurriedly grumbled, "Do not mention it. I will return as soon as I can."

Vlad silently nodded in acknowledgement before he looked back down upon the unconscious Daniel with even more worry on his face.

He placed a hand on the boy's hot forehead and muttered sadly, "Oh, little badger..."

But the man did not dare finish what was going through his troubled mind...

* * *

><p><span><strong>Translations:<strong>

**[1] Latin: "That is good. Let it come!"**

**[2] Latin: "And now, I desire to take command of this place!"**

**[3] Esperanto: "Not yet!"**

**[4] Basque: "Not until the other comes forth first!"**

**[5] Latin: "That is right. You do not know our languages."**

**[6] Esperanto: "I am not a ghost. I am a spirit. And yes, let it go."**

**[7] Latin: young human ghost**

**[8] Basque: Angels**

**[9] Esperanto: Angels**

**[10] Latin: Angels**

**[11] Latin for: Angel of Grief**

**[12] Latin: Angel of Anxiety**

**[13] Latin: little ones**

**[14] Latin: roughly: Angel of Weakness**

**[15] Latin: roughly: Angel of Abundance (of compassion)**

**[16] Latin: Silver Angel, meant to be made up of Courage.**

**[17] Latin: Golden Angel, which was the spirit's color for giving something of himself.**

**[18] Latin: "I have never felt this way before! Now, I am **_**Angelus-alvus**_**!"**

**[19] Latin: **_**Angelus-alvus**_**. (corruption of **_**albus**_**) roughly: White Angel, denoting peace or passivity in the context of this chapter.**

**[20] Latin: human ghost**

**[21] Esperanto: Realm of Chaos**

**[22] Latin: roughly: Angel of Mental Terror**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Wow, thanks for making it down here! I'm still out of breath myself after that marathon! I really didn't know how to break this chapter up without losing all of the momentum and intensity, so I just had to subject y'all to the entire thing! As you know, the show covered the first two spirit realms: The Far Frozen and where the Observants live (which pearl84 and I called 'The Realm Beyond Time'). Then, I introduced the third spirit realm in 'Shadow of a Doubt'. So, of course, since I imagined these spirits to be on opposite poles of the GZ, it was time to introduce you to the 4th spirit realm! Like my friend, pearl84, I also believe that spirits are different from ghosts and more powerful than ghosts. And I would go further to say that 'proof' is that all of the spirit realms I have 'pronounced' are inhabited by spirits who look different than human ghosts. Anyways, sorry about the rant, but I hope you liked this chapter and will send me your thoughts in that little box below (also known as a review! *winks*)**

**I would also like to wish my dear friend, Angelus-alvus, a very happy, though early, b'day! You're the best and thanks for letting me use your avatar for my OC! (Check out his pix!)**

**Finally, the Fantomos Ecto-Scale continues. It is rapidly coming to an end, but you have to be patient because there's still a lot more to come!**

**Hope to hear your thoughts soon, dear readers!**

* * *

><p><strong>289-LEVEL 1—<strong>_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—Matilda**_**— truephan's original character from her story, **_**Sleepover Nightmare**_

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**289-level 6-**_**Gamma**_**—Ghost Writer**

**289-level 6-**_**Beta**_** —Walker**

**289-level 6-**_**Alpha**_**—Skulker**

**LEVEL SEVEN GHOSTS—Difficult to defeat. Would have been evenly matched with Danny at age 14. They usually have only one way of being defeated and can be defeated only after discovering that flaw. Also, Danny could only defeat them at age 14 after he picked up new skills to defeat them.**

**289-level 7-**_**Epsilon**_**—Undergrowth**

**289-level 7-**_**Delta**_**—Nocturne**

**289-level 7-**_**Gammas**_**—Aragon and Dorothea**

**289-level 7-**_**Beta**_**—Vortex**

**289-level 7-**_**Alpha**_**—Behemoth**

**LEVEL EIGHT GHOSTS—Very difficult to defeat because they are relatively more powerful than Danny Phantom at age 14. In fact, he might not be able to defeat them without outside help.**

**289-level 8-**_**Epsilon**_ **—Spectra**

**289-level 8-**_**Delta**_** — ? Will appear in a future chapter**

**289-level 8-**_**Gamma**_**—Fright Knight**

**289-level 8-**_**Beta**_**—Pandora**

**289-level 8-**_**Alpha**_**—Dazzler—pearl84's original character from her story, **_**Checkmate. (Thanks again for letting me use him, pearl!)**_

**LEVEL NINE GHOSTS AND SPIRITS—Much more powerful than Danny Phantom at age 14 and any one of them could have possibly killed Danny if not for a combo of factors, such as outside help, luck, and using his talents to their utmost. Most spirits are level 9 –and rarely do ghosts get to this level. But occasionally—even if rarely—a few ghosts or spirits can gain even more power.**

**289-level 9-**_**Thetas**_**—Kvargvid and another Spirit who will be revealed later. Kvargvid is pearl84 and truephan's original character from their story, **_**Seeing is disBelieving.**_

**289—Level 9-**_**Eta**_**— Frostbite**

**289—Level 9-Zetas—The Observants**

**289—Level 9-**_**Epsilon**_**— ? Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289—Level 9-**_**Delta **_**— **_**Angelus-alvus **_**from _Sfero de Ĥaoso_**

**289—Level 9-**_**Gamma**_**—? Will appear in a later chapter.**

**289—Level 9-**_**Beta**_**—Clockwork**


	48. Chapter 48: Worrisome Events

**A/N: Hiya, everybodee! Yeah, I'm still in the Real World when I'd rather have fun in the Ghost Zone! (Is that a good enough excuse for the lateness?') If not, how about that life has gotten in the way these past few weeks which, of course, bogged down my being able to update? *hears crickets chirping* Ahem, well, anyways, thanks for waiting patiently before tuning in. I've missed being here, too! In case you need a short recap of the last chapter: Danny had to fight a new spirit even when he's nearly at the end of the rope physically and mentally. Sam and Tucker were able to help Danny escape the first attack by the spirit known as **_**Angelus-alvus**_** via their telepathic connection and Sam's telekinetic powers channeled through their telepathic connection—with Tucker's help, of course. They were also able to throw the spirit even more off kilter than he and his race already are enough for Vlad and then ultimately Skulker to finally overwhelm the spirit enough to capture it and send it back to its realm known as **_**Sfero de Ĥaoso**_** (Realm of Chaos). However, the downside for using your powers to their nth degree to fight a spirit and because of being electrocuted accidentally by Skulker with his Timeless Magic weapon, Danny has been left in a coma and Sam and Tucker have also been knocked unconscious. And as y'all know, poor Jack has been trying to make himself useful while waiting for Danny's friends to find and help him. What has he been up to? ...Well, let's see, shall we? I hope this is worth your wait. Here is Chapter 48. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 48—Worrisome Events<p>

Jack's face puckered in more concentration. He had been down in the Fenton lab for nearly a half-hour now. After all, he felt he had to do something other than helplessly watch the two teens after they had begun their task of trying to contact his son; and so he had wanted to get back down to the lab and pick back up where they had left off with finding out what the mysterious black goo was.

He just knew he was on the right track. He was sure that once he discovered that important detail, finding an antidote would be a cinch by comparison.

So far, all of his and the teen's research had concluded that not only was the black sticky substance ghostly, but it was also organic. It also wasn't caused by any virus or bacteria.

He paused and rubbed his eyes. He then frowned in worry. He had very little of the black goo left and he still hadn't discovered what it was….

Maybe he just needed a small break. After all, he hadn't checked on his son's friends for a while. He got up; and just as he passed the computer at which Sam had been working and left on before she and Tucker had begun their task of trying to reach his son, he perchance glanced at the screen.

_Natural sleep aids _had been entered into the search engine box and a list of sites and information about them was displayed below it.

The man's natural curiosity then took over and he clicked on the first website. After reading further, he searched for the chemical formula of those natural herbs that were usually used for sleep aids: valerian, chamomile, and melatonin. His instantly forgot the need for a break; and now re-engaged in his task, he got up and grabbed the legal pad where he had been scribbling down his and the teen's results so far.

He frowned in puzzlement. None of those sleep-aiding herbs had any chemical similarity to the mysterious goo at all. But then again, this was a _ghostly_ substance so maybe its chemical makeup was different.

No.

He knew from experience that there were only slight differences between ghostly things and their corresponding Real World items. True, those differences could obviously manifest themselves, but they were still identifiable as the same substance as their Real World counterparts.

Jack paused again and rubbed his throbbing forehead. He definitely needed a break. Still, he couldn't help but think that maybe they had it all wrong…If that black goo didn't cause sleep and wasn't some kind of disease, then what else could it be?

The man harrumphed in frustration and unconsciously grunted, "But we all fell asleep or got sick on it or something. The way I felt when I first woke up was as if I had the flu or…"

Jack paused again. He _never_ had trouble falling asleep and then waking up bright and early; and yet, he had to have been asleep for at least a week or more…_Something_ had to have kept him from waking…

He absent-mindedly blurted out his next wild idea, "Though I've never taken any, I would guess that it must be how I would feel if I had taken too many sleeping pills or…" He jolted at his next thought, before he became more excited at the notion, "_Or_ _had been_ _poisoned_! Why didn't we think of that before? We already know that a ghost had to be responsible for what happened to us, and we all should have thought that a ghost who would do that would, of course, been _up to no good_!"

Now that his mind was on fire, Danny's father forgot all about Sam and Tucker, grabbed his notes, and rushed back to the computer. He frantically typed in the key words he was searching: _natural poisons_.

He selected the first website and hurriedly searched for the list of poisonous plants. One-by-one, starting at _Abrus precatorius_, the man painstakingly checked the chemical formulas of the plants listed. He frowned when it didn't match the ingredients they had isolated so far. He was about to take that definite break he needed when he decided to check one more plant. As he read and looked at the properties of that last plant, his eyes widened in excitement. That plant contained tropane alkaloids just like the black goo!

Jack hurried over to the last of his sample of the black substance and added what he felt would give him the answer.

"Please let this be the answer," he asked under his breath as he waited for the chemical reaction to occur.

A few anxious moments later, and the results confirmed his hunch: the black goo was made up almost entirely of a derivative of the poisonous plant, _Adropa belladonna!_

Once again, Jack's mind was fixed on this current idea. He returned to the computer and hurriedly searched for antidotes for belladonna and smiled in triumph when he found them: coffee, _hepar sulphuris_, henbane, pulsatilla, and wine.

He had a few ghostly counterparts of those real-world items on hand. He and his wife always kept a stock supply of ghostly items for their experiments—not to mention that ghostly coffee was quite good in the morning!… He hurriedly calculated the proper dosage for the antidote based on the strength of the black goo sample.

The man re-checked his calculations and grew more excited as he was nearing the end of the first part of his task.

"I just can't wait to tell the kids that our work wasn't in vain!" Jack excitedly said as he gathered all the ingredients he needed for the antidote.

The man quickly and deftly concocted the antidote according to his calculations. However, just before he retrieved the last of the black goo, he bit his lower lip.

"I sure hope that Jack Fenton hasn't screwed this up," he muttered as he mixed the antidote with the black goo.

The man wasn't even aware that he was holding his breath as he watched the chemical reaction between the antidote and the black goo. In hardly any time, the black goo turned clear and became a thin liquid again.

Jack poured the test tube containing the clear liquid and put it under the microscope. He could see nothing in the sample.

"If I calculated all of this correctly, I should be looking at just plain water," the man muttered as he placed some drops of reactant to make sure he was right.

He was! The antidote worked! Well, at least for this experiment.

"But let me re-check everything before I try to make more of the stuff to actually use on humans," Jack decided.

However, just as he was re-checking the last part of the chemical formula, he heard what could only be the painful cries of Sam and Tucker!

"Oh, no!" Jack gasped in panic just as he dropped the legal pad holding his formula's specifications and ran up the basement stairs.

He gasped even louder when he saw that the aura surrounding the two teens was no longer a steady purplish-red hue as it had been when he had left them, but it was now violently changing to all sorts of colors!

Now panicking in the sudden thought that the two teens were somehow being electrocuted, the man reflexively drew closer. But before he could even attempt to touch them, that multi-colored hue radically changed to purple! The man couldn't possibly know that the change in auras were from _Angelus-alvus's_ attack and then that the newer purple aura had been caused by Skulker's Timeless Magic energy beam accidentally spilling over to the two teens.

Right after the purple hue dissipated, Tucker, who by now was completely unconscious, fell off of the couch and to the floor!

Sam didn't look any better and before long she, too, fell unconscious before Jack heard her mumble something—but he couldn't understand what she had said.

"Tucker! Sam!" Jack yelled at the sight.

He got to Tucker first and hitched in more panic when he touched the boy. Tucker was ice cold! Jack frantically looked the unresponsive boy over and only slightly calmed when he could see that Tucker was still breathing.

The man hurried over to check on Sam, then; and he jolted when she felt as if she was on fire! Yet, even as he hurriedly checked her over, he could see that she was still breathing, too!

"W-What happened?" he was finally able to choke out, not really all that relieved even when he knew the two were at least still alive. His heart was drenched in guilt as he blurted out, "I should have been here instead of down in the lab!"

He paused at his next thought and countered, "On second thought, I wouldn't even begin to know how to have prevented this since I don't have any séance powers like they do. But that doesn't mean I can't help them now!"

He moved back over to Tucker and gently shook his shoulder.

"Tucker? Tucker are you alright?" he gingerly asked.

When Tucker only moaned in answer, Jack swatted his face gently, only for the boy to shiver before quieting again.

Jack's eyes widened in panic again before he scooped the teen up and headed back down to the lab. He put Tucker on a nearby examination table and hurriedly retrieved several blankets in a nearby closet and quickly draped them over the boy.

Slightly satisfied that this was all he could do at the moment, Jack hurried back up the stairs to Sam. He didn't like it at all when he could plainly see that she hadn't moved from the spot.

He gently scooped her up and jolted when he felt as if her body temperature could burn right through his hazmat suit! He gasped when suddenly she began to convulse. He knew she needed immediate help!

With the unconscious but writhing girl still in his arms, Jack flew down the stairs and quickly placed her on another examination table. Now scared that her body would literally yet accidentally jump off of the examination table, the man squeamishly grabbed a hold of the leather straps attached to the table and wrapped them firmly around the girl.

"I'm sorry to do this, Sam, but I gotta keep you safe until I get what you need!" he hurriedly said just before he bolted to a nearby upright storage cabinet.

He retrieved a very bulky and odd-looking blanket out of it and bolted right back to the girl. He didn't hesitate to throw the blanket on top of her still-convulsing body, plug it in, and turned it on.

Soon, ice water was pumping within the chambers built into the blanket, which bathed the girl in cold water without the need of getting her wet.

Jack choked down a lump in his throat and blinked back the tears at the sudden painful memory and what was happening to his son's girlfriend. "I would never have thought that I would have to use this again after Danny was injured by the Fright Knight last Father's Day!"

After several tense minutes, Sam finally stopped convulsing and lay still. But she didn't wake up.

Biting his lower lip in worry, Jack made himself retrieve some instruments to check her vitals. Thank goodness that their sophisticated diagnostic devices still had Sam's and Tucker's normal data stored in them from the last time he and his wife had to treat them when the teens had contracted a bout of ecto-acne.

His instruments confirmed that except for the girl's heavily flushed and perspiring face, the still elevated but much less dangerous body temperature and shallow breathing, Sam seemed to be all right.

Though only slightly relieved, Jack now felt that he could check on Tucker. The instruments confirmed that Tucker's vitals were also normal except for his slightly lower body temperature. And even though Jack could see that the boy had stopped shivering, he wasn't any more pleased because Tucker was still unconscious.

On a hunch, the man went to another closet and retrieved another special device. He scanned Tucker with it and gasped at the boy's brainwave readings.

Tucker was in a coma!

He hurried over to Sam with the same instrument. Though he calmed only a bit when he could see that she had stopped sweating and her face had paled—even if were a bit more than he would have liked, but better than her face looking like a fireball—he gasped when his readings confirmed that she was _also_ in a coma!

The man then frowned in confusion at the next set of readings he got from the teens. This couldn't be right! Not only were the teens' brainwaves in the _alpha_ range, but they were at the _exact same_ hertz frequency of each other!

Jack bit his lip in worry at what that could possibly mean. The chances of having two persons' brainwaves being that in sync with each other were infinitesimal...Did that mean they were very hurt?

Little did the man know, however, that in fact, the kids' brainwaves were _exactly in sync_ with his son's as well because of their telepathic link.

At first, the large man was at a loss on what to do.

But then, a slight thought leaked out, "_Maybe they had a relapse from the ghostly poison?!" _

He instantly frowned at his stupidity. That wouldn't explain all those changing auras around them just before they fainted and the fact that their body temperatures were so off.

"_Okay, but then again, maybe we all had auras around us when we were poisoned? Then maybe I should try the antidote I just finished on them? It might help…"_

Jack furrowed his brow in worry. What if this wasn't a relapse? What if the antidote did _more_ harm to Danny's friends? Wait. Sam and Tucker's families must have been poisoned, too, and yet _they_ didn't have any auras around them. He shook his head, this time arguing with himself not to give them the antidote.

But then, he just silently argued back. No, he didn't think that the formula would affect anyone badly; after all, it was an antidote….Still, what if he had made mistakes in his calculations? After all, he did goof things up a lot.

He furrowed his brow again, but this time with determination. Danny's friends were depending on him! And so he would have to double-check those calculations…In the meantime, he hoped that the unplanned rest Danny's friends were getting right now would be enough for them to recover—with or without the antidote.

Jack was about to go to the workbench where he had worked on the antidote when he heard Sam groan!

Excited and relieved, he ran over to the still-pale but stirring girl. But just as he got up to her, he stopped and gasped when he thought he heard one _very clear_ word escape from the girl's mouth before she fell into silence again:

"Vlad!"

* * *

><p>Intermittently glancing through the window of the simulation room, Vlad paced the floor. After a few moments more, he stopped and rubbed his eyes. His fatigue was mounting and all of the mental effort he had to make to keep alert and maintain control over his second plan was finally taking its toll on him. Not only that, but he had stopped eating regularly, either from all the distractions or his irregular sleep.<p>

He really didn't care at this point that Maddie had informed him that the alarms had earlier gone off and the monitors had skyrocketed off of the scale again just before Daniel collapsed. It had already taken her some time to put all the systems back on line.

But all Vlad was concerned about at this point was that it had been over an hour and Daniel had still not wakened up yet. Every command that his holographic computer had typed into the microchip had gone unheeded, including not even getting a flinch of moment from the incapacitated boy.

Finally, after a couple of more minutes, Vlad turned to his computer. Even though he was privately afraid of what his computer might report, he still asked as calmly as he could, "What's wrong with Daniel, Maddie? When was the last time you checked his vitals?"

The female holograph immediately turned back to the controls and typed in a few commands before reporting, "As it was for the nine other times you have inquired since the beginning of this incident, your test subject's body temperature returned to normal shortly after he fell unconscious and his vitals have been stable since then. However, your test subject is also still exhibiting _alpha _brainwaves which have not altered in their hertz frequency."

Vlad jolted a little at the news. That could mean only one thing. And he had to know.

"He's _still _in a coma?"

She looked at him and simply confirmed, "That is the human term for it, yes."

"Why? How?" Vlad reflexively blurted out, not really realizing how much his voice had betrayed his anxiety—or the fact that he had forgotten that he had asked these questions a few times already in all this time when the boy was unresponsive.

Maddie emotionlessly replied, "Which question do you want me to answer first, sir?"

Vlad suddenly grew angry and his eyes flashed completely red before he said, "Oh, blast it, woman, just tell me your analysis!"

The female personification of Vlad's love blinked a couple of times in non-comprehension. Still, she was programmed to answer his questions.

"'How'? I am uncertain since I am still double checking some systems that had been knocked off-line earlier," she finally replied in that same steady voice. "As to the 'why', it might have to do with an odd reading that has occurred intermittently and of which you commanded me to track."

Vlad quickly rubbed his brow before narrowing his eyes in irritation and almost hissing, "I told you to keep track of several things, Maddie. But I'm talking about Daniel's vitals and his energy level. Which is responsible for that 'odd' reading?"

"Neither, sir."

Now Vlad was partially stunned. What else could she mean?

"Clarify, Maddie. I thought that you were monitoring only two odd readings and I thought those had to do with Daniel's vitals and energy level."

"Not exactly, sir, but I will clarify. The odd fluctuations of your test subject's vitals and energy readings always occur together, and so I have referred to them as _one set_ of readings. And I am very close on presenting a hypothesis on the cause for your review. But the _other_ set of readings is even more perplexing than the one set we just discussed."

"Oh? _Other set_? How so?" Vlad asked with a hitched eyebrow.

Both of her comments intrigued him, especially since he really had no clue until this moment that there was something odd going on about Daniel _other_ than the instability of his vitals and energy level. He paused. Now that he thought about it, there had been _one_ odd reading about which he had forgotten…

"Does this have to do with what we're calling Daniel's regenerative power, Maddie?" he quickly added.

"No. That occurred only one time and therefore does not qualify as needing to be tracked."

Vlad tightened his lip. Now he was very interested in what she had to say. "So, what precisely do you mean, then, my dear?"

"Well, it is difficult to describe. I think it best…how is it said?" she began, only to suddenly giggle, "That's right: a picture is worth a thousand words."

Vlad frowned when she giggled. This was serious stuff and that was outside her protocol. Nevertheless, he said with slight irritation, "Yes, well, focus and get on with it, Maddie."

Her face instantly mimicking his serious one, she replied as she pushed some buttons, "Right away, sir."

In a heartbeat, she pulled up the somato-sensory maps of Danny's head and body. A few moments later, the maps changed, since she had spliced all the changes and made them into a video to make her point.

She turned to the man and remarked, "As you know, the sensors had recorded this phenomenon on several occasions; but this is the first time they have been able to show some pattern between the otherwise immeasurable data and the situation that was occurring at the moment before your test subject started exhibiting _alpha_ brainwaves. Before this last episode, the phenomenon was too brief and at too high a level to capture its existence for analysis. However, even then, that data is not statistically reliable because the monitors could not actually measure them. But even if there is not enough data to even formulate a hypothesis on the 'how' or 'why', I did find a correlation between this oddity and all the times that the test subject hesitated and closed his eyes for no particular reason. This occurred on several occasions, starting specifically with the program involving with the Lunch Lady and Dairy King; and then chronologically with the three ghosts from Circus Gothic, Shadow, Desiree, Walker, and finally, Spectra. The phenomenon didn't occur after that until this past program dealing with the spirit from the Realm of Chaos."

Vlad paused and thought about it for a moment before he commented, "I also noticed that and thought it was odd that Daniel stopped doing anything at that moment. He looked like he was concentrating. I don't know what for since he did not get any surge of strength like he often did whenever he concentrated. But now that you mention it, the alarms did go off shortly after he paused like that."

"This might explain a bit more about that, then," the computer concurred. "This next video byte is what occurred during this last incident that resulted in your test subject's being in the _alpha _brainwave."

Vlad tightened and skewed his lips in slight apprehension but still calmly replied, "Go on."

She pushed a button and almost immediately, all the grids on the maps of Danny's body and head up lit up very brightly for several moments and then finally disappeared. But there was more. The monitor displaying his brainwave activity was also off the scale when all of the grids had lit up.

"W-What was that?" Vlad stammered since he was completely flabbergasted by the event.

"I already told you, sir. There is not enough data to support any semblance of a hypothesis," she said with a frown this time.

"So, you did, my dear," he replied with a more staid tone in his voice.

The computer continued, "However, even though the data is sketchy, I can say that this particular aberration is quite exceptional and I definitely also correlate it with all those times when the alarms were activated at these most erratic times. Unfortunately, I do not know why the alarms would react at all."

One of Vlad's eyebrows rose at her comment as he tried to make some sense about it. Perhaps his own fatigue was worse than he thought. But he knew he would be able to get some rest as soon as…

He brightened at an idea. "Do you think that those odd fluctuations are really indicators that Daniel has finally been mentally broken?"

"I cannot conclude that. But if that is your deduction, then you have failed in your objective since it was in none of your plans for your test subject to be in a coma or possibly suffer irreparable brain damage," she almost casually replied.

The news stunned the man to silence. What she said about his plans would be true if….. Had he overdone his plans to the point that he permanently damaged the boy? Was everything he had done in the past year and for the past several days been in vain? He felt a painful flutter shake his heart. No. He wouldn't accept the fact that his…son could be permanently damaged! Daniel was stronger than that—at least physically. The boy had spunk and that infernal will; he had that seemingly bottomless well of energy and all those powers at his command. True, he wanted Daniel to be so mentally weak that he could command him, but Vlad was sure that he would only make the boy stronger in the end so that he could have Daniel at his side.

But now…

The billionaire walked over to stealth window of the control booth and peered out to the still unconscious boy with more worry. Was the boy going to die, then? He shook the thought away. Maddie had said Daniel's vitals were fine.

Then…why was Daniel in a coma?

* * *

><p>Vlad sat on the low plush chair he had his ghost employees bring into the control booth of the simulation room shortly after Daniel had fallen into a coma. That 'hour' of Daniel's having fallen into a coma had stretched to <em>hours;<em> and Vlad hadn't left the control booth since the boy's and his ordeal with the _Angelus_. Neither had the older hybrid really slept nor eaten in all this time because he was getting worried more and more about the boy. In addition, all the mental energy Vlad had been exerting on the second part of his plan was still nagging and draining him. His fatigued mind was even toying with stopping with that plan. After all, without the boy, that second plan would be meaningless…

The billionaire's eyes became heavier and heavier as time dragged on. Every once in a while, his head would bob as he drifted in-and-out of a restless sleep.

Still, a few more hours had passed when Maddie the computer interrupted the dead silence.

"Sir?" she quietly asked the obviously sleeping man.

"Huh?" Vlad responded with a jolt.

His dulled mind frantically scanned the area; and yet, it didn't fully comprehend what was happening. And since he wasn't use to having his sleep so abruptly interrupted unless he was being attacked, he reflexively shot a beam of his red electrical ectoplasm in the direction of the voice.

"AAAHHH!" the facsimile of the love of his life yelled as the ecto-electricity unexpectedly drilled into her while arcing over into the mainframe at the same time.

In a split second, the holograph had disappeared and all the alarms went off!

Vlad shot to full wakefulness at what had just happened. He cursed under his breath. If he hadn't been so weakened by his recent restless nights and lack of appetite….But he quickly threw those useless excuses aside and rushed to the mainframe.

With adrenaline pumping throughout his body and charging his mind, the man hurried over to the main console and punched in a series of counter-commands to keep the main computer from totally crashing!

Several nerve-wracking minutes later and all was still again. The main computer was now running on emergency back-up systems and power. Most of that power, however, had already been diverted to maintaining the simulation room and monitoring Daniel's condition.

Not allowing himself even a small sigh of relief, Vlad immediately ran a diagnostic program. He was now worried even more that his master plan was on the verge of complete failure.

Once the diagnostic program was activated, all was still except for the almost undetectable sound of clicking within the machine as binary code upon binary code searched for holes, corrupted files and other damage done to the main unit.

But once the man rechecked the monitors, he frowned. He didn't like the results. Yet, he knew that he needed more than what he could do to fix the problem. He immediately raised his arm and typed in a few commands into his watch-like communication device.

"Skulker, I need you," he simply said into the device.

"Coming right away," Skulker tersely replied.

* * *

><p>Maddie Fenton looked at her makeshift clock. She had first marked the area with lipstick after she had noticed that a small beam of light had escaped through the window blinds and onto the wall just behind her table lamp. But she had since gotten a nail file—among other useful items—from the maids, she had actually etched the points she needed to make her crude sundial. She was very thankful that the table lamp did a great job in hiding her 'sundial' from the ever-cleaning eyes of the maids.<p>

That sundial had certainly served its purpose. Now, she had no trouble timing the periods between working on her escape plan, sitting around looking bored for her mysterious observer, and 'entertaining' the frequent visits of those ghost maids. And now she was sure that she would not get caught at working on her escape plans as she nearly was a couple of days ago.

The auburn-haired woman guessed that she had about an hour to finish the last tweaks of her improvised ghost weapon. She had already used part of the ghostly ring and one of the ghostly earrings that 'Rose' had given her, ground them into a powder and then infused it into the magnetic coil that was the basis of generating anti-ectoplasmic power. Her hands moved diligently as she finalized the last sequence of electrodes and such needed to make the weapon usable.

Finally, the weapon was as done as she could make it to be and it was time to test it. She didn't want to waste another moment being a prisoner! She smiled when she knew how she was going to do that.

She looked at her 'clock' again. The ghost maids would be coming to serve her lunch soon and she would have to be ready by then. She quickly headed toward the nightstand and pulled open its lone door. She pulled out the rest of the ring and the other earring that 'Rose' had given her and placed the ring on top of the closed notebook that was on the table.

The woman carefully aimed the hair-dryer-turned-makeshift-ghost-weapon and gently pulled its trigger. The wires within the hair-dryer sizzled a bit before a powerful green ecto-beam shot out and delivered its destructive energy to the rest of the ring.

The ring instantly began to tremble and change its shape under the blow. Not a moment later, it blew up before leaving a faintly glowing pile of ecto-dust behind which then quickly vanished.

"Yes!" the woman cried in triumph while jerking a fisted hand to one of her hips. "I think this could certainly jolt even a level nine ghost!"

She paused and bit her lower lip in concern before she murmured to herself, "Well, at least, I hope it will just provide a good distraction until I could get away."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Maddie the computer was still in the process of rebooting.<p>

A few minutes later, Vlad could immediately tell that his overrides to her usual programs weren't entirely re-instated.

The hologram reappeared in her solid form without a glitch. But there was a scowl on her face as she grumbled her first words since Vlad had accidentally electrocuted her circuits, "I say once again that it's the cat or me! I have served you without question and yet you give that flirty furball just as much—or more—of your attention than to me!"

"Now, now, Maddie," he gently began at an attempt to calm her, only for her to cut him right off.

"Don't lecture me, Vlad!" she scoffed. "I am the superior being to that dust mop you call your cat….And speaking of being superior, I am also better than…"

But she froze in place at having been interrupted by Vlad's quick fingers and override commands.

The man frowned with dissatisfaction at the frozen face of the solid hologram. He needed his computer to be in control of its emotional programs again or else any future attempts to push forward on his plans would be sunk. He continued to push more buttons.

All of the sudden the frozen image of his computer began to scramble out of existence for a few seconds before the holograph refocused enough to be solid again.

A moment later and her face was no longer etched in anger. It was calm and serene as she stood looking at Vlad before saying without any emotion in her voice, "Your command, Vlad?"

The older hybrid was still unsatisfied at the result, however improved it was. He tersely replied, "Check your memory banks, my dear, and make sure your corrupted files are quarantined."

Once again, the computer's 3-D holographic face froze as it searched its memory files and did as she was commanded.

However, her emotional memory chip had never been corrupted. It had been merely accessed after her _logic_ microchip had been corrupted.

"Corrupted files quarantined, lamb chops," she suddenly gushed.

Vlad frowned at her response. Things were definitely still awry.

His voice still firm, he added, "Begin a full diagnostics, my dear. And make sure you override your emotional chip in the process."

Maddie blinked slightly before she replied with a toothy smile, "That will be almost impossible to do that right now, sugardoodle."

"Why?" Vlad asked in demand.

"Because I don't want to do that right now, love."

Vlad gasped, "What?"

However, just then, there was a slight rap on the control booth's door before Derek came into the room with the lunch that Vlad had previously ordered.

But unbeknownst to the butler and the other sentient beings in the room, Maddie _the cat_ had slinked in right on the ghost butler's heels.

At first, neither of the males saw the bundle of white fur on four paws, but Maddie the computer did.

She quickly picked up a magazine; and with jealousy pulsing within her glowing green light bulbs for eyes, charged the cat.

Meanwhile, however, Vlad noticed right away when he caught sight on how suddenly and swiftly the holograph had just moved. His eyes widened in slight panic before he quickly pushed even more buttons.

The hologram froze in mid-flight just before she was about to release the magazine at her feline rival. A moment later, the female projection of Vlad's computer phased away.

Once he felt that the computer was momentarily off-line, Vlad turned to his butler and said, "Just leave the tray, Derek. I will be delayed a bit more. It seems my computer needs some overdue—and major—maintenance at the moment."

"As you wish, sir," Derek said, though he had trouble masking the unsettling feeling he had at seeing his employer's computer on the fritz.

Without another word, Derek left. In fact, he was more than happy to leave this time.

Not realizing that he was ignoring his cat, Vlad quickly went to work manually inputting commands to diagnose and clean up the computer's logic microchip.

But as he worked, he could tell that part of that area was still damaged. He overrode it as best as he could.

After several more minutes, the man stopped and frowned. He still had not fully re-routed the main programs to back-up the sub-programs. That meant he would probably have to break down the computer and re-install some hardware.

"_I can't afford to do that,"_ he anxiously said to himself while never stopping pushing command buttons.

He needed his computer to continue to monitor the boy's vitals and keep the condition ideal to coax Daniel out of his coma. And after that, he needed to check on the boy's mental status. Maybe the coma was a sign that the boy's will had been crushed. He had to know.

But now, if he had to replace any hardware to his computer, he could lose all of his control over the boy, including getting him to recover from his coma. And he simply would not risk all the hard work he had done to get this point.

Vlad glanced at his watch-like control device and uttered in annoyance, "Where is Skulker? I need him!"

The older hybrid continued to punch several more keys in the next few minutes before he heard a knock on the door.

Before Vlad could say 'come in', a voice behind him inquired, "You called me?"

The man reflexively relaxed at the familiar voice. "I'm certainly glad you finished your errand and could come, Skulker. I need your help with fixing my computer."

One of Skulker's eyebrows shot up in surprise. What had happened? The older hybrid's computer was state of the art and never had any flaws in it! He should know, since he helped install it.

Nevertheless, the cyborg ghost floated over to the mainframe and glanced at the monitors and its control panel. Something was definitely awry.

He pushed a button on his control wrist band and a long, slender, snake-like coil jutted out and affixed itself to a corresponding outlet in the main part of the computer. He studied the readings that immediately began to be displayed.

A few seconds later, the hunter ghost remarked with continued surprise, "What happened? It looks like the mainframe was attacked by level nine ectoplasmic energy!"

"You could say that," Vlad replied with a sheepish grin. "Let's just say that I'm overdue for a twenty-four hour nap."

The cyborg ghost eyed the man suspiciously, but didn't comment. He turned back to the console and typed in more commands.

The two friends were silent and serious for the next hour or so as Skulker diagnosed and fixed any problems his technology detected.

Finally, Skulker said, "Your computer is long over do in its maintenance schedule, but this is the best I can do to remedy the situation for now, Plasmius. However, there was major damage done to the logic chip for your holographic projection. I think I was able to reconnect most of it, but I cannot guarantee that the female computer representation's, uhm, mannerisms will be as they were before the attack of the level nine ectoplasm. But it will have to do until I can devise a new microchip."

"Very well, Skulker," Vlad replied with some worry still etched on his face. "But are the other systems intact?"

"Yes, most of the mainframe was spared; and those that weren't had very little damage and I was able to bypass their systems while preserving the overall integrity of the mainframe."

Vlad's smile finally returned with the news. Skulker was certainly a very valuable employee…and friend. He said, "As always, you know how to remedy the situation, Skulker…Thank you for your help."

The robotic ghost arched one of his eyebrows. He didn't expect the man to say that after all that had happened. Still, he replied, "No thanks is needed, Plasmius. Just take more care—and sleep as you admit—hopefully, in the near future."

The billionaire smirked at his friend's way of seeming serious whenever he was teasing the man. Still, Vlad answered, "Noted and I will get more sleep once my plans are completed. Do you want to stay awhile to see the results of your repair?"

"Not this time, Plasmius. I have to work on the microchip," Skulker replied.

"Of course," the man agreed. "But feel free to drop that off anytime."

"I always do," Skulker dryly remarked just before he turned to go.

The man watched as the cyborg ghost left the room. Even though he knew the ghost was out of earshot, he quietly replied toward that same direction, "Quite right, my friend."

Vlad then turned back to the mainframe and pushed a few buttons. The computer hologram reappeared and the man was pleased that her solid composition was still intact.

"How are you, my dear?" he asked.

The solid hologram didn't answer him at first. Instead, she blinked a few moments as her systems finalized in their rebooting.

Her face was staid when she finally informed him, "Checking systems…"

She quieted again and the man could see static of various colors shoot across the love of his life's otherwise blank eyes as the computer ran its diagnostic program.

After several moments, the holograph's face relaxed and her eyes resumed the color and form of her human female model. She smiled and almost giggled her report, "All systems repaired enough to function adequately for Master Plan 285, sweetums."

Vlad frowned. He was hoping that Skulker had been wrong about the logic chip's needing to be replaced. Still, he could tolerate the slight change for now. After all, he was more relieved that he could push on with his plans.

"Good, my dear. Please report on Daniel's condition," he firmly replied.

But then, something completely unexpected happened.

Maddie the holograph shut down most of the monitors!

"W-What are you doing, Maddie?" Vlad blurted out.

"Do we have to do any more work right now, lamb chop?" the computer asked in a slightly sing-song voice. "I haven't seen you for hours!"

Vlad swallowed thickly. Skulker was _too _right about the damage done to his computer's logic chip! But he also thought the hunter had fixed it, well, okay the best the hunter could do!

The man immediately lowered his hands so that they were hidden behind one of the instruments. He then activated one of the buttons on his watch-like device before he calmly replied, "Now, now, my dear. I missed you, too. But we will have plenty of time for catching up later. Right now, I want you to scan Daniel and tell me how he is."

"Oh, alright! I will do as you command. But you have to promise to have tea and cookies with me soon," the computer replied with a slight pout.

Vlad pursued his lips in displeasure. This would not do. Still, Skulker had said her mannerisms would be different! And she was really obeying his commands in spite of those aberrations. Maybe he shouldn't have sent out another call to his friend like he just did.

Still, he carefully answered, "Of course, my dear. You know that I will look forward to it! But in the meantime, will you be so good as to scan Daniel and tell me how he is?"

The computer's face lit up in delight and this time she giggled, "As you command, lambsy."

Vlad's frown deepened but he didn't comment since he was more concerned about what her report would be. He walked closer to the somato-map of the boy and other monitors and silently watched the hologram scan Daniel.

After several more minutes of reviewing the data, Maddie began to push some command buttons.

Even more minutes ebbed by and the man could see that not much of the data had changed. Now he was _very_ worried.

But little did he know that the delay was because of something _else_ and not what was happening to the boy.

After a few more minutes, Vlad had decided to ask his computer what was going on. He sure hoped she was obeying his commands! Maybe it had been a good idea to call on his ally so that Skulker could recheck his computer's functions.

Vlad frowned. Just where in the devil was Skulker? But then, the man slightly relaxed. He knew well enough that Skulker always wanted to work on one thing at a time; and that once his mind was on a particular task, he would delay responding to additional requests.

His thoughts were interrupted by his computer.

"I'm almost through, sweetie-pie," Maddie said in sing-song. "Are you pining for me?"

Vlad grunted in irritation. Now he wanted Skulker to hurry and fix his computer's logic chip and make sure that Maddie would continue to obey his commands without any…distractions.

But before he respond, however, the computer finally reported, "Your son is finally responding to my prompts, sugardoodle. And his brainwaves are changing."

Vlad felt his heart leap at the encouraging news, but he forced himself to remain calm as he asked, "They are? Analysis, Maddie."

The computer complied. "His brainwaves are no longer in the _alpha_ range. They have transitioned to the _delta _spectrum, which is at least in theory an early indicator that he has recovered from his coma. We cannot confirm that until he actually awakens. Shall I try to prompt that, honey drop?"

"Yes, Maddie, do that, but do so carefully since we don't want to do any more harm to the boy."

"I'm always careful, lamb chop," she giggled.

This time Vlad scowled at her attitude but he also didn't want to upset her. He replied, "Do try to be a bit more serious, Maddie, hmm? Remember we are at a critical stage of this plan."

"We have not determined that yet, sir gingersnap," she informed him, though her voice seemed slightly more serious this time.

Vlad then smirked at her ridiculous reply. He really would have to tolerate his computer's current quirks given that her circuitry was still partially damaged. But he also knew she was right. Until Daniel was actually _awak_e, he could not be sure in what kind of mental state the boy was.

He tensed a little before he pushed a command button. The monitor that displayed the map of the boy's brain flashed on and the man studied them carefully. But he unconsciously relaxed when the corresponding areas lit up as he had anticipated as the younger hybrid was finally—if slowly—being coaxed into wakefulness by the commands inputted into the microchip behind his ear.

The man tensed again when he could see that Daniel was now at the threshold between sleep and being awake. The frequency of his brainwaves was slowly yet surely reaching the _beta_ range.

Finally, the boy began to stir!

Vlad hadn't even realized until now that he had been holding his breath in both anxiety and anticipation.

But now that Daniel was moving even more as he struggled to wake, Vlad's eyes instantly darted to and from all the monitors and the stirring teen.

The billionaire smiled when he could tell that the boy's stress levels, though wavering radically, were skyrocketing toward the critical phase again!

Nevertheless, Vlad knew he had to wait to see what Daniel would do before he commanded his computer to activate another program.

He turned to study the monitors once more while waiting for the boy to completely awaken. He wasn't at all aware that his computer was rapidly typing in _other_ commands in response to an erroneous looping in her circuitry…

However, Maddie the computer was finished with her task long before Vlad could even suspect that something was awry.

The female facsimile smirked darkly as she reviewed the lone monitor that was visible only to her computer-generated amethyst eyes at the moment. She had interfaced the monitor with the surveillance cameras Vlad had installed throughout his mansion.

"There you are, you fluff of feckless fur!" she mumbled to herself as her eyes narrowed on her target. "I'll make sure you don't keep me from having tea and cookies with Vlad!"

The computer pushed another button and she suppressed her glee when the cat howled at the beam that had appeared out of nowhere and rapidly hit her. But the slightly singed fur that had been assaulted was now glowing with an easily tractable marker…

Then the hologram turned to her other task dictated by her corrupted files. This time, the monitor zoomed to a lone door surrounded by a human and ghost shield.

"That is where the other unworthy female is. I will make sure that she stays in her place as well," the computer said as she typed in a few more commands.

A small dart-like device shot out of nowhere and embedded itself into the edge of the shield nearest the control panel. It was so small and of the same color as the control panel that it was hardly noticeable. In fact, it truly was inconspicuous.

The computer-generated female further configured the small tracking device to ignore the familiar ectoplasmic signatures of the ghostly maids. After all, they did visit that silly human much too often as it was.

Once she was through, Maddie the computer smiled in satisfaction.

It would now be every easy for her to detect the comings and goings of that room…

* * *

><p>Jack didn't know what to make of Sam's utterance; but he could only conclude she must have been delirious because she was convulsing again!<p>

Her temperature must have spiked again in spite of the ice water being pumped into that special blanket!

The man had no more time to think about what Sam had uttered! The girl was in immediate danger!

He bolted upstairs to the kitchen to get more ice. He grabbed a large garbage bag and emptied all of the ice from the ice maker into it before he returned to the lab and to examination table upon which Sam laid. He immediately took out some ice and started to rub it directly on the only parts of the girl's body that were exposed at the moment: namely, her forehead, neck and arms.

And, much to the man's relief, the girl's body stilled after only a few minutes of his diligent care. He checked her vitals and sighed in bigger relief that all looked well.

He sat down on a nearby chair before he gasped and frantically rubbed his face and ran his fingers through his hair in slight aftershock from the ordeal.

"I can sure use a boatload of fudge right now," Jack anxiously mumbled as he glanced back at the girl and then at Tucker.

They both look peaceful and their coloring was rapidly returning to normal.

Danny's father sighed again in relief. But then, he frowned. He had no time for this! He still had to double check the formula for the antidote before he could use it on the teens. But then, his stomach growled. Well, okay, he did need something to keep his own strength up.

"I'll be right back kids, okay?" he reflexively asked the unresponsive teens before he headed upstairs.

Once in his kitchen, Jack didn't hesitate to grab some of the food he and the teens had been eating all this time. He devoured several energy bars before he felt he needed something to drink. He went to the refrigerator and guzzled the cup or two of milk left in the jug in practically an instant.

But then, he gasped when he realized what he had just done. True, he hadn't eaten for hours, but he should have controlled himself!

He checked the freezer and frowned. Then he hurried to the pantry.

But when he got there, he could see that he had eaten up the last of the supplies he and the kids had been using! He grunted in chagrin. Sure, he could take some food out of the freezer or open a can or two, but he knew that none of those would do in this situation. They needed quick energy food—stuff full of fat and sugar—for now.

"Just great, Jack Fenton!" he chided himself. "It's high time you quit thinking of your stomach as a vacuum cleaner whenever you're hungry."

The man bit his lip in chagrin as he tried to solve the situation. He could always whip up some more shakes…but there was no more milk and besides, they needed solid food, too.

He ran back downstairs and checked on Danny's friends.

Both of the teens seemed to be resting comfortably. And Jack could see on the monitors that their vitals were normal and stable—well, except for the fact that they were still in some kind of coma.

Even though Jack knew Sam and Tucker wouldn't be able to respond to him, he felt guilty on what he was about to do, and needed to 'talk' to them.

"All right, kids," he blurted out, "I need to go get us some more quick energy food."

He looked at Tucker and added, "I wish I could use that cool PDA of yours to open up a quick portal, Tucker, but you know I don't know how to do that, so I'm going to have to do this the 'old-fashioned' way."

The man's eyes shifted to Sam as he continued, "I think you both will be okay…" He paused at his next thought, "_At least I __**hope**__ you will be okay…"_

Jack cleared his throat when it had suddenly tightened and he said, "I won't be gone long, kids. I'm going to run to the nearest convenience store and back, okay?"

He bit his lip even though he hadn't expected them to answer. He checked on their vitals once more and quickly headed out of the door and hopped into the Fenton RV…

The man frowned when he could see that the streets were still deserted and not a soul was in sight. He reflexively rolled down the driver's window and slowed down before shouting, "Is anyone out there?"

He puckered his lips in chagrin when there was no answer and he continued to drive to the store with the van's window still down.

But as the vehicle neared the nearest convenience store, the man frowned. There was that odd—and even _louder_—noise again…And it was _still_ coming from the direction of Central Park.

Jack hesitated in indecision. He had to get some food and hurry home, but he just _had_ to know what was making all of that noise! After all, if the whole town was suffering from being poisoned or something, how could there be anything that loud coming from _anywhere_, much less Central Park?

After deciding on what to do, he gritted his teeth in determination. He quickly parked the Fenton RV in front of the convenience store and jumped out. He ran inside and hurriedly gathered up every quick energy food in sight and a couple of gallons of whole milk. He plunked down several bills on the empty counter and didn't worry about getting any change. After all, even though he had plenty of money to pay for what he took, he still felt uncomfortable about the circumstances in which he had to take it.

He placed the food and milk into the van and turned toward…Central Park...

Once the Fenton RV had neared Central Park, Jack slowed and quickly parked it.

The noise here was now deafening! He knew that he just had to be at the right place.

_But, what was going on?_

Just as Jack had undone his seatbelt and was about to open the driver's door, he got a sick feeling.

"_Better be safe than sorry when I'm usually sorry than safe!"_ he thought as he turned in the opposite direction and headed to one of the small cabinets built inside of the Fenton RV.

He quickly opened the small door and reached in to retrieve a ghost weapon and another device.

Once Jack had stuffed them into his orange hazmat suit pockets, he opened the side door of the Fenton RV and started for the heart of Central Park.

Ignoring the occasional leaf falling from the autumn-kissed trees, the large man slowly crept further into the park. His eyes cautiously darted from side-to-side and then forward again as he continued to push ahead. He even briefly twisted and scanned behind him from time-to-time only because hearing that loud, strange noise spooked him.

Finally, the eldest Fenton spied some huge mechanical thing peeking through and quite a bit above the sparsely foliated bushes and trees just in front of him. He carefully swept past the limbs that almost threatened to deny him passage.

Then, his eyes widened in disbelief.

There were _people_ here—_lots and lots of people_! Not _everyone_ had been poisoned with that sleeping sickness like he and the kids had thought!

He was about to jump out of his hiding place and go talk to those people when something made him stop.

He didn't know why he thought better than approaching those people. But that hesitation was enough for him to realize that those people just didn't seem right…

And then he realized why he was glad he hesitated.

All of the people he could see were working on that, er, some kind of… big thing he had seen through the bushes before he had seen the people.

He looked at the...well, he didn't have a clue of what it was! True, at least the _bottom half _of it was spewing out water from various locations. And all that water was kicking up a thick mist in the process. Not only that, but miniature spotlights were moving about, beaming their rays on the working people, the sidewalks, the trees and the bushes surrounding the thing.

"_Wait a minute_," Jack suddenly thought only to himself. _"I remember reading something in the papers about having some kind of ceremony for the new fountain here."_

He searched his mind and frowned. That must have happened when he was ill with that ghostly poison.

"_Well, if that's true, I'm glad I missed it because this is not near as attractive as the top of Fenton Works!" _he concluded. _"Especially when all that water is creating that huge cloud over it!"_

Suddenly, however, the orange-suited man's eyes inadvertently followed one of the spotlights. Before he knew it, however, its light beam was quickly heading right to him!

Jack stifled a gasp and ducked even lower behind the large bush behind which he had been all this while. He gingerly glanced upward and held his breath as the light beam skirted the area just above him.

"I don't know if I just got spooked just now, but I just got the feelin' that it was a good thing that I did get spooked!" he softly breathed.

Trying to decide what to do, he hesitated where he was still squatting.

Finally, his stomach decided for him.

_GRRRR!_

"_Oh, no! How long have I been gone? Thank goodness it's a bit chilly out here or else the milk might spoil!"_ the man thought. Then he absentmindedly mused, "_Besides, I told the kids I wouldn't take that long and…gee, how long have I been here?"_

His face puckered with a mixture of indecision and slight irritation before it melded into a more determined look. _"It doesn't matter how long I've been here. I don't know what's going on here, but I've seen enough! I have to go check on the kids and try to help them! So, no time wastin', Fenton!"_

The orange-suited man quickly yet quietly retreated, retraced his steps back to his RV and headed back to Fenton Works.

Nevertheless, what he had seen had still rattled him. He knew that once he got the chance, he had to get to the bottom of what he had just seen in Amity's Central Park….

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, then, there you have it. Did I surprise y'all? I hope so! I especially thank all those very clever readers who had suggested that Maddie the computer go off-kilter because, in actuality, that had been my plan all along (Gee, does that mean we have a telepathic link? COOL!). There's a very important reason (or I should say reasons) for that as you'll soon see! In the meantime, let's not use our telepathic link to let me know what you think of the chapter because it takes a lot of energy. Instead, oh, look! There's a box down there to let me know what you think!**

**Hope to hear from y'all soon! **


	49. Chapter 49 Even More Worrisome Events

**A/N: Well, gang, I'm back, just like a bad penny! And speaking of, ahem, bad things, let's get right to the chapter! Here is Chapter 49. Enjoy!**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 49—Even More Worrisome Events<p>

Jack was still shook up from what he had witnessed at Central Park. He was clueless of what it could mean; but he had to refocus his efforts back on his son's friends because he had neglected them far too long with his side adventure.

As usual, Jack slammed on the Fenton RV's brakes about fifty feet from the front of his home. The large vehicle instantly screeched and slid sidewards before its back end began to fishtail. Within seconds, the RV had turned a complete one-eighty and the sidewalls of its front and back right wheels were snuggling against the curb in perfect orientation to the road.

Jack grabbed all of the grocery bags with one hand and hurried up the front steps of his home.

The man was in the kitchen in no time. But, he was still so upset that he threw everything—including food that was non-perishable—into the refrigerator before he immediately headed down to the lab to check on Sam and Tucker.

His heart sank when he could tell that they were still unconscious. He sweated nervously as he looked at the monitors. Their breathing was still shallow and their heartbeats were still lower than normal.

He walked over to Tucker. He touched him on his shoulder, slightly shook it and asked, "Tucker? Are you all right, son?"

Jack frowned when the boy didn't acknowledge his efforts.

The man then walked over to Sam and gingerly yet gently nudged her on her shoulder.

"Sam?" he hesitantly called and bit his lip when she, too, didn't rouse.

After glancing worriedly at the monitors, he grumbled under his breath, "Well, at least their temperature is normal now."

Nevertheless, the man hoped they weren't severely injured from whatever they both had endured from trying to help his son. And yet, he couldn't help but feel guilty that they had been hurt. He shouldn't have let them take such a risk like that.

But then again, how could he have known? And what choice did they really have in the end? Still, that didn't make him feel better.

His eyes drifted over to one of the workbenches and his face puckered with more chagrin. On top of it all, all that work on his finding the cure for the sleeping sickness wasn't even needed to save the town, since it looked like the town had actually recovered—that is, of course, if they had been poisoned at all. So, that meant that he wouldn't even have to double-check his calculations about the cure or see if his antidote would actually work because it wasn't going to be needed. He sighed in slight defeat…But he also had to admit that he had done his best to find the cure.

He creased his brow. That thought didn't satisfy him. It still didn't explain why all of the people he saw at Central Park were acting so strangely. He didn't think he or the kids had acted that strangely when they had woken from their illness…and none of them, of course, had ended up at Central Park.

But then, his mind drifted more before his heart fluttered in both hope and then defeat at his next thought. Maybe he would need the antidote for Sam and Tucker's families! They hadn't woken from their sleep. Or had they? Maybe that poison eventually wore off and they, too, had somehow recovered? He couldn't be so sure, of course, since they hadn't been able to check on them for a while now.

He was tempted to call the Foleys and Mansons and check on that; but then, one of the monitors beeped.

He looked in anticipation and he startled a bit. Sam's heartbeat was slowing even more!

He gasped in alarm. Now, what was he going to do?

"Well, if the town is alright, then maybe I can call an ambulance!"

He ran back upstairs and grabbed the kitchen phone. But when he dialed the number, it kept ringing and ringing—like all the times before.

"I don't get it!" he said, creeped out by the news. "If the town's okay, why aren't the emergency people answering the phone?"

Feeling so lost on what to do, Jack absent-mindedly headed back down to the lab.

But then he sighed a bit in relief when he could see that Sam's heart rate had returned to normal.

Still, neither she nor Tucker had stirred yet!

He anxiously looked over the monitors again and seeing that the kids were stable, he plopped down on a chair sandwiched between the two examination tables upon which the two unconscious teens were and sighed.

"Jack Fenton fails again!" he bemoaned even as he reached over and carefully readjusted the pillow under Tucker's head. "I'm just a useless lump!"

He propped his elbows upon his knees and let his face ooze into his waiting hands. He never felt so helpless and inept as he did right now. He couldn't help anyone!

He was so upset that he didn't realize that his mind had begun to wander aimlessly.

Suddenly, a clear thought pushed through. He remembered what Sam had last said before she totally collapsed. At first, he was so worried about the girl's immediate health that he had readily dismissed her muttering as unimportant…But now that he thought about it, he knew that Danny's girlfriend was a fighter….Was it possible that she would press herself to relay a message to someone she thought could help even when she would be putting herself in a bad situation?

The man's eyebrows shot up at the immediate answer. After all, there was the time that she and Tucker had stolen the Specter Speeder and Boo-merang…He didn't know it at that time, but they had been trying to find his son and had succeeded; but, all he and his wife had thought at the time was that they were doing something wrong. And he had wanted to punish the teens; but then for some reason his wife—and even Mr. Lancer—had insisted to drop the whole thing…

He thought more about that…Why didn't Sam and Tucker get in trouble? Oh, yeah. He had been so excited about fixing up the Specter Speeder that he had all but forgotten the incident...

So, was it possible that Sam had told him something important even when she herself was in trouble health-wise? Somehow, he thought she would.

"Hmmm. Just why did Sam mutter Vlad's name?" the man continued to muse. "One thing I do know is that she definitely doesn't like him, so I wouldn't think she would struggle that hard to mention him..." His eyes suddenly widened at a wild idea. "Unless…unless _he has_ something to do with all of this!"

Jack felt his heart rate and breathing increase when several emotions hit him with that thought. Now he was both worried and angry. What if that man did have his son…and Maddie?!

He felt his face flush more. He had purposely buried his real feelings about the billionaire within the last year for his family's sake. It would do no good to act any differently toward Vlad and make the billionaire suspicious about everything that Jack now knew about the man. After all, what Vlad had done during the 'Disasteroid Incident' was no longer part of history. It had all been erased during the Poisoned Ghost War that had also been erased….

But that did not erase the kind of man Jack had found out that Vlad was. Nor did it totally erase Jack's sudden repulsion of the man…like now!

During all those years before the 'Disasteroid Incident', Jack hadn't really paid attention to his former best friend's reactions whenever they were around each other. It had never occurred to Jack to think badly of anyone, especially whom he had cared about as if he were a brother. And he did think of Vlad like a brother…for years.

In fact, Jack had tried to give his former friend a lot of emotional support after his accident with the ghost portal prototype in college and Vlad had soundly rejected it.

At first, that had hurt Jack because he had apologized to Vlad about the accident so many times that he had lost count. But at the time, Jack could only suppose that Vlad had just needed some time to calm down and get over the accident. Still, he also didn't know at the time that Vlad would actually need to take _a lot_ of time to get over it. So much, in fact, that they had lost touch over those many years.

True, before they had lost touch, Jack had made sure to call; but eventually Vlad had changed phone numbers. And then, he had tried to write to him; but the billionaire had never responded. But once again, Jack had given his former friend the benefit of a doubt and understood what Vlad must be going through and therefore respected his wishes to be left alone.

Jack also never had any inkling that Vlad had ever been in love with Maddie. Vlad had never hinted to him—or even to Maddie, for that matter—during their college years that Vlad was any more interested in Maddie other than that of a friend.

If Jack had known that Vlad was that interested in Maddie back then, he might have acted differently. But then again, now that he thought about it, his wife never seemed interested in Vlad at the time, either, except as a friend. She had never indicated otherwise than that to him.

So, how was it either his or his wife's fault that Vlad had turned so….evil?

Jack frowned at the thought. Right now, there was nothing he could do about the past. And he also knew that he had treated Vlad like a brother and felt as if no time had passed between them when they saw each other again at their class reunion at Vlad's castle in Wisconsin. Once again, Jack had just assumed then that Vlad had finally gotten over the accident and moved on. In fact, Jack had been proud of his former best friend's accomplishments and appreciated his hospitality.

After all, Jack's personality would never have entertained the thought that Vlad had evil ulterior motives for reconnecting with his family…

Or at least, that is what Jack _had_ thought about the billionaire…

But something had snapped in Jack during the 'Disasteroid Incident'. Finding out that Vlad had been the 'Wisconsin Ghost' who had overshadowed him at the reunion and who had been responsible for a lot of mischief at least in Amity Park on that day— not to mention the fact that Vlad's holding the world hostage at such a dire time was despicable— had all been too much even for Jack's usually docile and let-bygones-be-bygones personality.

Jack narrowed his eyes as the ire for that man flared up once again. Vlad had betrayed him during the 'Disasteroid Incident' when he had never betrayed Vlad—at least, not on his part. And it really stung now as much as it had then to realize that Vlad hadn't actually forgiven him for accidentally injuring him, even when he had never had any intention to harm him….But the final straw was Vlad's telling him that he would take Maddie by force to be his wife!

Real friends would never think of such things about the other—unless they were indeed enemies instead.

In many ways, Jack didn't regret his decision to leave Vlad stranded in space back then—even if that incident had also been erased—because he realized during that intense time that Vlad was evil and would stop at nothing to enslave the world.

If he hadn't left the man out there, Vlad would probably have been as ruthless as all the other evil rulers of the world. Jack paused at the thought when he could feel a lump form in his throat. Part of him did regret it and was ashamed because he, too, had acted upon an…evil impulse. Jack had acted on a momentary hatred for the man….And now with what Sam said, with what he was thinking, Jack was feeling that hatred stir again…especially if Vlad did have his son and wife or was hurting either one of them!

The man growled with the dark thought.

But suddenly, Jack startled.

Tucker had just groaned and must be stirring!

Jack rushed up to the slowly rousing boy. He was so relieved that the boy was recovering that all of those strong emotions immediately disappeared.

"Tucker!" Danny's father loudly called out, half-excited and half-relieved just as he touched the boy's shoulder.

But Jack immediately pulled back when Tucker actually startled at the man's touch.

Jack bit his lower lip in regret and worry before he stilled with the hope that the boy would regain consciousness on his own.

And, fortunately, Danny's father didn't have to wait too long.

Tucker's eyes finally and slowly fluttered open before the teen cupped his face in one of his hands and then began to pull himself up to a sit.

Jack gritted his teeth in anticipation but he finally and nervously asked, "Are you alright, son?"

"Aarghh!" Tucker instantly responded with another startle. He was so dizzy from what he had experienced that he wasn't even aware that the man had already spoken to him. He didn't have a clue of where he was, much less expect to be in the same room with someone else who just talked to him!

The man gritted his teeth uneasily once again but before he could calm the teen, Tucker yelled out in a panic, "I can't see!"

Jack quickly reached over to a nearby table and handed the boy his glasses.

Tucker's head hadn't cleared enough to notice that his glasses appeared out of nowhere and ended up in one of his hands. Still, the dark-skinned boy reflexively placed his glasses on the rim of his nose and around his ears.

"I'm sorry I scared you, Tucker," Jack braved to utter. "But are you alright?"

The man didn't say any more than that, even if he didn't like the fact that the male teen's eyes weren't focusing well on him even after he had put on his glasses.

In the meantime, the man's words finally registered in Tucker's brain and the boy realized that it was a friend who was talking. He finally replied, "Uh, I'm a little dizzy, but I think I'm alright, Mr. F."

But then, Tucker suddenly gasped in alarm when his memory fully cleared. "Danny! Sam!"

The younger male tried to jump up as soon as he had called out his friends' names but he immediately lost his balance when he realized too late that his feet didn't touch the floor quite right because he had been on a lab table.

Jack immediately rushed to the boy and steadied him enough to keep Tucker from falling and help him sit on a nearby chair before he answered, "Sam's here, Tucker, but she hasn't woken up yet….And as far as Danny…."

Jack hesitated in anxiety over mentioning his son's name, but he jolted at Tucker's immediately response to his comment.

"Is Danny alright? He was being attacked by that same creature we told you about!" Tucker blurted out, clearly in a panic.

Jack frowned in confusion this time. Sam had mentioned _Vlad_ and now Tucker was mentioning that…creature? He was certain that Tucker knew who the billionaire was.

"Creature? I thought Vlad had him?" Jack queried, puzzled.

"Vlad?" Tucker asked with just as much confusion. "What's he got to do with this?"

But neither of the males knew that only Sam had actually 'seen' via her powers that Vlad had been involved in Danny's encounter with _Angelus-alvus._

Jack then fumbled to reply, "I-I thought, uh, maybe. Uhm. Never mind."

The man had thought he had heard Sam correctly, but now he wasn't so sure. But right now, it was far more important to try to revive the girl and then find out what had happened.

Jack finally added, "But Sam is still unconscious, Tucker. Can you maybe try to do that trick you did the last time and help her come to again?"

Tucker gasped in apprehension at the news before he reflexively sat more upright. He tried to ignore the dizziness that increased when he did that; but still hurriedly jerked his head in several directions until he spotted his female friend on a nearby lab table.

"Sam!" Tucker worriedly called.

However, when he did try to get up from his sitting position, it triggered even more wooziness and he felt like he was going to throw up.

But the teen steeled himself, turned to Danny's father and almost pleaded, "Uh, can you please help me stand up and get me over to her, Mr.F.?"

"Oh, sure, sure, Tucker!" the man nervously replied while at the same time hurrying over to the teen and readying himself to assist the boy.

Tucker smiled awkwardly but appreciatively as he leaned against the man, wrapped an arm below the man's neck and allowed the man to pull him up to a stand.

The duo slowly and anxiously approached the unconscious girl. Once they were at her side, Tucker tentatively reached for her limp hand.

He braced himself since he expected to be jolted by that kind of electricity that somehow generated between the two like those other times. Yet, he wasn't going to let it keep him from helping his friend.

However, when he finally scooped up her hand into his, he frowned in dread when he felt nothing from their connection.

"Sam?" he gulped out. "Sam?"

But the girl didn't even flinch.

* * *

><p>Though Maddie Fenton had been ready for it, she still jolted slightly when she heard that familiar rattling of keys, which always signaled the approach of the ghost maids.<p>

She gripped the handle of the hair dryer-turned-anti-ghost weapon firmly and smiled with confidence as she thought, "_Now, for the final test of this weapon—and chance to escape_!"

The woman hurriedly grabbed the remaining ghostly earring she had gotten from the youngest made she had nicknamed 'Rose' and put it on the carpet deep enough within the room so that any maid would clearly see it and would have to be completely inside the room to reach it. In fact, she was _depending_ on the trio of maids' seeing the earring and instantly being drawn to it because of their stringent cleaning habits.

The human quickly hid her weapon under one of the pillows on her bed and sat down upon the bed. She turned and anxiously studied the small white piece of paper at the bottom side of the door.

A few seconds later, Maddie saw the snuffing out of the shields, followed by the sound of twisting metal within the cylinder of the door's lock, and then, the opening of the door.

The trio finally came in. One of them was pushing a small yet elaborate food cart. Once they had cleared the door, they relocked the door. They did this not so much because they expected the human female to try to escape as it was that they had strict orders to make that a habit.

"Your lunch, Madame," the oldest-looking of the maids politely said before she inadvertently caught sight of the 'out-of-place' item at the corner of her eye.

She frowned with disapproval before she cleared her voice in embarrassment, turned to her companions and announced, "Sisters, something is awry!"

The youngest maid gasped when she spied one of her former earrings! Without thinking about it, she flew right over to it. The others quickly followed suit.

But before any of the ghosts could reach the piece of jewelry, Maddie pulled her weapon from under the pillow, aimed at, and then obliterated the earring! It disappeared in a puff of ghostly green smoke.

However, the gun sizzled and smoked a little when it was activated this time, and Maddie tried to ignore that the hair-dryer-turned-gun had unquestionably emitted a lot of more heat than expected with that shot. She also tried to ignore what smelled like burning wires. She could only hope that the wires hadn't short-circuited and that the maids would take her seriously even with a lousy and smoking ecto-gun.

Nevertheless, the human female wouldn't let on about her worries and boldly announced, "Okay, ladies! Hand me those keys or you will be next in my sights!"

With one hand, the auburn-haired woman raised the crude gun up to firing level and right at the center of the trio of ghost maids and outstretched her other hand while gesturing for the maids to surrender the keys to that free hand.

All three of the ghosts shivered in fright. They both feared the aggressive and obviously resourceful human female in front of them and what their employer would think about their failure.

"Please, Madame," the youngest was finally able to blurt out. "Our employer will not be pleased with us if you escape!"

Maddie hesitated. She really didn't want to get these three in trouble because overall they had been very kind to her. But she also wanted to get out of here. She was sure her family must be going mad with worry over her whereabouts—and she was equally worried about them.

She steeled herself behind a scowl and finally replied, "You can tell whoever that is the truth: I surprised you and locked you in. Now please give me the keys." And since she didn't want the ghosts to know that she already knew it, she added, "And the code to the shields."

"Madame, please understand that we can't give you the code," 'the Middle Maid' replied with chagrin. "We are already fearful enough how our employer will react about our being in this predicament. But if we give you the code, we don't know what he'll think."

"Oh, so your employer is a 'he' after all, hmmm?" Maddie replied with a stern face as she steadied her weapon.

The trio of maids startled and looked at each other in distress. Now they did it!

But the human's voice commanded their attention again.

"So you can tell 'him' that you were surprised, threatened by a ghost weapon and then forced to give me the keys and code—which is the truth."

But the maids still didn't move or say anything because they were terrorized by the human female.

Maddie frowned but tersely said, "Never mind about the code! But don't let me ask you again to give me the keys!"

Maddie followed that up with a threatening gesture with the ecto-gun.

With chagrin and trembling hands, Miss Bossy Maid extended the keys toward the human female. Suddenly, however, the ghost maid in her fright accidentally let go of the keys and they fell to the plush rug with a soft clink.

Everyone startled at the maid's gaffe before 'Rose' quickly scooped them up and offered them to the human.

Maddie's stern face softened but she quickly took the keys and then motioned with her gun for the three ghosts to move toward one of the far corners of the room while she slowly backed up to the entrance at the same time.

With her 'gun' still pointing at the three maids, the woman quickly inspected the keys. "Which one is it?" she demanded.

"The golden one," 'Rose' immediately answered before she added, "But you're not going to hurt our employer, are you, Madame?"

The other two maids frowned in disapproval at the ghost girl's response.

"It depends on whether or not I come across him, which I hope I don't! I just want to get out of here and go home!" Maddie replied as she continued to keep the gun aimed at the trio while she backed up toward the door—and escape!

With one quick move, Maddie turned toward the door, rushed out of the room, firmly shut the door, and locked it.

Just as Maddie had expected, she spied the code box and hurriedly punched in the correct numbers. A green ghost shield and blue human shield instantly appeared around the door.

But then she saw that there was more to the shields because they extended past the door and wrapped around the outside walls of the room. She had no idea just how much of a prisoner she had been. Even still, she couldn't understand why there had been a ghost shield around her room.

Little did she know that in his meticulous and zealous plans to protect her to an obsessive and even paranoid degree, Vlad had indeed activated it to protect her from any renegade—and very foolish—ghost who might have somehow managed to infiltrate this area.

Suddenly, the woman frowned when her hand accidentally brushed over an odd-feeling bump sticking slightly up out of the upper left corner of the control box. She looked at it more carefully and saw that it was some kind of projectile. She could see a lens on it and a red blinking light within it! Now worried that it was some other kind of monitoring device, she hastily pulled it out and threw it down the hallway.

The small dart rolled under a hall table upon which was perched a vase of red roses.

Maddie cringed. She wasn't usually that impulsive. But she had just been under too much stress from being a prisoner and now making a break for freedom to chide herself. Nevertheless, the woman was relieved that so far no one seemed to have been alerted to what she did and she was also relieved that the maids wouldn't be able to escape and alert their master. And now she didn't want to waste any more time getting out of here!

She gripped her weapon and the keys that were still in her hands, ready to leave.

But just as Maddie was about to turn away from the code box, she was aware of a….presence.

She quickly whirled around, only to gasp in shock when she saw….herself!

The woman couldn't know that she had been right about that small dart-like projectile that she had thrown down the hall. It _had_ been a monitoring device and had alerted Vlad's computer of her escape!

"You have not gotten permission to leave your domicile, human," the solid duplicate generated by the mainframe just a few moments ago said through terse lips attached to a scowl on her face.

Maddie Fenton threw aside why her fake double actually sounded jealous of all things!

Instead, Danny's mother raised her ecto-gun and pointed it at the other 'her', gritted her teeth in determination and threat, and replied, "I don't know who or what you are. But I've worked too hard and for far too long to get to this point and you're not going to stand between me and freedom! Now, kindly step aside or you'll leave me no choice but to use force!"

The Maddie duplicate suddenly laughed wickedly, "You can't do anything to me, human! And I'll make sure that you are not to interfere with my plans! He wants me more than he'll ever want you!"

Maddie Fenton frowned slightly in confusion. She had no idea what the…thing was talking about.

Suddenly, however, the solid hologram raised her hands in threat and stepped forward.

The human female reflexively reacted and pulled the trigger of her makeshift ghost weapon. But much to her surprise and chagrin, the wires that she had smelled burning earlier actually popped and crackled this time before they short-circuited. A split second later, the ecto-gun glowed and sizzled before a huge electrical field arced around it. It instantly gave Danny's mother a nasty electrical jolt!

Maddie the human screamed in pain before she slumped to the floor as she fell unconscious from the malfunctioning of her own weapon!

Her face aglow with evil glee, the computer's duplicate merely floated over the downed woman and over to the mini-spy camera that the human had thrown partly down the hall. The built-in homing device made it very easy for her circuits to locate it.

In a flash the hologram grabbed the small dart-like device and returned to the door that had been the human Maddie's room. The hologram turned toward the adjacent control box of the shields and remounted the small device near it.

The computer generated image deftly typed in the code; and the human and ghost shields turned off. She then reached for the keys that had fallen from the unconscious human's hand, turned toward the door, and unlocked it.

The three maids immediately spilled out of the room and then gasped when they saw Maddie! But before they could ask why the human female had returned and how she had so quickly changed her clothing back to a blue hazmat suit, they gasped again when they caught a glimpse of _another_ Maddie dressed in a turquoise formal gown and lying unconscious on the floor just behind the one looking at them at the moment.

The oldest maid was the first to recover and she blurted out, "What is going on?"

"Oh, w-what will the master say?" the middle maid said fretfully.

The youngest maid, whom Maddie had nicknamed 'Rose', however, immediately recognized the alert Maddie as being the computer generated image of their employer's computer. Without a word, she bent down and checked on the unconscious woman.

"Her breathing is slow, but at least she's still breathing. She also looks very pale, but I do not see any outside wounds," 'Rose' finally said before turning to the other Maddie. "And you must be the hologram. What happened? We heard a loud electrical sizzle and popping sounds before we heard a scream."

Maddie the hologram tersely replied, "What matters is that the human obviously tricked you into escaping, but I have rectified the situation. Make sure that you redeposit the human female…"

"But you won't be reporting any of this to Mr. Masters, will you?" the Middle Maid nervously asked.

The holograph merely repeated her instructions, "Make sure that you redeposit the human female into her domicile. And since it's obvious that somehow she was able to obtain both the key and the code, I'll be changing both, starting with the code. Now, get her. I will lock the door behind you until you are finished. I don't want to give the human any slight probability of repeating her actions."

The trio of maids was startled at the computer's commanding and almost evil tone. It wasn't like they hadn't dealt with her before; it's just that the hologram never gave them direct orders. Still what could they do? They were at her mercy.

But then, the maids grew even more chagrin when the 3-D hologram added, "I'll deal with how to get rid of the human later. In the meantime, you three useless ghost need to return to your banal duties once you have secured the human nuisance!"

All three maids gulped down the lump that had already formed in each of their ghostly throats since this incident began. Though they didn't understand the dramatic change in the computer's attitude, they knew that the technology behind the matrix of the computer hologram was quite capable of making them obey her and would include her being able to defend herself if they resisted her—even if resisting anybody was even in their personas.

"Right away, Madame," the oldest maid finally said before she nodded in silent command to her two companions.

The trio floated over to the unconscious human. They hurriedly lifted her up before they flew through the doorway and into the room.

They winced when the door slammed behind them and they heard the click of the lock. At first, they had the fleeting and fearful thought that the hologram would keep them here as prisoners, too!

Nevertheless, they gently placed Danny's mother on the bed and turned toward the door. They could only hope that the hologram really meant that they could return to their duties as the hologram had ordered.

The oldest maid floated over to the door and quietly rapped on it.

"We're done, Madame," she informed the hologram.

The oldest maid sighed in relief when she heard the hologram respond from the other side.

"_I have deactivated the human and ghost shields temporarily, but will keep the door locked. You may phase through the door_."

The oldest maid jerked her head to the side in gesture for the other two to follow her.

But just before she had completely left the room, 'Rose' frowned in concern. She doubled back and delayed leaving a few moments to check on the human Maddie's condition. She relaxed when she could tell that the female human's breathing was more regular now. Perhaps she would be all right in the end.

The trio was secretly relieved that they could phase through the locked door. Once they rematerialized, they watched in silence as the hologram reactivated the human and ghost shields.

Their eyes widened a bit in fear when the hologram harshly gestured for them to leave. With heavy hearts, the three maids floated to resume their banal duties.

Maddie the hologram's replica smiled wickedly as she watched the maids go. All that hard work that the human had done was in vain now and in the future!

Though she knew that this was not the time to rid herself of this second rival, she would soon make sure of it!

* * *

><p>Danny moaned as he was finally coming out of his coma. And even though he was waking, he wasn't all that well.<p>

He felt as if he were in a centrifuge and that his head was going to explode from the pressure of his headache.

Not only that, but he had no idea where he was. His encounter with the _Angelus _had left his mind full of wild, random thoughts.

Pieces of all his fights with virtually every ghost in the Ghost Zone were splicing together like a badly edited movie. Scene upon scene racked his brain. But none of the scenes were in their entirety; and none of which stayed long enough to discern most of them. But those that remained in focus more than the others were made up the _failed_ endings to all of his encounters.

Suddenly, the combination of the throbbing pain in his head and the uncontrollable thoughts made Danny even dizzier.

Now he felt as if he were on a wild merry-go-round ride.

But then, he frowned in anger because he wanted to get off! He suddenly slammed both of his arms violently to his sides, which in turn, met the solid ground upon which he had been laying.

The force loudly cracked the floor!

The boy scowled in confusion. Was he actually lying flat and still on some kind of cold floor? Then, why did he still feel he was still whirling on that dizzying ride?

Reflexively, Danny pulled himself up to a sitting position. Bad idea! He felt instantly nauseated; and laid back down.

But then, more random thoughts attacked his distressed mind—and they were still of all of his failures in those fights!

"Aargh!" he yelled through gritted teeth in an attempt to push the thoughts away.

But he couldn't.

In fact, not only was he not able to throw the flipping scenes away, but he could now hear snippets of some of the scenes taunt him:

"_Your weakness has caused her demise!""_ Justeco's words still stung over Danielle's death.

_"I'm __gonna _**_kill _**_you!"_ he remembered screaming at Razilo after that ghost had killed Johnny 13.

Each word echoed more forcefully through his brain…

His face scowled in a combination of anger and confusion when he suddenly heard Vlad's taunting voice in his mind. Had he dreamed his encounter with Nocturne or not? He didn't really know or care at this point. Still, the older hybrid's words during that encounter were like whirling bits drilling through his mind…_"And you are now the son I've always wanted—powerful, yes. But also very, very evil! Worse than me. No, worse than __your future evil self__ because__ you've killed your friend Frostbite!" _

Danny threw his hands up to his ears at trying to stifle the onslaught of each passing word only he could hear…

_"Ember, my love,"_ the boy remembered softly replying to the pop diva. Now he wasn't sure if he had meant that or not, even when the thought of it sent chill of dread up his spine.

Danny could see the hideous yet triumphant smirk on Ghost Writer as he laughed, "_Phantom,…you're definitely through!"_

"Stop it!" Danny suddenly screamed at his thoughts. "Stop! Leave me alone!" he desperately commanded.

But the words and scenes refused to obey him.

Suddenly, Danny could see the sad face of his friend Wulf just as he uttered, _"Go, friend! And remember me!"_

"WULF! NOOOO!" Danny screamed at the top of his lungs again before another memory captured his vacillating attention.

The boy grunted at the imaginary pain at having been stabbed again with the daggers of Fate. He could still hear her hissing, _"I am Fate. __**Accept yours**__!"_

But then, Clockwork's accusation suddenly riveted Danny's mind: _"__Your evil self killed your beloved Sam! And you also murdered Tucker and many of your other loved ones that day!"_

"SAM! NO! Stop it! **Stop it!"** Danny yelled at the top of his lungs.

He suddenly gripped his hair and let out a scream of desperation and anger.

But the words still insisted, _"__**Your evil self killed your beloved Sam! And you also murdered Tucker and many of your other loved ones that day!**"_

"I said, 'Shut up!'" Danny furiously screamed, and without knowing it, he activated his Ghost Wail!

Vlad's eyes widen as the boy's powerful sonic force crashed into the stealth window and violently shook it. The man thought that it was going to shatter just as the lights on the console and in the room flickered and dimmed while Maddie's holographic body faded softly before all of the circuits returned to normal and the female facsimile solidified.

Meanwhile, Vlad quickly looked at the monitors again and his eyes widened further.

"Maddie," he suddenly blurted out. "Confirm these readings!"

"Confirmed," she immediately replied. "The test subject's power level is at nine point two and rising. Not only that, but his stress hormones are soaring. At this point, mental breakdown may have more of a probability of happening."

"Good—!" Vlad began.

All of the sudden, however, Vlad's attention jerked back to the boy within the simulation room.

"No!" Danny screamed at his erratic thoughts. "No! Just LEAVE ME ALONE!"

This time, the Ghost Boy sent a wave of his dark green ectoplasmic energy straight up into the air from where he still lay. The powerful beam hammered into the simulation room's ceiling.

Parts of the ceiling came raining down but not before the distressed boy had incinerated any piece that had neared him.

Vlad was flabbergasted by the scene. The boy's reflexes were like lightning and the man found himself uttering in awe, "Incredible!"

The man wasn't even aware that the lights in the control room had flickered once more under the stress of the younger hybrid's power slamming into the circuitry of the simulation room's walls. The circuitry was barely keeping the façade of the 'Observant's Time and Existence Chamber' intact from the onslaught.

"Lamb choppie," Maddie the computer calmly said, interrupting the man's thoughts. "I have finally obtained enough data to reach a plausible conclusion on how your son is able to generate his energy and how it differs from yours. I also can explain the fluctuations of his powers in the past and why they now seem to have stabilized."

Vlad turned toward his computer as she continued, "That is to be expected, considering all that has happened in the encounter with the _Angelus._ That encounter was significant on many levels, sweetums. It solidified my conclusions. There is also sound evidence about the test subject's energy level. It is now stable with slow fluctuations increasing but no longer decreasing."

"How so?" Vlad begged the question.

"There were odd and intermittent manifestations in your son's body during the time when he was under the most stress."

"Yes, we know that, Maddie," Vlad said as he looked at the monitors again. "We already concluded that Daniel was losing his powers."

But before she could answer, he jolted a bit when dark green ectoplasmic energy suddenly slammed into the simulation control room's window!

The window shook violently before it began to crack in spite of the ghost shield!

Vlad was about to order that the boy be placed into _delta _sleep when the energy beam steered away and the window stilled.

Maddie continued, "Corrections, sweetie sir. At first it was difficult to find a solidified correlation to explain the anomaly. But now I can say that I have that firm correlation: you could say that the _Angelus_ did your son the favor."

"Explain," Vlad hurriedly urged. This could very well be very critical news.

As the computer quickly reported the results, the man didn't realize how much his eyes widened at the news.

In fact, he ran up to the data and quickly read them over.

"Incredible!" he breathed both in fascination and disbelief. "Of course, all of this makes sense now!" But then he sobered up a bit and pointing to the somato-map of the younger hybrid's body, asked, "Why didn't you notice that anomaly before, Maddie?"

"Since that physical notation was present from the beginning, I took it as being the baseline. But right after your son's encounter with the _Angelus_, those areas in question changed. It was then that I noted the correlation between those areas and your son's power level fluctuations. I am definite now what the cause of those power level fluctuations was."

Once she was through, Plasmius paused in thought. Everything now truly made sense…why the boy seemed to be losing his powers, how he was able to generate energy like him and yet why their way of generating it was different. It wasn't anything the man had expected, but at last, he knew!

But his thoughts were interrupted once again when the door of the control room opened.

Vlad jerked his head toward the door and then frowned in puzzlement before he pursed his lips with his next thought. That's right, he had called for Skulker to come back and help him with controlling his computer just before he had been able to calm his computer. He had forgotten to call Skulker back to tell him to never mind.

Just as well. He was sure that Skulker would want to see all of this. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to have his ally recheck some of Maddie's circuits, either—just in case. After all, he wanted his computer in top form for the next phase of his plan.

Suddenly, more loud noises erupted from the simulation room's bearing the brunt of Daniel's out-of-control powers; and the man's mind shifted back to reality.

This time the room was caked in a thick layer of ice and the boy was savagely swiping large chunks off of the wall of ice with his wulf claws.

Danny still felt out of control with all the random thoughts that had a firm grasp of his mind. And that just made him more enraged.

"Aarghh! Leave me alone!" the teen screamed to the pictures and words haphazardly assaulting his mind.

Vlad's eyes widened when the boy conjured up a blue ice shield and threw it into the walls of ice like it were a boomerang.

The walls of ice immediately shattered under the blow. Sharp ice shards embedded themselves into the simulation room walls.

But just then, the female hologram was alerted by a silent flashing red button. She narrowed her eyes with irritation since she knew exactly what it meant and immediately pushed another button.

Her form flickered slightly immediately afterward but she continued to push more command buttons…

Meanwhile, Skulker had been silent even when he had a frown on his face while watching the Ghost Boy's reaction. Things certainly didn't look good for the whelp. Maybe the pup had finally broken down mentally as Vlad had hoped.

Still, the cyborg ghost continued to watch in silence as Danny was all in a rage with attacking the simulation room and taxing the system.

Skulker ignored the intermittent dimming of the lights in the control room. After all, seeing in partial-dark was not going to be an issue with him since he was a ghost.

Finally, when it looked as if the Ghost Boy was tiring, Skull glanced over at the older hybrid.

He didn't like the look on the man's face at all. The wildness in Plasmius's eyes was unnerving. But then, Skulker caught a whiff of the man and relaxed. That wildness was more from delight, though it was still teetering toward madness —no doubt for achieving the man's main objective: having Danny Phantom so helpless mentally that he would be completely and easily malleable into whatever persona would suit the man.

Somehow, that thought still didn't bode well with the Ghost Hunter. After all, he had never wanted to see the Ghost Child this way.

Skulker glanced at the monitors and frowned at the results. The whelp's brain chemistry was off kilter and all of his stress hormones were staying in the critical stage even if they were still fluctuating.

Still, the Ghost Hunter would never be absolutely convinced that the pup was completely broken unless he smelled him….

The robotic ghost's thoughts were interrupted by his half-ghost friend.

"Well, Skulker, I'm glad I summoned you again. It looks like I have Daniel right where I want him! And I have to say that it's just in time since I have only four programs left. Now, I won't have to use them!" Vlad excitedly said.

Skulker grunted in a combination of dissatisfaction and doubt about that conclusion.

But this time, Vlad picked up on that.

"So, you're not convinced that the readings are reliable, Skulker? They are staying in the critical stage."

Skulker didn't answer him right away. After all, he wasn't even certain at this point whether he wanted to argue the point. The last time he had smelled the whelp to see if the Ghost Boy had been the verge of complete mental collapse, the readings on the monitors were fluctuating between the high and critical ranges. Now, the readings were staying in the critical ranges. But did that mean the pup had finally been broken? In some ways, he didn't want to know one way or the other. But he also felt that he had to help Vlad with his plans. After all, he was still the man's ally….and friend.

Perhaps staying in the critical ranges was enough to show that the pup's will was broken and ready for Vlad to put back together on the man's terms. But then again, he wouldn't be satisfied unless he checked on that himself.

"Skulker?" Vlad repeated and his voice was a mixture of anticipation and slight irritation.

Skulker glanced at the still out-of-control Ghost Boy before he turned to Plasmius and replied, "The readings are staying in the critical stage as you want. And the whelp is certainly acting irrationally. But that may be because of the other factors."

"What other factors?" Vlad slightly snapped since he didn't like the doubt that laced the tone of the cyborg ghost's voice.

Skulker gritted his teeth and replied, "For instance: the pup has not been given food regularly or been allowed to get the right kind of sleep."

"Yes, I know that, Skulker!" Vlad interrupted him. "That was part of the plan of putting more stress on Daniel! What's your point?"

Skulker frowned and slightly growled, "You cannot be certain that the whelp's current reactions are merely temporary because of those factors. Once those variables are corrected, the pup may not be exactly as you want."

"Are you suggesting that I feed the boy and let him catch up with his dream sleep before I see if he is broken?" Vlad asked incredulously.

"I am suggesting nothing, Plasmius," Skulker grumbled back. "I am merely pointing out to you that as a hunter, I take all factors into consideration and so the whelp's readings are just that—no more or no less. They may or may not indicate that the pup has been broken. And that he might act differently once he has had his necessities taken care of."

Vlad paused in thought of what Skulker said. As usual, the hunter had great points which Vlad always listened to and took into serious consideration.

He finally replied, "Maybe that is a possibility, Skulker. But you already knew that withholding those 'necessities' from Daniel was a means to an end. After all, humans have shown that using those kinds of…methods often break the most formidable of men. Besides, I can't keep second-guessing Daniel's condition. Either I've broken him or I haven't. But I also don't want my planning and hard work to be in vain."

The man paused again and studied his robotic friend. The hunter ghost still seemed uncomfortable. Why? But Vlad quickly sloughed the thought off since he couldn't worry about that in this late stage of the game. Right now, all he wanted to do was to complete his plans concerning the boy. And he knew that Skulker would go along with it…Then again, the Ghost Hunter could be the key in helping him make the decision whether to deliver the cathartic part of his plans or not.

"As usual, Skulker, your points are valid. So, I have to know for certain whether Daniel is or isn't broken…." The man smirked slightly as he added, "So, could you….?"

Skulker knew by the tone of the man's voice just what he wanted, and so he didn't even let him finish, "I will check for you, Plasmius. But if you do not mind, I do not want to get any more involved in this affair after I do check."

One of Vlad's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the Ghost Hunter's reply. That wasn't like Skulker to not want to stay involved in one of his schemes. Yet, the man wasn't going to discuss it any further since at this point he wanted to push on with his plans.

He finally said, "Very well, Skulker, though you're welcome to stick around and see what happens. After all, you're going to benefit from the results as much as I since Daniel will be your ally soon."

Somehow, that thought tasted sour to the Ghost Hunter. But it didn't matter how he felt about it now because if the Ghost Child was going to be his ally under these circumstances, he would have to get used to it—though, if he were being honest with himself, he really didn't know—and really didn't _want_ to know—how to get used to the notion that the pup's being so….unlike himself. Then again, if it would mean that Plasmius would get back to _his _old self once he got what he wanted, then…He paused with that thought since it still didn't bode well with him…

But then, his thoughts were interrupted by another blast thrown by the out-of-control Ghost Boy into the window of the control room.

"We better hurry about that, Skulker," Vlad continued before he turned to the holograph of the love of his life and said, "Alright, Maddie, get ready to put Daniel into _delta_ sleep and…."

"One more thing, Plasmius," Skulker piped in with a bit of embarrassment lacing his voice, "The whelp will have to be _awake_ if I'm to be completely accurate."

Vlad frowned at the news. The Ghost Hunter didn't have to do that the last time.

He replied, "But you didn't need Daniel to be awake…"

Skulker cut him off again, "Yes, that is true, but checking on a sleeping prey only gives me a rough idea on its condition."

"Why didn't you tell me about that, then?" Vlad continued with pursed lips.

Skulker could hear the irritation interwoven within his friend's words. He slightly huffed, "I did not tell you before because I was correct about the pup's condition enough when he was asleep—even if it gave me a rough idea. But my…ability is completely accurate when the prey is awake. I will not need too much time to make the determination; and I will remain invisible the whole time. I will be able to tell whether the whelp is truly broken; and if he is, then he will not pay any heed should his ghost sense trigger from having me near him because of his uncontrollable, random emotions."

Vlad was silent for several moments. He didn't like this development of risking Skulker's being detected by Daniel, or the fact that the hunter ghost didn't tell him he needed to have the boy awake. But then again, his ally could be right that the boy might not even notice another ghost's being near him if he were in the midst of a complete nervous breakdown.

Vlad finally answered, "All right, Skulker. And I'm sure I don't need to tell you to be careful."

Skulker frowned and icily replied, "No, you do not. I will be back sooner than you think."

Vlad didn't react to the tone of his ally's voice. Instead, he turned to the hologram of his computer and said, "Lower the ghost shield, Maddie."

"Your every desire is my pleasure, sir sweetie sugar," she giggled with a large grin.

The man frowned in disapproval even when she did as he commanded and had turned off the ghost shield. He definitely needed to do some major overhauling of his computer—once his business with Daniel was a success, that is.

When he turned to look at Skulker again, however, he immediately saw that the Ghost Hunter must have turned invisible and left for his task.

Vlad then anxiously turned to the window of the control room and looked out of it and into the simulation room…

In all the while, Danny continued to attack indiscriminately at nothing in particular because, truly, he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and out-of-control.

He didn't know where he was but he had a vague notion that he wasn't here because he wanted to be. In fact, he had the urge to be anywhere else but wherever 'here' was.

Still, after several more minutes of expending all of that energy, the teen felt tired and mentally exhausted. All that filled his mind during the entire time continued to be snatches of all of his encounters with all the ghosts. His failures hammered themselves into his mind. His wrongdoings flayed him. What he thought would be his dire future taunted him.

He grabbed the sides of his head and violently shook his head side-to-side in the vain hope of ridding himself of these tormenting thoughts.

But suddenly, he felt a sharp coldness form within his central core before it rapidly expanded upward until a cold frost eked out of his mouth.

Even in the midst of the mire of his confused mind, Danny knew that a ghost was near! He puckered his face at his next feeling. Odd. Somehow, he knew that a _level six_ ghost was approaching!

The boy didn't care to think which ghost it could be. He jerked his entire body in the direction he somehow thought the ghost would be and his eyes flared with anger at what must be an invisible ghost.

But he hadn't yet thought of becoming invisible in order to see the ghost.

Instead, his mind was muddled in the thought that he was through being open to attack from any ghost! Reflexively, green ectoplasmic energy flared up in his hands as he readied himself, though his mind was twisted in indecision whether to give up or to fire right at his opponent before it could attack first…

In the meantime, Skulker hurried to finish his task for Plasmius. But he hadn't even gotten within a few yards of the whelp when the Ghost Child suddenly turned in his direction and the cyborg ghost could see the wild anger flaring out of the pup's eyes.

Skulker gagged his gasp at the sight before his eyes widened when the Ghost Child was already activating his ectoplasmic energy. The cyborg really had thought that the whelp wouldn't be in any condition to react much to anything, but he knew he had to act quickly. He needed to be closer to the whelp than he was and yet the pup had somehow detected him sooner than he normally was able to do!

The Ghost Hunter swiftly and silently yet violently steered his flight to his immediate right. He intended to get as close as he could to get a good whiff before needing to retreat or before the pup could turn invisible himself and detect the cyborg ghost.

But then, unexpectedly, the teen darted in nearly the same direction as he was now headed! Immediately after that, a green ectoplasmic blast shot past him.

Skulker frowned at the near miss; he needed to either hurry and complete his task or abandon it and get out. Nevertheless, this unexpected turn in the hunt was exciting.

Once again, a green energy ray scarcely missed him just before Skulker barely evaded a collision course with the Ghost Child. But this time, the Ghost Child had passed him close enough for the Ghost Hunter to draw in a deep whiff.

The cyborg ghost frowned in confusion at what he detected. But he knew he had no time to think about it now, especially when the pup had just turned in his direction again! Both curious on how the whelp could now do that and yet wondering why the boy hadn't turned invisible yet, Skulker shot straight up before twisting back to the stealth window.

Just as he hoped, the Ghost Child was slightly delayed in his attack but quickly mirrored the Ghost Hunter's upward movement.

Neither Skulker nor Danny knew that right now, Danny didn't _need_ to be invisible to detect where Skulker had been.

By the time that Danny had realized where the ghost had gone, Skulker had phased through the stealth window. Once the hunter ghost materialized within the control room, the computer hologram immediately re-activated the ghost shield, and Danny could no longer detect him.

Angered at now thinking that he had imagined the ghost, Danny yelled in frustration and began to attack the room indiscriminately again.

Skulker hurriedly reported, "The Ghost Child has not been completely broken, Plasmius. He is definitely confused and angry, but he's…"

The hunter ghost paused as he searched for the right word. But he couldn't, so instead, he added, "Never mind about that. You will need to continue with the current course of action if you want to make him to be utterly broken."

Vlad couldn't believe his ears! His excitement and anticipation was immediately squashed by the hunter's report. Instead, the man felt his frustration flare and his patience finally wane from his own mounting stress of maintaining control over his secondary plan and getting Daniel to break.

The man angrily replied, "You have to be wrong, Skulker! No one could take that amount of punishment Daniel has taken up to now and not be affected by it! Besides, what were you doing in there with Daniel? All you said you needed to do was get close to him, take a whiff, and get out. Did Daniel see you?"

But Vlad didn't wait for Skulker to reply. He was just too upset by the news. He jerked back to the window; and pointing toward the teen just beyond it who was still shooting out ectoplasmic rays randomly, added, "Just look at the boy! He's out of control! He has to have had a nervous breakdown by now!"

Skulker grunted in irritation at what the man had said. His special power was _never wrong_. He didn't even glance in the same direction to where the man was pointing.

Instead, the cyber ghost scowled and tersely replied, "Take the news however you want, Plasmius. But you asked me to check whether the whelp was broken or not and I am positive that he is not broken. I do not know the reason for that, but I am absolutely certain that he is not ready for you. I have done what you asked and still need to work on that microchip and that other machine you want to be in place of the container that once held the _Angelus_. I will be leaving now and will return when I have completed those tasks."

Skulker didn't even wait for the man to reply and turned to leave. But just as he got to the door and was preparing to phase through it to return to his lair, he turned around and finally, yet brusquely, replied to the man's other comment. "And for you information, Plasmius, I do not think the boy saw me….but I do believe he could somehow track me nevertheless. I have no explanation of that as well. Take that news as you want as well!"

With that, the Ghost Hunter hurriedly turned intangible and phased through the door.

Vlad was shocked at how abruptly his friend had left. That was not like Skulker to do that….But that was enough of a shock for the man…

Trying to get a hold of himself, Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose and took in a deep breath...

Now that he was more rational, his brilliant mind was already thinking about the next step. He would have to use the next program….But then, he paused at his next immediate thought. No, he wasn't going to waste any more time for the boy to slowly break! He only had four programs left and they might not do the trick. Therefore, it was time to break him once and for all. And that meant….

He quickly went to one of the keyboards and began to type in all sorts of codes….

Meanwhile, Danny's flaring green eyes were wild and practically bulging out of their sockets when he yelled out to the scenes and words that were still torturing his mind, "Can't you hear me? I said, leave me alone!"

The boy grunted in anger when the thoughts didn't obey him. He formed even more dark green energy around his hands and shot powerful energy beams randomly all around him.

His surroundings trembled under his assault and debris rained all around him.

But Danny didn't care. He wanted to stop the torment!

He immediately shot out more completely aimless beams of dark green energy.

But he also didn't know that his anger and his violent use of his powers were quickly draining him. And it hadn't occurred to him because of his very fragile state of mind.

For all intents and purposes, his reason was gone and his thoughts were out of control.

However, even though Danny was getting drained physically, it was not enough for Vlad to detect it.

A particularly strong blast from the enraged Danny came too close to the viewing window and it was enough to startled Vlad briefly from what he was typing into the mainframe.

"Unbelievable! Daniel's powers still haven't fluctuated even with all this damage he's doing!" Vlad blurted out.

Underneath, however, Vlad was worried. The way things were going, Daniel could very well surpass him in _fantomos_ energy if he didn't break and control him after this newest combination program.

He couldn't waste any more time!

He quickly returned to what he was doing and his fingers moved even faster upon the keypad as he upgraded the programs.

Maddie the computer immediately noticed the newest order of commands and commented, "Lamb chop sir, those new codes, though brilliantly intricate, counter the establish protocol of…."

But Vlad hurriedly interrupted her, "I know it does, Maddie, but it's too late in the game to slowly let Daniel come to where I want him. It is time to throw the kitchen sink at him!"

"'Kitchen sink'? What…" she began, only for the man to abruptly cut her off again.

"Never mind about that, Maddie! Just interface everything that I have inputted and implement the new program!"

The machine pouted slightly at his rebuff before she smiled and replied, "As always, I'm delighted to do as you want, dumpling sir!"

Tension and determination radiated off Plasmius' body as he murmured, "You have left me no choice, Daniel. If I must shatter you to make you yield to me, then so be it!"

His thoughts were momentarily interrupted by his computer.

"Sir Muffin! Your future son is in place and the programs left in queue are now linked and ready to begin."

"Then, do it, Maddie," Vlad replied gravely. But then narrowing his eyes, he darkly commanded, "Activate Programs 489-10-_alpha/beta_ with those designated sub-programs!... And hold nothing back!"

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><p><strong>AN: Well, there you go, dear readers! However, there's still a bit to go before the climax is upon us! So, hold on a little bit longer. I hope you'll share your thoughts with me by letting them spill over into that little box below! I hope to hear from you soon!**


	50. Ch 50 Lev 9-10: Darkest Pit of the Mind

**A/N: MsHyde: Well, it's about time we got back into the fray, dearie! It's been too long since I've been able to stir up any trouble and make our readers squirm! Just where in the world have you've been? **

**truephan: Uh, if you don't know, how would I? **

** MsHyde: *blinks in disbelief* You know that I really don't care one way or the other what has been the hold up. I'm just eager to get things going again and see that wickedly handsome Vlad win in the end.**

**truephan: Wait! You're not in charge of what's going to happen and…**

** MsHyde: Uhm, I thought you said that you didn't know where you've been lately, dearie, so anything I dream up is fair game.**

**truephan: *scratches head* Uh, that's right…I think…Maybe, uh…**

** MsHyde: There, there, dearie…it's okay! Let me take charge of this chapter while you try to muddle through all that! Remember that when we last left your silly little hero, he was all in a tizzy after having awaken from the coma. And it looks like he's still running amok. Good! A special thanks to Ani-DP-TT-PJ-H-Ben10 Fan for reminding me to include a very wickedly delicious evil ghost in this chapter. *begins to pound on the computer keys* Here is Chapter 50. Enjoy!**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 50—Darkest Pit of the Mind<p>

Danny remained floating anxiously within the stimulation room after throwing the last volley of his ectoplasmic energy at nothing in particular. For a brief moment, there was a lull in his twisted thoughts as if their attack had finally stunned his mind to numbness. He really had no idea, however, that it was a false relief because, truly, the boy had all but completely lost touch with reality.

Without warning, all of those random, anxious thoughts seemed to come alive again and renew their assault on him. Some of them were partially coherent but most completely incoherent at this point. But all of them were driving despair into him. He was frantically trying to sort everything out; and yet, he wasn't even aware that he was _not_ succeeding. How he wish these mocking memories would leave him alone...

His mind now totally in a whirl, Danny began to shoot more of his green ectoplasmic energy in several random directions. However, after several more minutes, the boy was beginning to tire physically even more from expending so much energy in such a short period of time. But he continued to grunt in anger at the tormenting thoughts still bombarding his almost completely exhausted mind.

He was feeling dizzier and dizzier, and yet, he was so confused and angry at this point that he didn't realize that the stimulation room was blurring and slightly moving as it prepped itself to begin the next sequence of programs that Maddie the computer had just inputted.

Instead, Danny frowned in the midst of his muddled memories when his mind radically shifted back to that same ghost that he had detected not too long ago—or at least, a vague feeling that he had detected….something.

If he had had a clearer mind, Danny would have turned invisible and proven that his feeling was right since he would have seen that ghost, who would have been Skulker trying to detect his mental state at Vlad's request.

But as it were, that feeling the boy had concerning that ghost was suddenly tormenting him as badly as his uncontrollable thoughts! He struggled for some kind of logic…He could get sensing a ghost…but how could he sense a specific ghost, namely, a _level eight_ ghost? He shook his head as his jumbled thoughts gripped him yet again… Maybe he had imagined that ghost or maybe…well, he didn't really know. But he didn't care in the end because he was in a far worse battle right now…the fight to keep his sanity.

Suddenly, Danny was pulled out of his mind's mire when he thought he felt the ground slightly rumble. But he couldn't be certain if he had imagined that as well. But then, the atmosphere around him seemed to go into spasms and twist in and on itself.

It didn't occur to him to try to figure out what had just happened. All that he knew was that this bizarre room had just made him angrier!

Ironically, however, the convulsing atmosphere triggered a seemingly random, yet coherent, memory. He growled in response before propelling himself upward from the ground. He was through playing games with any ghost, especially those putrid Observants!

But when the blurred atmosphere cleared, Danny could see that he was inside some kind of massive dark cave. There were lots of laboratory-like items lining its grey walls. Various computers stuck oddly out from and between very thick and large greyish-green stalactites that had merged with their corresponding stalagmites enough to form large column-like structures.

At first, the young hybrid frowned as he combed his confused mind about this place. He could barely make out a roughly hewed out purplish-grey opening several yards from where he was standing. Somehow, this cave looked…familiar and it was then that another sane thought somehow leapt out: he had been here before…

Still, he landed on the rough ground and decided that he wasn't going to move from the spot he was in until he could figure out where he was. Or maybe he should keep moving… Or take flight again…He continued to wrestle with those contradictory thoughts so much that he wasn't even aware that his ghost sense had fired off.

But then, he heard a noise and before he could respond, a purple ectoplasmic energy beam shot out from nowhere and had hit one of his shoulders.

Danny yelled in pain but quickly shook that shoulder and sloughed it off. Growling more at the barrage of his rapidly changing thoughts than at just having been attacked, the boy was goaded to take flight.

Reflexively filling his hands with his dark green ectoplasmic energy, Danny had already poised himself in a defensive stance as he flew onward out of this odd room and further into the deep cave.

Another ghostly purple energy ray bolted toward him, but the boy once again reflexively counter-shot his own green ray, which cut through the purple beam as if it were a hot knife cutting through butter. In a heartbeat, the purple ray was rendered completely harmless before it petered out of existence.

Danny was too busy batting away his random thoughts to call out to the ghost who must have attacked him. But then suddenly, the boy barely caught the inkling that his ghost sense was firing off again.

The young hybrid frowned in confusion at both the continued barrage of torturous mental images wrestling for control over his mind and something even odder…He couldn't think straight, yet for some odd reason, he had that odd feeling again. He knew that his current foe was at a power level of _eight!_

Still, the boy didn't care in the end. He just had to get rid of this newest pest who was certainly after his sanity!

He continued forward; but this time, another seemingly random yet clearer idea surged forward to his consciousness. Acting instinctually on the suggestion, the Ghost Boy turned invisible. And then, he finally saw the ghost! If he had a more balanced mind, he would have been shock over who it was. But as it was, the boy's mind was too fatigued to care.

And the boy didn't think or care about mincing words with his ghostly foe. With his eyes blazing in anger, Danny thrust more of his energy rays forward at his attacker.

But the ghost had seen him as well and jerked upward while barely avoiding the teen's energy before rapidly firing back with his own purple ray.

Danny wasn't even aware of his reflexive counter to the attack. He materialized a glowing green shield, which easily deflected the blow and sent the beam into the cave's ceiling.

Pieces of rock and debris ran downed on the section just under that impact site.

Now growling with impatience and impertinence, Danny sent a powerful ice beam at his opponent.

The ghost barely avoided the beam once more but still managed to smugly say, "That is right, Ghost Child. Fire all you want. We are here to make sure that there is less work for our master."

Danny frowned. He had no idea what the ghost meant. Still, he jeered, "I don't care about you or 'our master'. Just leave me alone!"

Suddenly, more random thoughts pushed forward in Danny's mind. He yelled in distress when thoughts to kill this ghost swathed his brain.

"That we cannot do, Ghost Child," the ghost answered just as he shot forth a large claw-like hand attached to a thick cable which was quickly elongating and stretching out toward Danny.

Danny grunted in anger and shot an even more powerful ice beam at his foe. His aim was true.

The shimmering blue crystalline beam slammed into and quickly raced up the appendage until it completely engulfed the larger ghost. Moments later, a frozen Skultech 9.9 fell to the ground with a loud thud and the sound of crunching ice.

But that didn't satisfy the teen mainly because he was not only still fighting with all the random thoughts trying to completely engulf his mind, but he was now also fighting the sudden desire to eliminate this now hapless ghost who had been torturing him moments before. Within the midst of the mental conflict, Danny hadn't even realized that he had never stopped moving and had now drifted past the fallen future ghost and was drifting further into the cave.

Suddenly, Danny noticed light pushing against the shadows from around a bend in the cave just ahead.

He wasn't even aware that he was drawn to it as easily as a morning glory flower turns toward the first light of day.

But just as Danny turned the corner, he reflexively shirked back from the light. For some reason he couldn't comprehend, the source of the light looked familiar and foreboding at the same time.

Before Danny could decide on what to do, however, the large bubble of dense blue swirling light bulged violently outward and then swallowed him up.

Danny yelled in protest as he spun erratically within the light entity. But the movement was in nanoseconds in length before the boy found himself in a wonderful garden. Its sweet smell seemed to soothe his haunted mind, if only briefly. Still, he really wasn't even curious enough to explore the lush area.

But then, he spied two ghosts ahead; but their backs were to him. Nevertheless, they looked vaguely familiar to him and he suddenly had the impulse to draw nearer to them. His face puckered in more confusion the closer he got to them…

The boy could tell that one of them was a male and one was female. Both of them were dressed in white Renaissance-like clothing and both of them had black hair.

As if they had heard his approach, they twisted on their heels and stared coldly at the boy before shaking their heads.

Danny couldn't understand why they looked at him so unhappily and he couldn't tell whether their gesture was in disgust, pity or sadness.

More memories ooze out of Danny's confused brain but he instantly rejected them. He didn't understand. These ghosts couldn't be here! They couldn't be real!

Unless….

No! This could not be! Was he in the…Oblivion?

Nevertheless, he floated even closer to them. He had to know if who he thought were Derek and Sarah were real or not… Even with an addled mind, Danny was sure that the last time he had seen these two ghosts, they had left the after-life together and were in some other kind of plane of existence…

But before the teen could get close enough to the ghost couple, the atmosphere seemed to fold into itself before a great chasm between him and the couple rent open and waves of intense heat waves burst upward from within the crevasse, which immediately stung his eyes and blurred his view of the ghost couple. Danny reflexively closed his eyes and rubbed the dark, heavy rings under them in a vain attempt to wipe the acrid fumes hurting them.

But as soon as he opened his eyes, he gasped. He was now in a place of utter destruction! It also reeked with a putrid mixture of dirt, acid and decay…The smell of …death!

Had he somehow fallen _into_ the chasm?

He didn't know and had no time to even check because his empty stomach suddenly retched after the intense smells had spilled into his mouth and down his throat.

Danny opened his eyes after the whirling sensation had left his stomach. But the dizziness which surrounded his very muddled and barely functioning mind never left.

Suddenly, the surroundings wrinkled again as if someone had dropped a large pebble into a formerly calm pond. The distorted blue waves then seemed to speed up before they twisted in and on themselves until they formed a shining blue whirling bubble right in front of the boy. He could even feel an unexplained wind fanning his dirty white bangs. Just as he pushed them out of his eyes, the bubble swallowed him up before he could do anything else.

The young hybrid couldn't even think clearly enough to make a guess on what had happened. All he could do was float helplessly within the blue bubble like the one that had swallowed him just a few minutes before until it had placed him on solid ground and then dissipated in a flash.

Danny looked around only because it didn't occur to him not to. In fact, in many ways, the boy was functioning in autopilot, though he had intermittent coherent thoughts continue to filter into his otherwise jumbled consciousness.

He was in a forest and though he was in some sort of clearing, the vegetation surrounding it looked impenetrable.

The teen didn't really know what to do; but it was decided for him in the next instant.

A wild, hideous, bone-chilling howl permeated the air around him; and that was enough to snap him back to reality.

Danny's first instinct was to flee; but once again, that decision was yanked from him because he caught movement among the vegetation at the corner of his left eye. He then could hear the approach of a very large creature crashing through the dense brush.

Instinctually, the boy turned to face the intruder who had just burst onto the scene. Though it was still several yards away from him, he frowned at the sight. It was a large wolf…no…it was a human ghost! No! It was neither nor both!

A creepy feeling wrestled the boy's spine. But what Danny didn't realized was that it wasn't that electrical lightning-like feeling that he had before he was drained of power. It was a creepy feeling like he knew _who this creature was_!

Oddly, however, the beast seemed as surprised to see the boy as he was; and for several moments, it didn't move.

Danny could not pull his eyes away from the creature as it stood there panting in indecision.

The brute reminded him of Wulf—but not really. What hair it had on its body was black and in splotches, blending with what could only be described as a putrid hue hybrid of peach and green glowing skin. It had no paws at the end of its mange-like arms, but had what looked like a grotesque fusion of hands and long green claws. But there were two large lower paws at the end of its partially hairy legs, since they were as mottled with hair and peach-green skin as the arms were.

Suddenly, the creature howled once more and Danny's eyes jolted to its face. The boy's eyes widened when he finally noticed the tuff of shaggy white hair that covered its head and partially hung in the beast's green glowing eyes. Its fangs and small snout were unmistakably Wulf-like, but its pointy ears were hairless.

But then, Danny's eyes inadvertently drifted away and downward from the creature's face. The monster was wearing some kind of black clothing, only it was so tattered that it was hard to see because it was almost indiscernible from the clumps of black hair. But now that the boy looked closer, there was more to that clothing. Remnants of some white material adorn the neck and broad chest…And the white color on the chest once seemed to have formed…letters!

Danny gasped at his next thought. Somehow he knew he was looking at a _werewulf_—but not just any werewulf, but _the_ werewulf he must have been after he was bitten by Wulf over a year ago!

Though the boy should have known the answer before he asked since the Observants had told him that they could control time and existence in their Time and Existence Chamber, he muttered under his breath in disbelief, "H-How is this possible? Is that how I looked when I was a werewulf? How can I and he be existing at the same time?"

Suddenly, the creature lunged at him and it was moving as if it were lightning itself!

Danny reflexively took a defensive stance though his muddled mind hadn't yet realized that he hadn't charged up any ectoplasmic energy into his hands.

Before Danny knew it, the werewulf hybrid was upon him and had rammed him into the ground.

Danny struggled with the beast, which continued to loudly growl with pure aggression and anger.

The boy could smell the hot, acrid breath trying to engulf him as the fury-filled jaws snapped at and barely missed his face.

Danny strained against the counter-force of strength that this beast could exert. Nevertheless, he tried to anchor himself enough to throw the werewulf off of him!

"_Get off of me!"_ the teen's mind screamed, but he didn't know that he hadn't actually yelled that to the beast.

Finally, Danny realized that he hadn't activated his ectoplasmic energy and within a heartbeat's time, his green ray had jolted the large creature off of him.

The werewulf hybrid yelped in pain after landing in a heap several yards from his prey. But then, he roared in rage, took flight again and charged in a counter-attack.

Once again, Danny's dulled mind didn't react in time. As soon as he was pinned once more to the ground, he yelled in pain when the werewulf's teeth clamped down on his left shoulder. He immediately felt ectoplasm ooze out of the wound.

Still, Danny was somehow able to throw his foe off of him again and pulled himself up. He quickly became airborne with the werewulf not too far behind him.

Danny twisted around in mid-flight but when he saw the beast will out his claws, he immediately willed out his own wulf claws, which had been the side effect after being cured of the injury inflicted on him by Wulf over a year ago.

The beast alternate version of himself was the first to attack and Danny barely was able to thrust his claws in defense. Sparks ignited when claws struck claws before they quickly entangled.

In the process of trying to get control over the other while still in the air, the two drifted passed the clearing and over several hundred feet of the forest until it ended at the edge of a cliff.

Werewulf Danny howled in anger when he wasn't getting the upper hand in the fight and suddenly poured more energy into his efforts. It was enough for him to forcefully shove Danny to another small clearing that was right on the crest of that cliff.

On they fought, with each of the two fighting males taking turns nearly slipping off the brink of the cliff.

Though the pain in his shoulder was increasing and Danny was panting with his increasing fatigue, he nevertheless grunted in a desperate effort of survival. He poured more strength into countering his alternative version. But when he did, Danny was surprised how much stronger that counter push was. It was so strong that he lost his balance and tumbled over the edge of the cliff…

But the teen didn't have to catch himself in a fall that never was…Instead, he was now floating in an extremely odd atmosphere that had radically shifted the moment he fell off the cliff.

He couldn't tell where he was. It looked a little like the Ghost Zone, but not really. And it also looked a little like the Realm Beyond Time since it had whirling green Energy Novas. But unlike either place, the atmosphere was very, very hot and was mostly black with thin and sparse swirls of green whereas the Ghost Zone and the Realm Beyond Time each had mostly green atmospheres with black intermixed in them. The place was also littered with lots of doors, only that each of them was of the exact same size and was black in color with a white aura shining entirely around them. And finally, there were no floating platforms anywhere to be seen…and no trace of his werewulf form!

He didn't understand why, but at least he had escaped.

Still, he didn't know where he was…

Suddenly, Danny spied a floating island in the near distance. At least maybe there he could stop and try to figure out where he was.

But as soon as he landed on the barren island, he startled when a loud, sinister laugh suddenly echoed all around him.

The boy unconsciously stepped back in response, only to trip on something that he hadn't seen at first.

"Oww!" he yelled when he hit the back of his head from the fall.

Danny hurriedly untangled his feet and stood back up.

Once again, the young hybrid heard that hideous laughter all around him; and this time it seemed to actually buffet him.

"Stop!" the boy commanded as he cupped his ears.

But the laughter only intensified until Danny felt it was clamoring completely in his head. In fact, he wasn't even aware that he had slumped to the ground while still cradling his ears shortly after the laughter had intensified. The pain was unbearable!

The laughter continued as a badly tuned violin elongating a note downward as if it were mimicking the sick sound of a whirlpool of water spiraling down a drain. Yet, the sound didn't fall downward; but instead, whirled all around the boy as if to drown what was left of all his thought processes.

The intensity of the pain in Danny's ears tripled, and just as he screamed in agony even as he continued to press his hands against his ears, the laughter abruptly stopped all together.

Even more bewildered by that, Danny slowly pulled his hands away from his ears and stood up from the ground. Then he felt something warm and wet sliding down both sides of his neck. When he touched his neck and looked at his glove, he knew by the green ectoplasm staining it that his ears had been bleeding from the sonic assault.

Strangely, however, his hearing had not been affected because he heard a cracking sound to his left.

He jolted in that direction just in time to see a large black whip suspended in the air. It suddenly moved upward again before it snapped harshly downward until its end sparked and crackled once again.

At first, the boy couldn't tell what was causing the whip to move. But then, the boy's eyes widened in disbelief and dread. Not because the whip had snapped aggressively again, but because of _what it was attached to_.

_No_.

It could not be!

The whip was attached to a long, black staff that was slender for the most part, but ended in a familiar bulge and a sharp, needle-like tip. If it was what he thought it was, then that could only mean….

But the Ghost Boy's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the whip electrifying the air again. By the time Danny had finally twisted to face it, it was already carving into his skin!

Danny screamed at the burning impact and fell to the ground once more. It was as if the whip had been coated in some kind of poison!

As Danny lay there panting in pain, that evil laugh returned and seemed to whirl around him until he could feel it wrap itself around his throat and tighten.

The boy gasped for air before he reflexively grasped at the force round his throat and pulled against it. He was surprised when he was able to yank it away in one tug.

But he startled at the next sound he heard.

"_Your efforts, though impressive, are in vain,"_ the all-too-familiar voice said before it broke out into fits of laughter again.

Danny pulled himself up again just as the creature appeared right in front of him.

And even though the boy was seeing him, he didn't believe it.

"No! It's….it's impossible!" Danny managed to blurt out in spite of the ravages he was fighting within his confused mind. "This isn't real! This…this _can't _be real!"

As if not listening to the young half-ghost, the being seemed to hiss like a snake, though his voice was raspier as he continued, "You know, it is truly ironical that we are given our own lairs here. And at first, I was quite miserable in this place. Not only could I not use my powers, but other inferior ghosts were allowed to make me suffer beyond my wildest imagination. Perhaps, then, it was ordained that all ghosts and spirits who end up here just need a period of time to adjust and be ready for their own time to…torment the others who also found themselves _new_ here…"

The spirit raised his black staff and as it glowed more fiercely as it gathered in power, he aimed it at the young hybrid…

But when Danny instinctually tried to charge up counter energy, he gasped when no power was filling his clenched hands!

The teen half-ghost reeled in pain when the full force of the spirit's energy slammed into him.

"Finally, I get my revenge, crossbreed!" Iluzisto cackled triumphantly.

His staff immediately swelled in a purple glow again as its power increased.

As he aimed at the boy once more, the former Observant gleefully added, "And there is no escape from my lair in the _Oblivion_!

Danny yelled in agony as more spirit energy bit into him. It violently pushed him upward and Danny helplessly felt his body burn within the encasement of Iluzisto's cruel power….

The boy tried to stop himself but he couldn't and before long, he slammed into solid ground again.

Danny groaned in pain. He was hurting so much that most of him was commanding for him to lie still and give up. What was the use of trying to get up when he was just going to be pushed back onto the ground?

He frowned in bewilderment. The surface which he was on was cold and wet. And he could hear the faint sound of water dripping. He opened his eyes and scanned all around him. He groaned again.

He was back in the cave!

But he still didn't move from the floor for several more minutes. His mind was almost lost in the pain and discouragement he was still feeling. Plus, he felt frozen in terror from seeing once again one of the worst foes he had ever faced. He didn't even want to try to get up because he all but wanted to give up.

As he lay there in complete indecision, he startled at the sound of another hideous laugh! But this laugh was far different from Iluzisto's laugh….but what was more disconcerting was that this laugh was also somehow…familiar.

For some reason Danny couldn't comprehend at the moment, the tone of the laugh was enough to shatter his desire to give up and cleared his head a little. Yet, at the same time, it seemed to grate on his already raw nerves!

The laugh echoed once again throughout the area that Danny was in, and the boy sensed that whoever had made it was very near—_too_ near.

"How was the ride, Danny? I hope it was a rough one!" the male voice then jeered.

Now Danny was sure who that was speaking to him. He mentally screamed in near terror this time. He wasn't ready to face _him_—not now when he was on the verge of a total nervous breakdown. In fact, the boy didn't really know that the soil he had been desperately clinging to on the cliff overlooking insanity was rapidly crumbling under his hands with the echo of that voice.

Finally, Danny automatically struggled to stand up and wasn't even aware that he had turned to where he was sure the voice had come from. He didn't even know that his earlier injuries no longer hurt, either.

But the boy gasped not only because his fear was right, but because that floating ghost was wearing the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage!

But then, Danny's eyes shifted slightly to the right of the ghost and he gasped again.

A very, very old and injured _human_ Vlad was hanging from the ceiling by shackles. The injured man looked deathly pale and his head was buried in his partially exposed and lacerated chest.

The other ghost chuckled wickedly when he noticed where the boy was looking. "I'm surprised you noticed the old buzzard; though he will soon be fodder for the real ones. Serves him right for betraying me. It took me a while to find that out, of course, and then a bit more time to find him, but now I have him. He should never have gotten that medallion out of you! But I made sure to drive the message home with those very same Ghost Gauntlets, if you catch my drift!"

Danny didn't respond immediately. He hadn't been thinking clearly for some time now, which put him as much of a disadvantage as a rat which had fallen into a deep rattlesnake hole. But the boy was also too shocked at seeing that this ghost had somehow gotten the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage! Still, at hearing what the ghost had done to Vlad, he at least felt like a rat for everything that had happened so far. He might as well face the rattlesnake, then…

But the evil ghost interrupted Danny's convoluting thoughts.

"So, you've got nothing to say, chump?" Evil Dan almost growled. "Just as well, since I'm the one who wants to be in charge of this conversation anyways!"

He turned back to the hapless Vlad and added, "I'm going to destroy this worthless lump of clay and it will be all your fault! I had allowed him to live before now because he was no longer a threat to me. But now that he has proved that he can be deviant by going against my commands, he is expendable!"

Danny barely comprehended what his evil alternative self had said. But then, when he finally had an inkling of what was said, he impulsively blurted out, "N-No, y-you can't do that!"

"And what can you do about it?" the evil ghost sneered. "You couldn't even keep me from bringing you back here!"

Danny frowned in confusion and asked, "Y-You brought me here?"

"I take it back about your not noticing things, little boy," the fanged Phantom sarcastically replied. "But in case you didn't notice, I'm not wearing Pariah Dark's relics for their looks. When I first got them, they gave me quite a rush. But now, they are mine to command! And with them, I control Time and Existence themselves! I can transport anything or anyone to any plane of existence at any moment of time. That moron Clockwork knew that and…"

"Don't mention that name to me!" Danny suddenly growled with ignited green eyes.

"Touchy, aren't we?" the older ghost taunted before he growled back, "But I'm talking now and I want you to listen!"

Suddenly, thunder clapped and a burst of red energy surrounded the young hybrid at the same time that the older future Vlad disappeared.

Danny felt a vice-like clamp bear down on his windpipe for what seemed like eons but were only moments. He reflexively clutched at the magical force; but only after he started to feel that his vision was rapidly becoming unfocused did the force finally let go of him.

Danny gasped when he was released; and as he cradled his sore throat and continued to pant with dizziness, he fell to a half-kneeling position at Evil Dan's feet.

"I always found that little 'Achilles' heel' of yours annoying until I got rid of it," the older ghost mockingly said. "And since I'm sure your little brain doesn't know what I mean by that, I'm talking about the fact that you need to breathe whether you're ghost or human. Remember that when I tell you to stay quiet."

The fanged Phantom smirked as he continued, "As I was saying, I was the one who sent my servants to give you that very rough ride that ended here. Skultech 9.9 has served me in my timeline for quite some time now. But I easily 'borrowed' that primitive persona of yours from the past with the extra help from this!"

The blue-skinned older ghost held up the five-studded cogwheel-like shape outlined in gold suspended by its grey cord.

Danny knew by its shape and grey four-studded cogwheel-like inlay with a blue 'C' and 'W' overlapping each other what that medallion was—and to whom it belonged. But at this point, he was so dizzy and discouraged that he just didn't care.

Danny didn't even look up when the red-eyed ghost pressed on, "Don't you want to know more about that, Danny?"

After a brief moment, Evil Dan frowned in disapproval and his white hair flared more when his younger alternative self didn't respond right away; and that was because Danny was still heaving in air. He was so dizzy that he wasn't even aware that he was on the verge of passing out from being almost choked and he was almost completely exhausted.

The older ghost suddenly yelled impatiently, "I'm invincible at this point and you need to answer me!"

Danny tried to control his breathing and frowned in confusion. He really wasn't sure what the evil ghost was asking but he reflexively scowled in defiance as he finally panted out, "Invincible? So, you're so powerful that you need to live in a _cave_?"

The evil ghost angrily growled and fisted his hand.

Instantly, his ring and crown glowed before a force clamped around the younger ghost's throat again.

Danny fully slinked to the ground in agony before the force abated and left him choking for more air.

But Evil Dan just sneered in delight at the look on the younger ghost's face. "You were always slow to learn! But I want you to make sure that I can easily control Time and Existence, which made it possible for me to bring your past werewulf version to prove to you that I can even control _him_ with my newly acquired powers! And, underneath all that huge hairy ball of uncontrollable instinct, is the _real_ _and evil_ you!"

Danny was still trying to get oxygen to his dulled mind and didn't hear but the last part of the ghost's remark. And even though he wasn't even sure what that meant, he couldn't help but barely mouth a silent 'no'.

Once again, the fanged Phantom frowned in disapproval. "And to drive the point home, I was the one who sent you to the Oblivion to visit that moron Iluzisto. I actually got a kick at having him roar with frustration and anger after I snatched you right back. But I gave you a taste of the place for only one reason…"

He paused in anticipation, but when the young hybrid didn't respond, he frowned with irritation and whined angrily, "I gave you a taste of what it would be like in the Oblivion for you to know that I will not tolerate any interference in my universe once you become your own version of me in your timeline."

Danny barely comprehended what his evil self had said; and even if he could, he couldn't be certain amongst the thoughts battling for his sanity what he thought he heard.

Still, some minute part of the boy wanted to know and he uttered through his pants, "I-I d-don't understand."

"You really never did get it unless it was spelled out to your, right, chump?" Evil Dan quipped. "Okay, little boy, here it is for you: once you become evil, stay out of my timeline…."

If Danny wasn't so out of it, he would have seen through the illogic of the words echoing in his mind. But his mind was so dull right now that he didn't care one way or the other what that meant. But then, he began to have an inkling that the evil ghost wasn't actually _attacking_ him…

Why was that?...And what was it he just said about being out of his timeline? Or he would be dead? It didn't make sense. But right now, he didn't care…

"Why don't you just bump me off right now, then, and keep it simple?" Danny finally replied.

"Brave words, no matter how pathetic," the flaming white-haired ghost sneered. "It's not that simple or else you would be dead already. Even I have realized that you can only play so much with Fate, Time and Existence."

Danny's face puckered up with more confusion. He was grasping at making some sense of this but barely could. He never thought his evil version would ever negotiate with or without the extra power of Pariah Dark's things. That must mean…

But his thoughts were interrupted by Evil Dan.

"You must have known all along that you would become as evil as me and that we were meant to be the most powerful ghost of both timelines."

"No," Danny found himself blurting out for a reason he couldn't comprehend.

The blue-skinned ghost continued, "But, interestingly, we are also meant to co-share that dominance over Time and Existence. I'm just giving it, let's say, a jump start, just like you will make sure of your evil destiny in the future."

"NO!" Danny still was able to protest, though his heart was heavy and almost to the point of not only believing the ghost, but actually embracing what he said.

The fanged Phantom scowled and jeered, "Yes, you will, and here is the proof!"

He activated both the ring and crown and a beam of light shot out before an image formed in front of Danny.

Danny's eyes widened in both shock and dread as the scene unfolded before his eyes. Yet, he couldn't keep his eyes off of what he was seeing. After the scene was through, he felt very rattled by it and was left speechless.

Evil Dan smirked in satisfaction at the boy's reaction. With a very calm, yet smug voice, he continued, "You know, Danny, you are such an irritatingly naïve child! What did you expect after seeing what I just showed you? It all makes sense, especially if you've ever wondered why I look more like you than that idiot Vlad's ghost half? Do you want to know?"

This time, that comment registered with the young hybrid and he looked at the ghost with an unconscious desire to know the answer.

The older ghost sneered in more satisfaction and now toying with Danny, teasingly said, "Oh, I see that you do want to know, whether or not you want to admit it or not. There are really two reasons why I look more like _you_ than that idiot Vlad…."

"First of all, your ghost half caught Vlad's side off guard, as it were. The man never expected your ghost half to attack him and so it was unprepared to be totally absorbed by your more aggressive ghost side. Usually if the more aggressive ghost attacks first, it has more power, even if it's temporary. But, secondly, it wouldn't have been entirely possible if your ghost half's personality hadn't been as strong as your human side!"

The older ghost sneered when he saw the wildness in the younger ghost's eyes at the news before he chuckled, "Teens! Heh-heh! Selfish little creatures! Their minds are always controlled by their own petty, silly emotions; which really means that they think only about themselves all the time…Even you, Danny, in all your 'goody-ness' think about yourself first! So, it would be more than natural for you to give into those selfish impulses, too. Just like wanting to exert your self-centered teen persona over Vlad's when you were emotionally out of control! Sure, that distress was just temporary and was really driven by your petty grief….Still, you played the part quite well, since at the time you absorbed Vlad's core, you so readily ignored all of those worthless and artificial conventions…You know what I'm talking about. Those are the ones that sucker everyone into thinking that 'being good' is what we're destined to be…Tsk-tsk. It only robs them of their true potential, like your fate of becoming someone like me. It has to be that way, since I still exist!"

Dan's face grew more irritated and his voice matched it in tone as he thought of something else. "That silly ghost side we both share is quite a powerful little ghost though it didn't succeed at making me good once it got its wits about it again because of one important thing."

The goateed ghost paused for the effect and Danny looked more squarely at him.

Evil Dan smirked now that the boy looked obviously hooked and said, "But before explaining that, let me show you what I mean!"

Once again, the fanged Phantom activated his ring and crown. His face immediately showed slight pain as his form shook a bit before another ghost from within him began to pull slightly away from him.

Danny's eyes widened at seeing Dan practically split in two. One side suddenly looked more like Vlad's ghost half while _another ghost_ was pulling itself slightly away from that other ghost half. It was a bizarre enough scene but for the fact that the ghost that had split away looked exactly like _him_. But it wasn't as old as his adult evil version. It looked as young as he did when he was fourteen—but by the look of its face, it was also in obvious pain. It was really blowing the boy's mind when the other, Vlad-looking ghost spoke once again while pointing at his other half, which was the 'Danny' ghost form.

"You see, little boy, this ghost half had a character flaw even if its personality was strong: it cares too much, which makes it vulnerable enough for my other side to squelch its desires at will. After all, I wouldn't be the most powerful ghost in the universe if I wasn't willing to be ruthless. And the power pulsing in me from Vlad's ghost half makes that easy to do only because underneath, your original personality _wanted_ to embrace that power! You know you want it even _now_ because I know you enjoy the rush of it as much as I do! That was enough to keep your goody-goody ghost side from interfering!"

Danny was too shocked to answer but his evil side didn't give him a chance all the same.

"And you know," Dan continued gleefully, "This is all your fault in the end! Even if you're not me, you are still responsible for my existence because in the end, you abandoned your ghost half to me! Even now, you can see how I make it suffer and make it obey my every evil whim and use its power for evil! But in the end, it really gives in because it, too,…wants to be evil!"

"Weigh that on your conscious to condemn your good side to eternal torture, ridicule and hatred by my other more powerful evil and more desirable evil half," Evil Dan concluded.

The red-eye ghost started to laugh wickedly just as he fisted his hand. The Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage flared in response.

That Danny-looking ghost side of him started to immediately convulse in agony under that magic before it was reabsorbed into the Vlad side and then the entire ghost re-morphed into Evil Dan.

Danny felt his heart constrict in a mixture of guilt, remorse and belief at the ghost's words. His mind was torn even more at the realization: even if he weren't Evil Dan, he _did_ abandon his ghost side….But in order to release that side, he would have to destroy Evil Dan.

The teen felt an evil chill unexpectedly embrace him…Hatred for the older ghost began to take root in his heart….That ghost deserved to be destroyed.

But then, just as quickly, he thought about Sam and he mournfully muttered, "Oh, Sam…"

"Sam?" the gruff older male harshly interrupted him before callously adding, "She's been dead for over ten years!"

"No," Danny whispered desperately, though his heart could hardly argue against what the evil ghost was saying. After all, Clockwork had shown him that he would indeed kill the love of his life and his best friend…and so many others.

But before Danny could clear his head with those thoughts, the grey, rocky ground of the cave began to shake—violently! Stalactites began to be shaking to dust before they rained down upon the two ghosts and stalagmites fell over from the intense tremor.

Evil Dan's eyes widened in surprise.

Danny's mind wasn't clear enough to even put up a shield to protect himself; and a moment later, a large chunk of a fallen stalactite from the ceiling hit him and knocked him out cold…

When Danny awoke, he instantly wrinkled his nose at smelling an acrid odor. It smelled putrid…and smelled like smoldering, rotting _ghost_ flesh.

Danny slowly and precariously pulled himself up to a stand while trying to clear his foggy mind. He stumbled to a stand and jolted in a start at the scene before him…

His evil alternate future self was lying crumbled in a heap and his ghostly body was smoldering and was already beginning to deteriorate and phase into the Oblivion. An odd glow from the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire was blanketing the ghost's body.

As if that wasn't enough of a shock, the boy instantly saw the reason why his alternate older self had been destroyed. Though it never occurred to the boy how it had been possible that the ghost could even be here, he nevertheless could not deny that it was Pariah Dark bending over the older Phantom's ghostly corpse. The Ghost King already had Evil Dan's limp hand in his grasp and was reaching to pull off the Ring of Rage from one of his fingers!

Suddenly, an urgent thought popped into the Danny's head. He had to keep Pariah from getting the Crown of Fire next!

Without thinking—though mainly it was because he wasn't capable at this point of thinking coherently, much less problem solve— Danny soared over to the large, towering ghost.

But instead of attacking the immense ghost, Danny darted toward the Crown of Fire. He readily grabbed it and in one easy pull, yanked it off of the lifeless fanged Phantom.

In the next split second and without even being aware of what he was doing, Danny had willed out his wulf claws with the intention of ripping a hole in the dimension and disposing of the Crown of Fire for the moment.

But Pariah Dark was way ahead of the boy. Within nanoseconds, a large red ray had charged out of the Ring of Rage and was plowing into the Ghost Boy!

Danny yelled out in pain even as he was thrust back by the blow, during which, his grip on the crown loosened! Almost frantically, the boy fumbled for control and in the process, somehow the crown landed on his head!

Danny seemed to freeze from all of the power surging within him and the dark thoughts that began to whirl within and seduce his mind…

"Give me that crown, child," Pariah Dark growled threateningly as he took flight toward the boy. "It is mine and mine alone to wield!"

Danny scowled, though he really didn't know why he did that. All he thought was that the crown was _his_ now and he wasn't going to let Dark have it!

But then, the boy anxiously frowned with chagrin. Why did he think that?

In the meantime, however, Danny's hesitation was Pariah's advantage and the huge ghost quickly wrapped his large hand around the boy's torso while effectively pinning Danny's arms to his sides!

"How dare you claim the crown as your own, child!" the gigantic ghost sneered as he began to angrily squeeze the life out of the boy while trying to yank the crown off of Danny's head with the other!

But the crown wouldn't bulge!

As he continued to exert even more force upon the boy, Pariah jeered, "You are no match for me, child, especially since you have no ecto-skeleton to aid you. But it's time for you to pay for stealing my crown and ring and giving it to that other ghost I just eliminated!"

Danny's face scrunched up in confusion at the news. He didn't steal anything! But even if he did, he wouldn't have given anything to his alternate evil self….Or would he?

But he was rapidly losing consciousness and his mind dulled even more….But at the same time, a deep instinctual feeling stirred within him. Desperate thoughts plowed through his muddled mind when he could see the finality of this. And they all screamed for him to fight to survive!

Immediately afterward, Danny resisted the pressure threatening to snuff out his life. He reflexively willed out his wulf claws, which dug deep into the part of Pariah's hand that was nearest them.

The large ghost yelled at the sharp pain suddenly thrusting through his hand and let go of the boy.

But instead of retreating, Pariah Dark re-grabbed Danny around his waist while scooping up both sets of claws with his other hand. In one quick jerk, the gigantic ghost had bent all of Danny's wulf claws back, as if bending strong steel!

Danny wailed in pain, and even the Crown of Fire seemed to sense how strong the pain was, for it began to blaze. And as if the ancient relic had come alive and had sensed its own need for survival, it riveted the boy's dulled mind with thoughts he wouldn't have owned otherwise. And its evil finally drove Danny to….madness!

Suddenly, the Crown glowed more fiercely and Danny's eyes widened at seeing his claws instantly healed! But more than being renewed in strength, his exhausted mind had succumbed to the relic's evil messages which were still clamoring within it.

As Danny's eyes lit up in wildness, his voice deepened menacingly and chillingly as he angrily growled, "I'll _kill_ you for this!"

The young hybrid reflexively willed his transformation rings to come forth and his _human_ body quickly slipped through the large ghost's hand since Pariah wasn't ready for that.

As soon as he was free, Danny willed forth his transformation rings once more. Once the whitish-blue ring of light had passed over him, he immediately soared upward.

With the controlling power of the Crown throbbing within him, Danny instantly twisted back downward and dove at the larger ghost with a ready, angry punch. He slammed right into the ghost's jaw, which sent Pariah to a very hard landing to the ground below.

But Danny didn't stop at that. He charged after the ghost and slammed right into him once again. Now that the boy's thoughts were wildly out of control and susceptible toward the crown's evil whispers, he delivered blow after blow into Pariah so as to not let his larger opponent get a chance to counter the attack.

No sooner had he landed more blows into Pariah, Danny then willed his wulf claws out and plunged them right into where the ghost's central core would be!

Pariah Dark gasped at the pain and shock of having his central core attacked so aggressively. For the moment, Pariah felt helpless as he felt his central core's already being ripped from out of him by the boy's special wulf claw power.

But Dark's central core was only half- separated from his ghostly body by the temporarily insane young hybrid when something stopped Danny.

The wildness in the teen's eyes slightly dulled and widened. He wanted to kill the ghost, didn't he?

But that thought only confused him more; and then suddenly, panic seized hold of him when his mind was now afire at the image that Evil Dan had shown him not too long ago.

He could still remember the hideous triumph in his alternate evil self's face when he showed him that image with the combination power of the Pariah's Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire…

The glowing Crown of Fire still on the boy's head slightly dulled when he was looking at the reality in front of him. If he continued, if he ripped out Pariah Dark's central core, he would become his own uniquely evil ghost—not a blend of his and Vlad's ghost personas but a combination of his and _Pariah Dark's_ personas once he absorbed Pariah's central core!

The image sent shock waves within the boy's being and Danny unconsciously stopped attacking.

Pariah Dark jolted at the release before he immediately recovered. He didn't care to know why the boy had stopped in his task, but he could see that Danny obviously looked very confused for some reason. Taking immediate advantage of the situation, Pariah hurriedly wrapped his large grey glove once again around the stunned boy's torso and began to squeeze.

Danny however, didn't respond at first. His mind was frozen in a greater struggle: a fight between his good and evil thoughts, and his failures and triumphs. All of the stress from that and everything else he had been enduring since the first time he saw the Observants and agreed to their 'tests' and the intense pain that was currently being inflicted upon him by Pariah Dark finally overwhelmed him.

At the culmination of that crushing and intense blow, Danny's mind had fully shut down and disconnected from reality. He had to, since he was no longer sure of anything, especially his sanity, at this point.

He was no longer aware of who he was, where he was, or what was happening. Any semblance of thought that he was barely aware of was of complete surrender. He started to cry uncontrollably even as he was choking for air and getting dizzier by the second!

His mind was in a whirl and he didn't even realize that he was pleading, "Please, let me go! I can't take any of this anymore! I give up! Just stop hurting me!"

But Pariah Dark laughed hideously in triumph and only squeezed harder.

The pain rushed through the boy and shook his instinct for survival. He blindly resisted and unconsciously thrust his wulf claws outward again.

Pariah Dark yelled at the cutting sensation in his hands and let go.

Danny wasn't even aware that his strength was nearly spent, but he was acting only on pure instinct. He turned and attacked the large ghost once more.

Even with his senses' rapidly failing, Danny felt a sudden darkness composed of despair and fear consume him. He suddenly wailed in anguish and dug deeper into the larger ghost once more in a final act to survive.

But then, with the sickening sound of ripping flesh and hot ectoplasm running down his arms, Danny became slightly aware of what was happening—and what he was doing: he was ripping the ghost in two!

It was, however, too late. Black spots shot before Danny's eyes and just before he lost complete consciousness, the boy heard Pariah Dark shriek in intense pain, as if he was being destroyed….

Xxxxxxxxxxx

**A/N: MsHyde: There, all done! I know that truephan wouldn't have been able to write this chapter as well! She's just, well, she does think a lot about your silly little hero! But now it's too late! *cackles loudly***

**truephan: *gawking* I just can't believe it. Y-You didn't…**

**MsHyde: I did, dearie. **

**truephan: B-But you just couldn't…**

**MsHyde: I most certainly could, dearie.**

**truephan: *sniff* Oh, what will happen now?**

**MsHyde: Well, dearie, isn't the whole point of it to have our readers send their thoughts in that little box down below? **

**truephan: I really don't know what to say, except that the Fantomos Ecto-Scale continues (with more 'holes' in it filled) and so will the story…Until next time, dear readers.**

**MsHyde: And remember the little box…your thoughts…or else, you'll be at the receiving end of my little toy? *pulls out wicked hat pin***

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><p><strong>289-LEVEL 1—<strong>_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**289-level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**289-level 2-**_**Eta—Matilda**_**— truephan's original character from her story, **_**Sleepover Nightmare**_

**289-level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**289-level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**289-level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**289-level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**289-level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**289- level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**289-level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**289-level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**289-level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**289-level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**289-level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**289-level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**289-level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**289-level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**289-level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**289-level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**289-level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand**

**289-level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**289-level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**289-level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**289-level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**289-level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**289-level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**289-level 6-**_**Gamma**_**—Ghost Writer**

**289-level 6-**_**Beta**_** —Walker**

**289-level 6-**_**Alpha**_**—Skulker**

**LEVEL SEVEN GHOSTS—Difficult to defeat. Would have been evenly matched with Danny at age 14. They usually have only one way of being defeated and can be defeated only after discovering that flaw. Also, Danny could only defeat them at age 14 after he picked up new skills to defeat them.**

**289-level 7-**_**Epsilon**_**—Undergrowth**

**289-level 7-**_**Delta**_**—Nocturne**

**289-level 7-**_**Gammas**_**—Aragon and Dorothea**

**289-level 7-**_**Beta**_**—Vortex**

**289-level 7-**_**Alpha**_**—Behemoth**

**LEVEL EIGHT GHOSTS—Very difficult to defeat because they are relatively more powerful than Danny Phantom at age 14. In fact, he might not be able to defeat them without outside help.**

**289-level 8-**_**Epsilon**_ **—Spectra**

**289-level 8-**_**Delta**_** — Skulker 9.9**

**289-level 8-**_**Gamma**_**—Fright Knight**

**289-level 8-**_**Beta**_**—Pandora**

**289-level 8-**_**Alpha**_**—Dazzler—pearl84's original character from her story, **_**Checkmate. (Thanks again for letting me use him, pearl!)**_

**LEVEL NINE GHOSTS AND SPIRITS—Much more powerful than Danny Phantom at age 14 and any one of them could have possibly killed Danny if not for a combo of factors, such as outside help, luck, and using his talents to their utmost. Most spirits are level 9 –and rarely do ghosts get to this level. But occasionally—even if rarely—a few ghosts or spirits can gain even more power.**

**289-level 9-**_**Thetas**_**—Kvargvid and another Spirit who will be revealed later. Kvargvid is pearl84 and truephan's original character from their story, **_**Seeing is disBelieving.**_

**289—Level 9-**_**Eta**_**— Frostbite**

**289—Level 9-Zetas—The Observants**

**289—Level 9-**_**Epsilon**_**— Iluzisto**

**289—Level 9-**_**Delta **_**— **_**Angelus-alvus **_**from **_**Sfero de Ĥaoso**_

**289—Level 9-**_**Gamma**_**—Werewulf Danny**

**289—Level 9-**_**Beta**_**—Clockwork**

**289-Level 9-**_**Alpha**_**—? Will appear in a later chapter**

**LEVEL TEN GHOSTS AND SPIRITS—Virtually invincible to almost all ghosts. Only by sheer guts, tenacity and use of powerful weapons did Danny Phantom survive fighting them at age 14. Level Ten ghosts are a rarity.**

**289—Level 10— **_**Gamma **_**Evil Dan Phantom**

**289—Level 10—**_**Beta**_** Pariah Dark**


	51. Chapter 51--Into the Lion's Den

**A/N: Hiya, everyone, and Happy Mother's Day to everyone's mom! I know that they all will have a wonderful day because y'all are going to spoil them, uh, right? You better! XD**

**Anyhoo, time to tune back into the story! We have to catch up with what's happening to everyone one else but Danny right now. Here is Chapter 51. Enjoy!**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 51—Into the Lion's Den<p>

While Vlad was observing Danny with this last set of ghosts, Maddie the computer was still off-kilter. Even though she was functioning well enough to monitor what was happening in the simulation room, her circuits were still in such of a disarray that she had inadvertently gained access to a subprogram in her system which actually increased her jealously and focused it on anything that would divert Vlad's attention from her. And the main target of her jealousy more than anything else at the moment was Vlad's cat. Once Maddie the computer had ridded herself of the cat, the human named Maddie would be next. After all, it was only logical that there could only be _one_ Maddie who would adore Vlad as much as he deserved….and that could only be….she….

The hologram activated one of the many surveillance cameras already within the mansion, plus the extra small ones she had imbedded in areas that hadn't been that scrutinized before. She knew she hadn't been able to do much of her search for any great length of time or use too much power at a time because most of the power had to be diverted to the simulation room as her master had ordered. Otherwise, Vlad could discover what she was doing. And she didn't want that; that is, not until she had ridden herself of her rivals. She just knew that her love would thank her later!

She smirked evilly after activating another camera, and quickly scanned what it revealed.

"Ah-ha, there you are, you filthy furball of frustration," she quietly said to herself as she pushed a button.

Her artificial eyes twinkled in wicked glee when the cat yowled in pain and scurried quickly away. It had been jolted by a small bolt of electricity that had been emitted by one of the small but powerful weapons Maddie the computer had also stealthily embedded in various parts of the walls of the mansion.

The hologram whipped out a stick of red lipstick and placed a slash mark in a small area hidden from all eyes but her own. She smirked at all those tallied hatch marks which indicated how many times she had found the cat and given it a piece of her electronic mind—literally! But there was more to her plan than inflicting pain onto her rival. She had also made sure that the jolt was delivered at a precise angle that would make the feline go in a certain pre-determined direction.

The computer was hoping to eventually corral the cat into this control room, where she had planned to permanently dispose herself of the pest. It was the only logical way since she couldn't replicate right now like she had with the human without using too much power and increasing the probability of her master discovering her plans. And she couldn't afford to do that unless her master's evil plan had finalized its own objective, which by her calculations, could very well be sooner than later. In the meantime, however, she didn't want to waste time waiting to rid herself of her competition…

She pushed a few more keys and another camera lit up on the small monitor. The cat had gone in that direction as the computer had calculated! Once again, Maddie jolted the cat toward the direction of her choice.

She suppressed a gleeful giggle when the cat howled once again. But the computer's sense of triumph was short-lived when the cat scurried off in the wrong direction this time!

"Blast!" the computer angrily murmured as she pressed a few more command keys.

"Did you say something, my dear?" Vlad suddenly asked. "This next part is crucial!"

The hologram radically changed the look on her face and turned to the man. Now with a sugary smile dressing her face, she lied in near sing-song, "I said, 'at last', sweet sir. I have corrected all of small glitches that naturally happened after your adjustments in the new complex program."

"But I thought you said all was ready _before_ you had engaged those programs?" he replied with a worried frown.

"I had corrected most of the glitches at the beginning of the program and had time to finish the rest before their part of the program had been needed, sweet sir. But in the meantime, I was working on correcting some minor anomalies for the next program in the queue and have just about finished. All is going according to plan," she answered with fake confidence, especially when the last comment had more than one meaning.

Vlad relaxed slightly and replied, "Very good, my dear. Be sure you keep up with it all."

When the hologram spied the cat on her private monitor again, she wickedly uttered, "I certainly will, sir!"

With her eyes fixed on the cat, she pushed a button.

Good!

She had hit her mark! The singed cat was unwittingly being guided to where the computer wanted her to be. It wouldn't be long before that furball would be fodder for Vlad's three ghost vultures!

After two more tries at locating the cat unsuccessfully in the area where the hologram had statistically analyzed where the cat would more likely be headed to, the computer frowned in impatience at the monitor at which she was looking.

Where was that fleabag?

She clicked another button and smirked when she finally spied the living dustmop!

And the feline was so very close to the direct line of attack from the hidden weapon!

In anticipation, the female hologram's finger hovered over the trigger button that would deliver another strong electrical jolt. Once she felt the moment was right, she pushed the button.

The computer could barely contain her excitement at not only teaching the animal a painful lesson about being so haughty with Vlad's affection, but also scaring the living daylights out of it while driving it closer to her!

In fact, Maddie the hologram was so excited and focused on her current plan of action that her circuits didn't record hearing the love of her life calling her. Instead, her finger hovered over yet another button since she was very eager to drive more pain into the hairy pest!

His heart racing with the realization, Vlad couldn't help but see the alarms blaring all around the room. Daniel's stress levels were off the scale and remaining there! And boy had just said that he had given up! The man knew that he had to have finally broken the boy's will and rendered him mentally helpless!

He had been unsure at first; but now he was certain that combining all those sub-programs and adding them to this final program with Daniel's evil self and Pariah Dark had been an excellent idea.

The boy was at last at his wit's end!

And to think, of all the ghosts he had used in this final attack against the boy, he only had been able to acquire ecto-DNA for **one** of them. Though the risk was there, he had been careful not to have any of those other ghosts actually _touch_ the boy or else Daniel could very well have sensed that their power levels weren't right. But he had been able to deliver the final physical crushing blow to the boy—literally—since he _had _gotten ecto-DNA from **Pariah Dark** from his—and Daniel's—only encounter over a year ago.

Now, there was only one more thing to do and he would have the boy where he wanted him….

"Maddie!" Vlad excitedly cried.

But the billionaire frowned when he heard no response.

He turned to his computer and said more emphatically, "Maddie! What are you doing?" He then growled impatiently since he was just about out-of-control of his logic from excitement.

Suddenly, the hologram's binary cells shifted a bit askew when she finally registered that she was being addressed. The computer was surprised by the tone of the love of her artificial life's voice. But it was enough of a glitch for her trigger finger to unwittingly twitch enough to prematurely push the button underneath her fingertip….And she didn't know that she had misjudged her aim! Nor did she see what had happened.

The electrical energy beam that had been meant for Maddie the cat pulverized the floor immediately to the left of Maddie the cat and ricocheted off of the floor and wildly upward until it hit into a totally unplanned target.

Though the cat yowled in fear and had actually darted into the direction toward which the computer generated image had wanted the feline to go anyways, the computer wasn't happy about her error.

Nevertheless, she turned toward Vlad; and in uncharacteristic irritation, she growled, "You called, sir?"

Vlad, however, was too excited to notice or care about the tone of his computer's voice. After all, he had already been ignoring a lot of her expected yet irritating quirks since he had zapped the mainframe. He had also been ignoring the intermittent flickering of the lights within the control room because he knew most of the power was being siphoned into the simulation room for this final show. But he was glued to the events happening within the room and all the monitors recording Daniel's behavior. And they were pointing to one thing: the boy was broken!

He had no idea all along that his computer's attention had been split, especially to a monitor that had nothing to do with Daniel.

"Yes, I did, Maddie!" Vlad impatiently panted out. "Get ready to de-activate the ghost shield. I've already called Skulker and he should be here momentarily!"

"Oh, all right!" she replied with clear irritation since she was still upset about missing the cat.

But she knew that she would permanently fix that cat soon enough.

Tucker and Jack looked at each other in dread. The girl hadn't responded at all from their efforts to rouse her! At first, they couldn't decide on what to do. But Tucker only hesitated a moment longer. While still holding onto Sam's limp hand, he knelt down beside her, closed his eyes and began to concentrate.

Jack's eyes widened in both awe and fear when he noticed a green aura suddenly appear around the dark-skinned teen before it quickly engulfed the unconscious girl. He grew more anxious when he could see beads of perspiration form on Tucker's brow and his breathing increase seconds later. The man felt the urge to interfere, but he forced himself to wait since he realized that he really wouldn't know how or what he could do if he did.

A moment or two later, however, Sam suddenly woke with a gasp and Tucker collapsed completely down on his heels from the effort just as the green aura around them disappeared.

"Sam! Tucker! Are you alright?!" Jack anxiously blurted out as he reached out and helped Tucker up to his feet.

"I-I think so," Tucker hesitantly responded.

Sam didn't say anything right away since she was still very dizzy from her ordeal with _Angelus-alvus…_

But then, her mind cleared a little faster than it had since this whole nightmare had begun and she gasped again at her first memory. But then, she frowned in anger.

The two males startled at her outburst; and immediately worried that she was still hurt, Jack fretfully repeated, "Are you alright, Sam?"

Sam finally looked up at the man. She didn't want to admit that she hadn't fully recovered. Nevertheless, she pulled herself into an unsteady sit and said as firmly as she could muster, "I'm fine, but Danny isn't! And _Vlad_ has him, **not** Clockwork or _Angelus-alvus_!

"What?" Tucker blurted out, since he hadn't witnessed what she had telepathically seen because he had already fainted from the ordeal with the _Angelus_ before Sam had. He was now worried that his female friend was still very confused.

Meanwhile, Jack's eyes widened when what Sam had said triggered the memory of what she had mumbled hours ago. He quickly told the two teens, "I heard you say Vlad's name several hours ago, Sam, but I thought you were delirious from your fever at the time! I didn't…"

But just as she had finally regained most of her balance and her mind had cleared a little more, Sam impatiently and anxiously interrupted him, "No time! We have to go to Vlad's mansion _now_! I don't think Danny can hold out any longer and I'm not sure if I can reach him again to help!"

"A-Are you sure, Sam?" Tucker hesitantly asked when he could tell that his friend was still weak. He was sure that she had to be wrong. "Maybe—"

But the look on the girl's face stopped him cold. It was that same look that she had when it seemed she was looking right through him. He felt an uncomfortable chill rush up his spine along with a sudden unwavering feeling that she was _right_. He dared not say anything else for the moment.

Sam breathed in deeply when she could see that Tucker wasn't going to question her again. Yes, she was still light-headed, but she also knew she was right! She forced herself to a stand. Though she was silently happy that she could stand, that didn't make her less anxious.

She was about to say more when Jack blurted out, "Just a minute, kids!"

He hurried over to a closed cabinet and threw both of the doors open. He grabbed several weapons and hurried back to the teens.

Suddenly gritting his teeth in both determination and anger, he offered the weapons to the teens and added, "Now all of this makes sense! That jerk must have Maddie, too!"

He grasped a very wicked looking anti-ectoplasmic rifle and said, "Take as much as you can hold, kids! This baby will easily blow a hole in any level nine ghost. If Vlad has so much as…"

"Sorry, Mr. Fenton, but we still have no time!" Sam quickly butted in as she grabbed one of the weapons the man had brought and reached into her boot for the wrist ray gun she always kept in there. She then added with anticipation, "Tucker!"

"Way ahead of you, Sam," the bespectacled teen chimed in just as he pushed a final button on his PDA and grabbed a weapon.

A portal quickly formed and then opened up right in front of the trio. Without any further ado, they all quickly jumped in….

In all the while that Maddie the computer had been finalizing the last program for Vlad, she was still able to concentrate her unused circuits on tracking her feline rival—especially after the fact that Vlad had interrupted her and made her miss zapping the cat. That had taken her a lot more time than had pleased her now that Vlad had demanded even more power from her mainframe for the next portion of the new program. However, during any of the times the hologram had been able to locate her furry foe, she had been able to successfully—and stealthily—shepherd the cat toward the control room and to its eventual doom…

The hologram knew it would be very easy for her to get the cat into the room since she was sure that the feline pest knew that Vlad would be in here…or should she say, be in the simulation room soon…

In fact, the cat was now so close that the computer's eyes flashed in triumph. Soon, she would have only one rival….

The last sparkling bit of green swirling energy of Tucker's artificially created portal finally completely phased out of existence and the determined trio were right in front of Vlad's mansion.

They all quickly skirted to a line of nearby large decorative bushes.

Once they were hidden from the entrance of the billionaire's Amity Park home, Tucker hurriedly asked, "Now what are we going to do? We all know that Vlad's surveillance equipment is the state-of-the-art kind and so we just can't sneak through the front door."

"Maybe we could sneak through the _back_ door?" Jack squeamishly offered.

Sam smirked knowingly before pointing her thumb over her shoulder, and slyly replying, "Or maybe, we could sneak through a not-so-secret _side_ door that's hidden behind those bushes over there!"

The two males quickly looked in the direction to which the girl had been pointing and could barely make out what looked like a faint—though possible—seam of a doorway just through a small opening in the bushes.

"Wow, Sam, I still sometimes think that you really have better ghostly eyes than real ghosts do!" Tucker teased as he scanned the area for a way to hide their next moves.

And the boy wasn't to be disappointed, either, because he quickly saw that the way was as obvious as a flying mallet! He smirked before pointing and adding, "Hey, we can get closer to it without being detected! Looks like Vlad had thought of that, too, when he designed those rows of bushes and statues and things near that 'not-so-secret' door!"

Sam and Jack immediately saw what the boy had meant. They all nodded to each other in agreement and slowly crept toward their next hidden area.

But just before they got within a few yards of the side door, Jack whispered, "Do either of you see any cameras around that door?"

Tucker immediately pushed a few buttons on his PDA and scrunched his brow in concentration before he replied, "I can't detect anything that would suggest that anything electrical is on in this area right now, but I wouldn't think that Vlad would overlook the security of this entrance, either."

"Well, we're just going to have to take the chance that if any detection device is here, it's not on for some reason," Sam said in determination.

Little did the trio know that they were right in their guess. Vlad had already had his computer momentarily turn off the outside security system to divert all accessible power to his simulation room. He had, however, kept some of the internal security lines intact—like the one guarding Maddie Fenton—and those he felt were vital for now…

Jack and Tucker briefly glanced at each other before catching Sam's determination. They had to take this chance if they were hoping at all to succeed in their mission.

Jack finally but quietly voiced what was on all of their minds, "Okay, kids, let's not waste any more time with this godsend!"

After a quick nod of acknowledgement among the three, they crept forward.

The trio were in front of the side door in no time; and so far, it looked as if no one was the wiser that they were here! They could only hope that their luck would hold!

While Tucker immediately began typing furiously on his PDA, Jack was suddenly gripped by a panicking-inducing thought at seeing the billionaire's large abode up close and personal and blurted out, "But what if Danny's at Vlad's castle in Wisconsin or his mountain chalet instead of here?"

"Then, we'll just have to check all of them if we have to!" Sam said in determination.

She concentrated; and in a moment, her mind was so charged with Spectre energy that she was suddenly aware of a certain feeling. But that rush also drained her immediately afterward. She gritted her teeth and said as confidently as she could muster, "But I'm _still_ sure that Danny's here."

Scanning his PDA to be sure, Tucker frantically added, "But I'm only reading several level-_three_ ghosts and one level-_six_ ghost in there, Sam. But I also am detecting two level-_nine_ entities. And we know that Danny's a little over an eight in power level, so maybe Danny's isn't…"

"No!" Sam firmly cut him off. "Danny is in there… I'm not exactly sure where, but he is because I can _feel _him!"

Jack's eyes widened in amazement at the girl's certainty; but Tucker didn't argue the point especially when he could suddenly _feel_ what she was feeling.

The male teen replied with a nod, "Okay, Sam. I believe you. So, let me work on getting in without causing a scene."

As Jack glanced at Tucker as the boy began to type commands into his PDA, an idea bubbled up. But then, the man bit his lower lip when all that idea did was make him more anxious. He didn't even realize that he had nervously blurted out his reaction to his idea, "Too bad we couldn't use the Boo-merang to find Danny. For one thing, it would be too obvious flying all around inside of Vlad's mansion…"

Tucker paused in what he was doing and looked at the man. He didn't understand why he had said that.

Meanwhile, Sam, too, had glanced at the man but didn't comment. She could easily tell from that almost off-the-wall remark that the man had just made that he was very anxious.

Jack swallowed hard when he suddenly felt useless and stupid once again and nervously prattled on, "But we couldn't use it anyways if we wanted to because, I, heh-heh, kinda lost it in the Ghost Zone the last time my wife and I were testing it…"

This time, Sam puckered her face sympathetically and quietly said, "Hey, it's okay, Mr. Fenton. We won't stop until we find Danny and his mom."

Jack's eyes brightened slightly in anticipation before he asked, "So, you can, uh, _feel _that my wife's in there, too, Sam?"

Sam's brow furrowed in concentration momentarily. She ignored the sudden dizziness from the effort. She didn't care that she still was weak because she was set on succeeding. But she couldn't ignore that she was also having more of a hard time had she been her usual self. She finally responded, "I'm sorry, but I don't sense her. And though I don't like the idea any more than you do, Mr. Fenton, I hope she is in there, too."

Jack's eyes widened in a mixture of hope and dread. What if his wife wasn't in there? But his thoughts were interrupted by Tucker.

"Once we find Danny, I'm sure we'll find his mom, Mr. F. And don't worry about the Boo-merang, okay? I can use my PDA to track Danny since I recorded his ghost signature in it just for this sort of thing."

A slightly tense silence surrounded the three for a moment before Tucker shrugged and silently returned to punching commands into his PDA.

Jack then realized that the kids had quickly let him off the hook for having lost the Boo-merang. He smiled crookedly and said in a mixture of appreciation and renewed resolve, "Thanks, kids, for everything… But I've got an idea that's not so goofy as my last one. Once we get in, how about you two go look for Danny and I'll go look for my wife?"

Sam and Tucker glanced at each other before they smiled weakly and nodded in agreement.

The man returned the same grin in understanding and added, "Okay, then. But, uhm, let's still try to keep in touch with these, okay?"

He pulled out three sets of Fenton Phones and each of the trio took a set. The man then chuckled uncomfortably and added, "I know you two won't need them to contact each other, but, heh-heh, you know _I_ will since I don't have all those séance powers."

Sam slightly rolled her eyes but before she could make a dry comment, Tucker blurted out, "Yes! I cracked the code!"

Less than a moment afterward, the alarm system connected to the outside door in that section of the mansion deactivated before the lock on the door clicked open and silently glided ajar.

The trio reflexively pulled out all of their weapons and cautiously entered Vlad's lair…

"Now Sam and Tucker, be careful and let's check back with each other every fifteen minutes, okay? And if we run into any kind of trouble and can get away, let's meet back behind those bushes that hid the door we went through, okay?" Mr. Fenton quietly suggested once they were inside.

"Okay!" the two teens said in hushed unison before the trio parted.

As the two teens cautiously moved forward in Vlad's mansion, Tucker—ever monitoring his PDA in an effort to pinpoint his half-ghost friend's whereabouts—frowned when he wasn't getting much success. He concluded that there must be some kind of hi-tech activity that was interfering with his PDA.

And, indeed, the boy was right—but only partly.

In her zeal to find the cat, Maddie the computer had expanded her search for the cat and so, there was a lot more energy penetrating the mansion, which did interfere with his PDA. That made Tucker a little nervous, actually, because he had suspected all along that Vlad would be paranoid enough to keep the place under constant surveillance.

But little did Tucker know that there was another more important why he couldn't locate his half-ghost best friend…

Still, Tucker continued to try to filter out that interference—and block it from detecting any anomaly stirred by their presence.

A few moments later, he muttered under his breath to his female friend, "I haven't found Danny yet, but I don't want to keep telling you that. So, doncha think it would be better for us to, uh, you know, 'talk' to each other using our, uh, thing, so as to be as quiet as possible, Sam?"

"_Great idea_!" he suddenly heard Sam's reply in his head.

He smirked before he sent a mental response, _"Funny. But while we're at it, doncha think we should also try to contact Danny? My PDA's acting all wonky and I'm more worried about keeping big bad Vlad from watching us right now. Besides, I'm also detecting some kind of ecto-energy that might be a ghost shield, which might mean that Danny could be behind that ghost shield."_

"_But you were able to detect all those different level ghosts not too long ago, Tucker," _Sam mentally pointed out.

"_Like I said, my PDA's acting weirder right now. I don't know why I could do that then and not now, Sam,"_ he whined defensively. _"Maybe the ghost shield wasn't on for some reason, then. I don't know what a creep like Vlad can do in his creepy mansion as far as ghost shields are concerned."_

The bespectacled boy frowned a bit when he could hear Sam's chuckle in his brain before he heard her mentally say to him, _"Sorry, Tucker. I don't doubt you; but you have to admit that what you just said about Vlad was funny. But just so you know, I've been trying to reach Danny this entire time, but I haven't gotten through yet…but at the same time, I just know he's got to be in here somewhere."_

Tucker mentally nodded and said, "_I believe you, Sam, but I just can't detect __**any **__ghost right now! It's like this place was totally empty. Maybe Danny's at one of Vlad's other creepy mansions….Wait!"_

"_What?"_ Sam anxiously yet telepathically asked.

"_I was finally able to screen out the interference and now I'm detecting several level three ghosts…but I'm not detecting anything higher than that level!"_

Tucker was worried. If Danny was here, he should be detecting his eight-point-five signature strength. But even if Danny wasn't here, then he should be detecting at least _Vlad's _signature, unless…

A sudden fearful idea gripped his heart and he mentally blurted out, _"Sam, I don't detect __**any**__ level nine ghosts! That means that Vlad isn't here…Maybe that also means that __**Danny**__ isn't here!"_

Sam mentally frowned in worry as she agreed, "_I can't feel Danny right now, either, but I can't help but feel that he is here somewhere! So I have to be right because I just know that those other ghosts you detected are scared of us, thank goodness!"_

Though hearing that his female friend could feel the feelings of others still creeped him out a bit, Tucker replied only to her mind, _"Do you think they're Vlad's ghost staff?"_

"_Well, we know he has some other ghosts working for him from the last time we were reluctantly here, so I would say that is a 'yes',"_ Sam mentally replied.

Little did they know, however, how right they were about Vlad's staff. There was a standing order by the master for the ghosts to hide if intruders ever managed to infiltrate the mansion. Not only that, but they couldn't detect Danny and Vlad within the last few minutes because the half-ghosts were not only in the simulation room then, but that Vlad also had the ghost shield around it turned back on shortly before Tucker had scanned for his male friend again.

However, shortly after Sam said that, Tucker's eyes widened when he could see a purplish-red aura suddenly appear and quickly intensify around his female friend.

Still mentally communicating, Tucker anxiously asked, "_Do you, uh, feel anything?"_

"_Danny __**is **__in here…and somewhere just ahead,"_ she at first anxiously replied before just as anxiously adding, "_Oh, Tucker! He's just so…full of hatred and he's so confused, and…"_

But then, Tucker noticed that her aura suddenly weakened and he felt a strange feeling coming from her. He mentally gasped and almost yelled out his response. But he still managed to keep his reply mentally between him and the girl, _"Focus, Sam! You know you don't want to lose it now!"_

The mixture of fear and warning she was sensing from her friend was enough for Sam to squelch her strong empathetic tendencies that had been immediately activated and threatened to actually sabotage her efforts. She knew she had to focus and keep her feelings in check in order to pinpoint her boyfriend's location.

As they slowly crept forward, Sam furrowed her brow in concentration.

"_Hang in there, honey! We're coming!"_ she mentally threw to her boyfriend's mind. She tried to ignore the feeling that her words had immediately slammed into a mental rock—and drained her further.

"_Yeah, hang on, man! We're almost there!" _Tucker mentally chimed in, even if he felt as if the channel between him and Danny was closed.

Still, Sam concentrated harder and her aura deepened in intensity and glow.

But then, after a few minutes, the girl suddenly halted in her tracks and clasped her hand to her chest. She felt as if her heart would burst from all of the completely unexpected bombardment of emotions that seemed to have clamped down on her mind and heart. The pain was almost unbearable and she hitched in her gasps.

"_What's wrong, Sam?"_ Tucker hurriedly and anxiously asked her telepathically when he realized that she had unexpectedly stopped. He turned and looked right at her. His eyes widened in distress at seeing his female friend leaning against the wall and trying to catch her breath.

"_I-I d-don't know, Tucker,"_ she hesitantly replied only to his mind.

Tucker could tell that whatever it was had upset the girl and weakened her.

He was about to ask when she suddenly added, "_Oh, Tucker, we have to hurry! I think something awful has happened to Danny!"_

When she tried to move forward, she gasped in chagrin when she stumbled from the drain of strength that was now beginning to overwhelm her again.

But thanks to Tucker's coming to her side, she didn't fall.

"_Not a moment to lose, Sam,"_ he mentally assured her as he steadied her on her feet.

She gritted her teeth in determination and tried to will her weakness away. _"Right! I'm okay. Let's keep going!"_ she finally said to his mind.

Though Tucker wasn't convinced that she was okay, he knew she wouldn't stop until she would literally collapse from the strain.

As they continued forward, Sam threw more of her thoughts toward her boyfriend. And this time, she slightly relaxed when she felt that a channel had finally squeaked open! But she frowned at the cacophony of feelings and strange thoughts she was getting right afterward….She immediately sent even more words toward Danny's mind.

Tucker swallowed a big lump that had immediately formed shortly after seeing that Sam was reaching a limit even if she didn't want to admit it. He typed on his PDA more furiously in trying to locate his best friend before it was too late...

After a few more minutes of mentally talking to Danny even if she hadn't yet gotten a response, Sam hurriedly threw her mental thoughts to Tucker and silently pointed. _"Tucker! Danny's behind that door over there!"_

Tucker's eyes shifted toward the direction in which Sam had been pointing. He didn't doubt her one iota that she was right because he could feel the complete certainty in her comment.

They hurried up to the door and Tucker inputted the last commands of the program he had already cued—which was the one he had used to pick the locks of some doors lately.

Moments later, the door's lock slid open with a quiet 'click' and the door silently and slowly moved on its hinges just enough for it to be slightly ajar…

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, as Sam and Tucker were searching for Danny, Jack was searching for his wife. He didn't care if he was searching blindly for her or not…because he wasn't going to stop looking until he found her. He gritted his teeth in determination as he swept most of this area he was in. He knew he would make his way upstairs next rather than the other side of the mansion because that is where Sam and Tucker had headed.<p>

He hadn't heard from the teens yet; but his watch still told him that they hadn't been gone long enough from each other for them to check on each other, either. Besides, the large man knew that Sam and Tucker would call him if they had found either his wife or son…and he would do the same if he was the first to find either of his loved ones.

Finally, it was time for Jack to head upstairs. When he reached the top of the stairs, it was obvious that he had to turn either right or left to move onward. He turned to the right, only to startle a bit in both surprise and hope.

An eerie bluish-green glow was emanating from just beyond the end of this hallway! But what was even stranger was that the glow was flickering oddly.

Jack pulled out a small device from his orange jumpsuit and looked at the monitor. It detected some ectoplasmic energy in the same direction! Now running on hope that it would lead him either to his wife or son, the man hurried toward the glow.

Once he neared the corner, however, he slowed his pace and crept cautiously forward. He held his breath as he slowly inched around the corner just enough for him to get a peek at what lay ahead.

His eyes widened when he could plainly see a green ghost shield surrounding a door! But he frowned when that green aura quickly melded into a blue one before it flickered bluish-green and then seemed as if it was going to go completely out, just to roar back into life with a strong green glow.

He could not know that the shields around what turned out to be his wife's 'prison cell' had been damaged from Maddie the computer's misfire of her electrical bolt she had sent the cat's way but had missed because Vlad had earlier interrupted her efforts at the precise moment she had been firing at the feline.

Nevertheless, Jack pulled out his ghost-detecting device. He had to make sure that this indeed was a ghost shield before trying to disable it with his weapon.

He pushed a button and the small device lit up in acknowledgment. It was a ghost shield just as he had guessed! And that meant that this must be where Vlad was keeping his son!

The man ran right through the green ghost shield and was about to pound on the door when he stopped just shy of that.

Maybe this was Vlad's room that the billionaire had reinforced with a ghost shield?

His heart raced in indecision for only a moment. Whipping out his level nine weapon, the man steeled his jaw and thought, _"Vlad or no Vlad! I've got to make sure that Danny isn't behind that ghost shield!"_

Jack cocked his ecto-gun, aimed it at the door and then rapped on it before calling out, "Danny? Are you in there, son?"

He listened anxiously and his heart dropped in dread when he heard absolutely…nothing!

Before he could think of what to do next, the man frowned when he was all of the sudden being unwittingly repelled from the door! He frowned in confusion when he could see that the green aura had disappeared and a blue one had taken its place and that is when he was being thrust away!

Jack pushed his hand against the blue aura, but it wouldn't yield to his strength!

A moment later, however, the aura quickly turned bluish-green before it slightly fizzled out and then melded back into the green ghost shield!

"_A human shield, too!"_ his scientific mind concluded. _"And since Vlad would need both to keep a ghost __**and **__a human locked in, then Danny must be in there!"_

He paused a moment at his next random thought. _"That, or else Vlad has even weirder taste in decorating this place than he already has!"_

The man chided himself for not keeping focused, especially when he had wasted that time not only with a completely useless thought, but enough for the human shield to reappear.

He anxiously waited for the ghost shield to return. Once green light was reflecting back at him, the man ran up to the door and rapped harder on it before he called out, "Danny? This is your father! Give me a moment and I'll get you out, okay?"

He was about to alert Sam and Tucker of his possibly locating his son when he jolted a bit at the next sound.

"_Jack?"_ a weak female voice asked from behind the shielded door.

The large man's heart leapt in a mixture of joy and worry because he hadn't expected to have found his wife instead of his son; and yet, his wife sounded so weak!

Still, he blurted out, "Yes, it's me, darlin'! Hang on! I'm going to get you out in a jiffy! Stand back from the door, okay?"

Since Maddie was still hurt and lying on the bed, she didn't worry about that detail. Instead, she weakly responded, "No problem, honey!"

The man stepped back just when he could tell that the blue human shield was just about to be reactivated. He wasn't sure if he would be able to shoot the door or even enter the room with that human shield on. What if his ghost weapon messed with the human shield? Of course since this was the first time he had seen a combination of the two, he couldn't be sure if he would be able to even shoot the door. What if his beam went awry? Even if he did hit it with either shield on, the loud blast that resulted would attract too much unwanted attention!

No, he would have to do this the 'old fashioned' way! He waited for what seem eons for the blue human shield to meld into the green ghost one. As soon as it dutifully did, the man took a large breath, charged at the door, quickly anchored his shoulder against it, groaned loudly and shoved his entire body weight into the obstacle to his wife. After three such maneuvers, the door finally caved into his last assault!

Jack clamored over the fallen door and saw his wife still on the bed a few yards beyond the doorway.

"Maddie, darlin'!" he breathed in relief.

But he didn't let himself get caught in the moment because he was still anxious to get her out of here.

"Jack! I'm sorry! I can't get up!" she weakly said as soon as he was at her side.

"You're hurt!" he anxiously exclaimed when he saw the scorch marks on her expensive gown, her extremely pale complexion, and a large cut on her forehead.

"I'll be alright, honey," she unconvincingly replied, before she squelched a dry heave. "I think I'm suffering from the ecto-bends. I'll explain it all later."

"Right!" he hurriedly agreed. "Now, let's get out of here! I'm going to have to get you back to the lab at home as soon as I can!"

But as he gently and easily lifted her off the bed and into his arms, his eyes narrowed with that familiar hate and anger at his next thought and he almost growled, "I swear that I'll get Vlad for hurting you, Maddie!"

"Vlad?" she asked in bewilderment. "I don't know what you're talking about, Jack. He didn't hurt me; and for that matter, the last time I saw him I was with you!"

Jack frowned in sudden confusion. Of course, he didn't know that Vlad's computer had actually caused his wife's injury. But thinking that she must be traumatized to the point that she had blocked out Vlad's hurting her, he replied, "Never mind about all that right now, honey. But I also have to tell Sam and Tucker…"

"Sam and Tucker?" she interrupted him with her eyes narrowing in even more confusion. She knew she was still very weak and dizzy, but she couldn't help but have a bad feeling about what he had just said. "What are _they_ doing here?"

"Uh, trying to find Danny," he readily replied.

"Danny?!" she gasped. "He's been a prisoner, too? Jack, what's going on?"

Jack's face skewed and his voice was so serious that it scared his wife as he insisted, "Listen, Maddie. I don't have time to explain everything. Once I get you to safety, I'm coming back for them. But let me just tell you that I would lay heavy bets that Sam and Tucker could hold their own against a ghost like Vlad!"

Though she still wasn't thinking clearly, the woman trusted her husband enough not to question him further at the moment.

Without losing any more time, the man swiftly carried his wife out of the room, down the stairs, and out to the outside rendezvous point that he and the teens had agreed upon before they had entered Vlad's mansion.

He gently lay his wife down on the soft grass behind a large bush which would hide her well until he could return. He kissed her quickly yet tenderly and said, "I promise I'll be right back with our son and his friends!"

Before she could say anything, her husband had turned away and rushed back to the mansion and practically jumped through the side door he had exited with his wife moments before in search of the teens…

* * *

><p>For the first time ever, Skulker hesitated once he approached the door of the control room of the simulation room. Once again he felt something grip him and threaten to get a lock on his central core at the thought of possibly witnessing what he was sure he did not want to see...<p>

But the Ghost Hunter immediately shook it all off. Having Plasmius call him as he did was perfect timing as always. Somehow, the older hybrid had this knack for knowing when the cyborg ghost was through with a task. And, indeed, Skulker had just finished with the device that the man had wanted him to construct and was about to inform him of it when Plasmius called him. True, the Ghost Hunter wasn't completely through since he hadn't even begun working on the microchip that would fix the computer; but he at least had something to present to the man.

At least, that is why Skulker had thought the man had summoned him.

Now determined to get the rest of his work done, Skulker finally knocked on the door.

"Come in," the hunter heard Plasmius say, and hearing his friend's voice was enough for Skulker to completely throw his feelings away.

The cyborg ghost twisted the knob, and entered.

"You called, Plasmius?" Skulker robotically asked.

"You're just in time as usual, Skulker," Vlad hurriedly said before he turned back to face the stealth observation window and pointed at the unfolding scene. His voice was almost gleeful as he added, "Daniel is acting as erratically as all the monitors!"

Not eager to check that statement, the robotic ghost glanced through the window for several moments. He could tell without having to smell the whelp that he was definitely not himself. But when he turned back to look at the older hybrid, Skulker unconsciously frowned. He didn't like the wildness he saw in the man's eyes.

"What's that got to do with anything, Plasmius?" Skulker almost growled. "I came here to install that device you wanted. And then I need to get back to constructing a new microchip and…"

But as if the man hadn't heard a word the ghost had said, Vlad anxiously said, "I need you to check on Daniel's status again, Skulker!"

Skulker's eyebrows hitched in disbelief. The older hybrid had agreed to keep him out of this affair after the cyborg ghost had checked the whelp the _last_ time.

And now, Plasmius was changing plans again?

Skulker frowned only to himself. Of course the man _would be_ changing plans since his obsession about the pup's being his son was even stronger than his own obsession to hunt. Still, Skulker didn't like the request one bit because he had meant what he said earlier: he truly did _not_ want to be involved in what was going to happen to the Ghost Child from now on and he wanted to complete those other two assignments.

The ghost paused at a sudden realization that he knew was the brutally honest truth: he didn't want to be involved anymore because he didn't want to see the boy broken as Vlad wanted….Still, he could feel the tug of loyalty that he had with Plasmius wrestling for his central core as well…

Skulker finally grunted, "Though we agreed otherwise, I will do as you request, Plasmius. But do you want me to take _another_ chance of being discovered by the whelp?"

"I don't think there will be any worry about that, Skulker," Vlad confidentially replied, as he re-wound the video tape of what had happened to Danny several minutes before Skulker had arrived to show the hunter.

Skulker kept a poker face on as he viewed the screen. But then, he side-glanced at Vlad when the man suddenly spoke again.

"Just look at the boy, Skulker!" Vlad insisted. "He hardly made any sense with dealing with all of those conjured up ghosts and spirits! And you can see that he was even bawling like a baby at one point!"

"Then, you have your answer, Plasmius!" Skulker testily countered, "The boy is obviously broken, so why do you need me to…"

"Just, do it, Skulker!" Vlad suddenly and angrily snapped. "I'm planning to intervene as soon as you verify that Daniel is completely helpless to resist what I have planned. The ghost shield is already down and I've had Maddie awaken Daniel for the most part, though I don't think it's that important at this point. He is all but senseless. All is ready for you once you turn intangible."

Now very annoyed, Skulker gritted his teeth. If the man wasn't his friend, he would have skinned him alive for how he just treated him. Without another word, however, the Ghost Hunter turned invisible and intangible and hurriedly phased through the stealth window.

But as Skulker neared the Ghost Child, who was lying on the ground writhing in emotional turmoil, he felt his central core constrict in discernment once again. He growled at his weakness and increased his speed until he was sure he was near enough to get a good whiff of the whelp.

As soon as the Ghost Hunter drew in his ghostly breath, however, he frowned in confusion….How odd. He knew deep down that his special power never failed him, but this….Nevertheless, he hurriedly turned around and re-entered the control room via the stealth window within a minute of leaving the pup.

Instead of reporting his findings to Plasmius, however, the cyborg ghost merely frowned at the man, grunted, and floated over to the connection site for the device he had brought with him.

Vlad took that as meaning that Daniel was finally ready for the next phase of his plan! He was so excited at the news that he could hardly think straight! He didn't even think to question his friend or see what he was doing next.

Still, he pinched the bridge of his nose and took in a deep breath to gain control over his emotions.

He finally commanded, "Maddie, make sure that the ghost shield continues to be off for five minutes before you activate File 285-GB."

The hologram momentarily looked away from her own secret monitoring and dutifully replied, "On it, sweet sir!"

She then struck multiple command keys...

Skulker, meanwhile, had quickly connected that device into its receptacle. He turned it on and checked its specifications. It was perfect!

He smirked slightly with pride at his work, and was just about to leave when something stopped him…He frowned with both annoyance and intrigue.

The Ghost Hunter turned back toward the stealth observation window just as Plasmius phased through it.

"Tell Plasmius that the device is ready whenever he wants it," he practically grumbled to the computer.

"I will inform him," she replied just before she sent the message to the man.

Skulker's frown never left his face as he peered through the stealth observation window…

It seemed the older half-ghost had finally gotten what he wanted…

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><p><strong>AN: Well, then, gang, we're all caught up with everyone other than Danny. Also, I want you to know that no animal was injured during the writing of this story. It's MsHyde's fantasy to eliminate all cats. She just thinks that they way they look at you with those feline eyes makes you wonder if they're thinking that they would have you for dinner if they were only one hundred pounds heavier!**

**I hope you send me your thoughts about this chapter and will hang in there for the next chapter!**

**Once again, Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful moms out there in cyberspace!**


	52. Chapter 52 Darkest Pit of the Soul

**A/N: Hiya, y'all! Thanks for waiting for this update! I won't bore you with the good excuses why it's late, so I'll just go on! I have mixed feelings about this chapter because even though I'm excited to reveal a lot to y'all and this is the climax of the story, that also means that the story is nearly at an end *sniff*. But I have to also let you know that if you haven't read any of my other stories (tsk-tsk) or haven't paid attention to the Fantomos Ecto-Scale (tsk-tsk, part 2), then you might be a little confused. And there is a major spoiler for one of those stories in this chapter, so don't say I didn't warn ya! Finally, ahem, *chews nervously on edge of index finger* it is a **_**very**_** long chapter—but it had to be as you'll soon see. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the ride! ^-^ So, here is the climatic Chapter 52. Enjoy!**

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><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Chapter 52—Level 10 Ghosts and Spirits—Darkest Pit of the Soul<p>

"Activate File 285-GB, Maddie," Plasmius said to his small wrist communication device as he approached Danny, whom Vlad had ordered to be put back to sleep until he could near the now-human boy.

"Right away, sweetums," the computer almost purred before she said more seriously, "I have also been instructed by Skulker that the booster device is ready for you whenever you desire it, love."

"Thank you, Maddie," he tersely replied since she was off-track again and he was even more anxious to push on. Nevertheless, he turned the device on via his wrist control device before he added with a tinge of irritation in his voice, "Now, activate that file."

He could tell that the hologram finally did as she was told for the room changed.

Vlad hurriedly lifted the limp human boy off of the ground and placed him on the soft, fancy bed that had suddenly appeared within the simulation room, along with all other furniture associated with a guest room similar to the ones in Vlad's mansion.

The older hybrid immediately flew out of the 'door' of the bedroom —which was really the door to the simulation room —and transformed back into his human form.

"Now, Maddie, wake the boy again—slowly," Vlad commanded through the wrist communication device. "Keep the ghost shield on and do not interfere unless I call you, understood?"

"Understood, darling sir," she replied, though her circuits were secretly pleased that she would have even more time to continue in her own stealth plans…

A few moments later, Daniel began to stir….

Vlad knocked on the door. But when he didn't hear any response, he knocked again and asked, "Daniel?"

Once again, the man didn't hear any response.

This time, he turned the knob and walked in.

He could tell by the boy's moaning that Daniel was waking. He slowly approached the teen.

But as he drew nearer to Daniel, something unexpected happened…

An intense wave of heat suddenly seized Danny's body and he began to toss fitfully in bed. Another even more violent shot of heat assaulted the boy's central core before it rushed up his spine again before he broke out into a sweat. His still sleep-captured human body and mind reflexively fought with it.

A moment more of the struggle propelled Danny between the conscious and unconscious worlds of the mind. All of the sudden, he caught glimpses of coherent thoughts that were otherwise being drowned by a sea of incoherent ones. But the heat that seemed to be consuming his spine intensified; and in the panic of the moment, he didn't know that he had willed his ice powers forward even when he was still in his human form. However, he could never anticipate that the reflexive cold rush which resulted to counter the heat was going to overwhelm him. In fact, Danny was almost convulsing with the shudder.

But then finally, the teen breathed frost. Yet, he couldn't know that while he was still tossing and turning, the temperature in the room was precipitously plummeting.

Vlad's eyes widen in disbelief as he saw the ice begin to coat the walls of the simulation room. An instant later, it was completely frozen over. And then, the power drain on the controls was such that the room melded into looking more like its _true_ composition, instead of the exquisitely decorated bedroom. This wasn't according to his plans! The boy should practically be a basket case at this point, unable to do anything and yet susceptible enough to let Vlad help him sort out his mental chaos—and embrace being his son.

After all, Vlad knew all too well how trusting the naïve boy was….

"_What is happening? He should be totally helpless by now!"_ Vlad asked himself in disbelief and concern.

Suddenly, however, Danny inexplicably reabsorbed his ice energy and the room returned to looking like one of Vlad's impeccable guest rooms. The teen had also stopped moving.

Vlad was secretly glad that he had controlled his impulse to order his computer to put the boy back into _delta _sleep just now. So, all the man could do right now was wait for the right moment —after the boy had finally awakened.

With a sigh, Vlad stood and walked towards what appeared to be a window. But he didn't bother looking out, and instead closed his eyes and rubbed them. It didn't matter how much he tried to ignore it, he was so exhausted —and in more ways than one.

Still, all of his sacrifice had been worth it. He was sure the boy was broken at last. He was sure he would now have the perfect half-ghost son he always wanted.

"It _was_ worth it," he confidently whispered as he opened his eyes and glanced at the sleeping boy.

Finally, after some more time, Danny awoke and immediately cupped his face within his human hands and began to cry uncontrollably when panic suddenly seized him. He was so fatigued and upset that he wasn't even aware that he was in human form—or aware of much of anything else right now for that matter…

But that was really the least of his worries, since what really distressed him and made him panic when he first woke up was that he had _no idea who he was or where he was…or anything! _All that he was aware of and distressed about were all the countless confusing thoughts that seemed to have a grip on his mind. He was completely lost mentally, and at this point, he wasn't even capable of beginning to sort things out. And that was because his emotions were also totally erratic; so much so that he felt absolutely hopeless and helpless under the emotional onslaught.

The anguish was so intense that Danny continued to cry uncontrollably for several more minutes. He couldn't pinpoint one memory from another since they continued to bleed haphazardly and violently into each other.

But then, after several more intense minutes of being emotionally and mentally out of control, Danny's mind finally succumbed to the barrage. Once again, his mind slipped away from what little of reality he was aware of at this point and disconnected all of his thoughts. Now completely dazed—and yet, not even aware that the tears were still silently falling—he stilled.

The boy, however, did not get much time at his attempt to recuperate. All of the sudden—and not aware that it was the second time this had happened since he had stirred— he felt a wave of intense heat grab a hold of his central core before it rushed upward. Only…it changed and rapidly cooled enough for a weak wisp of frosty air to eke out his mouth. The feeling distressed the boy; but he didn't understand why.

During all this time, however, Vlad had been calling out to the boy, but Danny wasn't even aware until the older hybrid's third attempt that he wasn't _even by himself_, much less cognizant of someone gently calling out someone's name…

"Daniel?...Daniel?"

When the boy finally looked up, his tear-filled vision barely made out the face behind the voice. In fact, he didn't recognize either the face or the voice. Was that voice talking _to him_? And _what_ did that person call him?

He scrutinized the face again. Something didn't seem right about it…

It was looking at him sympathetically. Though he didn't know why a stranger would be looking at him that way, he didn't really care because all he needed right now more than anything else was somebody's— anybody's— sympathy.

It was then that the teen realized that he was lying on something very soft.

Though confusion was all over his face and mind, Danny still slowly pulled himself up to a sitting position.

"Are you all right, son?" Vlad quickly yet gently asked. "You had another of your spells. I'm sorry that this latest one was particularly upsetting. But we're getting more successful than not in helping you get a handle on them…I just wish I could have found you and gotten you out of the Realm Beyond Time before…"

"W-What are you talking about and w-who are you?" Danny wearily replied as he wiped a few lingering tears off of his face and tried to control his breathing.

Vlad barely controlled his reaction. At last! Daniel was indeed broken to the point of complete amnesia!

Now swelling with silent triumph, Vlad stepped slightly closer to the boy. He made sure that he kept the same sympathetic face before he replied in faux chagrin, "Oh, no, dear boy! Obviously your spells still cause some amnesia as well. But, with your mother's and my help, you will be getting your memory back, I promise!"

Danny frowned when he was pulled slightly out of his confusing thoughts. _His mother_? Somehow, he couldn't remember who that was or even how she looked. And who was this person speaking to him? His father?

His thoughts were interrupted by the man again.

"Do you know who you are, son? I don't mind reminding you, again. Like I said, this happens a lot to you."

Danny frowned before a recent coherent memory pushed forward from out of the quagmire of his mind and he hesitantly replied, "Y-You called me 'Daniel', didn't you? Is that my name?"

"Yes, that's right. You're my son Daniel. And you remember that you have ghost powers, and you used to be part-ghost, like me, right?"

"'Part ghost'? " The boy queried, though he hadn't fully comprehended what the man had said. Maybe he was hallucinating those words as much as he was fighting the erratic, incomprehensible thoughts still pounding his brain…

Nevertheless, somehow, being 'part-ghost' sounded familiar. And somehow, he knew that the man had called him 'son' in the past, too. That was enough of an anchor of reality for him to cling to. After all, unconsciously, Danny wanted to make some sense of what was going on rather than be in the throes of utter mental confusion. He found himself blurting out, "Y-Your son? A-And so, you're my father?"

Vlad allowed a small assuring, yet almost fake, smile to surface as he replied, "Yes, dear boy." But then, he purposely let his face fall to sadness and added, "And I will help you through this last ordeal, son, even though you're no longer a half-ghost."

_Ghost._

The word seemed louder than the rest of what the man had said. At least Danny knew what _that_ was. But then, Danny looked down at himself and grabbed his wrist. It felt firm enough, so he said in confusion, "I-I don't understand. I'm not a ghost. I'm just a boy."

"Thank goodness you can still keep that façade, too, Daniel. If the world knew who you really were, I wouldn't be able to keep you safe and the world safe from you."

Danny didn't understand what that meant, but he waited for the man to continue.

"I have so much to tell you that will help you remember everything that has happened to you. But if you still feel too confused or upset to talk about it…"

Vlad purposely cut himself off for the effect. And he smiled underneath when the younger hybrid reacted just as he had wanted.

After all, he knew the boy's core personality would have to be intact, which would include the fact that Daniel was very inquisitive even when he seemed like an irritatingly sarcastic teen at times.

Danny's eyes widened in a panic and he blurted out in an almost desperate plea, "No! No! P-Please tell me what happened to me! I want to know!"

"All, right, son. I'm proud of you for being so brave! But try to keep yourself calm because some of what I have to tell you might be hard to take," Vlad began as he pulled up a chair and sat down next to the boy.

Danny swallowed a hard lump that had immediately formed at the man's words, but he slightly nodded in agreement.

Vlad was almost giddy with delight. The boy was definitely as brave as he was gullible! And this was going even more smoothly than he thought. Nevertheless, even when he himself was fatigued, he was a master of keeping his real thoughts and emotions in check. He took in a deep breath for the effect.

Finally, he slowly let out his breathing as he said, "Hmmm. Where should I begin? Well, I hope that you recall that you were a prisoner of the Observants not too long ago."

'_Prisoner_'.

That word also resounded in Danny's numbed mind. Had he been a prisoner? But he immediately zoned back in when his father began to speak again.

In fact, Vlad had purposely paused when he could read in Daniel's blue eyes that the boy was trying to comprehend what he was talking about before he spoke again.

"I searched and searched for you for days and days until I found you, Daniel. And though I was naturally relieved to have found you…..I was too late. Curse those Observants!"

Danny knitted his brow when a vague, random memory surfaced when he heard the word 'Observants'. For some reason, he knew about the Observants—or did he? But he didn't know why he should or shouldn't know them….

Still, he asked, "Why was I a prisoner of the, uh, what did you call them?"

"The Observants."

"Uh, yeah," Danny replied, though his mind was still in a blur. Still, he wanted to know more about this bizarre information. He continued, "Well, why would I be a prisoner of them? I mean… you just said you got me out…But, how did you find me?"

Vlad knew he had to be careful in answering the boy. He only wanted him to remember only just enough to convince him of his lies. Sprinkling in selected bits of truth would ensure that strategy.

And he also depended upon the fact that the boy's nature was so nauseatingly good and even easy-going that Daniel would not easily jump to suspicion —unless he was facing an enemy. Otherwise, the boy would always be willing to give another the benefit of a doubt.

"Daniel, you know deep down that I would come to your aid no matter where you were. You know that we have a bond that no one else could understand since we're the lone half-ghosts— before you changed, that is. But you know that those bonds cannot be broken."

Bond.

Danny twisted his face as he tried to sort this out—to no avail. But then, he vaguely recalled working with this man in the past…Was that the 'bond' about which the man was speaking? But his thoughts were redirected to the man when Vlad spoke more.

"You know that I have a Timeless Magic orb that used to belong to Okulo. It's the only way I could have found you and gotten you out of the Realm Beyond Time. I just wish I had gotten to you sooner."

Danny had no idea that his muddled brain was processing everything as if it was in slow motion because of his confusion and his wrestling with the fact that somehow he was a…ghost? But now, he wasn't? Nevertheless, it had finally registered what Vlad had said right before he had _first_ mentioned the Observants _several moments ago_. He also didn't even realize that he was interrupting the man when he blurted out, "What do you mean by 'too late'?"

Vlad paused a moment in slight confusion. What was Daniel talking about? And then he smirked to himself when he realized that Daniel was reacting to what he had said a few comments before. Good! The boy was _very_ lost!

Nevertheless, he purposely swallowed thickly to give the boy the impression that he was about to tell him bad news. He mentally cheered when he saw that the boy had reacted as he wanted after seeing his fake concern. Silly boy. So predictable! "Daniel, do you remember a ghost named 'Pariah Dark'?"

Danny searched his mind. That name didn't sound familiar; but, really, he couldn't be certain, either.

All of the sudden, however, his eyes inadvertently and briefly drifted away from the man and he saw himself in a nearby mirror.

He looked absolutely horrible! It was enough of a jolt for him to forget what the man had asked.

He hesitantly replied, "W-What did you say again?"

"I asked you if you knew Pariah Dark?"

Danny didn't even want to try to remember this time since he was still rattled by his very disheveled look and the very dark circles under his blood-shot eyes. Instead, he blurted out an impulsive response to keep the man from asking him again. "Maybe, but I'm not sure."

Vlad could easily tell that the boy didn't know even when he said he might. So like Daniel to bluff! He squelched a chuckle and continued to boldly lie, "Well, several months ago, you were forced to fight him by the Observants."

Danny frowned as he searched his mind. When he caught snatches of jagged scenes, he tried to concentrate on them, but he was having a hard time discerning any of them. But then, he vaguely remembered something about fighting something or someone… or a lot of someones...Or, did his splintered mind make that all up?

Vlad kept a staid face on as he continued, "I was too late to keep you from destroying Pariah Dark and absorbing his central core!"

"_Destroy… Pariah Dark?" _

Those words joggled the boy's brain a bit more, especially when snatches of what he felt were his most recent memory—at least he hoped it was a recent memory. . .

But then, he became even more confused. What was all this craziness about _ghosts_ and fighting ghosts? Ghosts weren't real! Then how could he _fight_ them, much less destroy them?

Suddenly, Danny grew more agitated than he was when he first awoken. He grabbed the side of his forehead and found himself testily blurting out, "I-I don't understand any of this! And my head hurts! I-I need to think!"

Vlad feigned being hurt and he carefully replied, "I know this is hard for you, son. But if we don't even try to help you through this recent spell as soon as we can, you might revert back to your evil self."

Those last words really shook the boy. Was he…

"W-What did you say?" the boy asked in dread.

"I'm sorry, son. I didn't mean to upset you," Vlad lied. "Maybe you do need to rest some more. Or even get something to eat. You haven't eaten for several days since you had your spell, you know."

Danny frowned. He _did_ feel hungry! And he felt so drained. Maybe his father was right. Maybe he was agitated because he was tired and hungry. He suddenly felt guilty about being short with the man.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," he said more quietly. "I-It's just that…I-I —"

"I understand, Daniel; and it's all right. Shall we continue?"

Vlad could almost snort with glee! Just like he knew the boy would be, Daniel was always so ready to make amends once he felt guilty about doing something wrong. Soon, all that would change….But in the meantime, he would have to work with that.

"Y-Yes. I-I want you to help me," the boy said almost submissively.

Vlad purposely tightened his lips when he suddenly felt his own headache flare up. But it didn't matter right now. He had the boy where he wanted him.

Once again, he measured his words, "I knew you would say that, son. We were talking about Pariah Dark. Do you remember him?"

Danny furrowed his brow. Maybe he knew that name and remembered….fighting the ghost. But he couldn't be certain. And he couldn't recall how their fight had ended…

Danny paused while trying to wrack his brain more into remembering. A few moments later, a hazy scene emerged. It was one where he looked like he might be scuffling with a giant ghost. But then he jolted a little at the next cogent thought. He recalled what look like _claws_ jutting out of _his own_ hands before they embedded themselves into the giant ghost's chest and then… he was pulling the ghost apart!

The ghost's resultant scream was bone-chilling even if it were merely captured in a memory. It was as if, as if he were being torn in half and…destroyed! Danny didn't even know if he had really….

Danny shuddered and didn't want to finish the thought. But his disjointed mind insisted otherwise. Was this the 'Pariah Dark' about which his father was speaking? And if so, did he…._destroy_ him? Somehow, that thought of eliminating that ghost shook his own central core with dread for a reason he couldn't explain to himself.

In fact, the boy was in such shock about the news that he remained silent for several moments while his emotions and snippets of all of those wild thoughts re-engaged in their attack. The psychological rage was so effective on this round that it seemed once again as if he would be lost in reconnecting his brain to reality.

Suddenly, however, Danny mentally frowned. He thought he heard echoes of a strange voice within his head…

"_Hang in there, honey! We're coming!"_

And then another equally strange voice came out of nowhere,_ "Yeah, hang on, man! We're almost there!"_

But he couldn't comprehend what that could mean!

Vlad, meanwhile, patiently waited since he could immediately see that the boy had reacted strongly to what he had just said and was trying to sort it out as to what that could mean. He had to time what he was going to say next to make it effective.

"Are you all right, Daniel?" he finally asked.

Danny wasn't even aware that he had heard the man at first. But then, when Vlad repeated his question, Danny's brain became fully engaged in reality again and he hesitantly replied, "I-I'm not sure, but I guess I'm okay. Now, what were you saying?"

The man pushed on, "I asked you if you remembered Pariah Dark?"

Danny slowly nodded even if he wasn't really sure.

"Well," the billionaire slowly continued, "I'm afraid that because of a past incident between you and Pariah Dark, the Observants wanted to see if you would take your revenge on him. So, they told you where Pariah Dark was and even when I warned you not to go, you still went. Though I admire your tenacity, son, you are very stubborn, too. I'm sorry that you inherited that trait from me. Anyways, you were more than ready for the challenge because you hated the ghost so much…When I found out, I was very worried about you!"

Danny's face puckered with bewilderment again. That didn't make any sense. "But I thought you said I was a _prisoner_ of the Observants. And then, you came to rescue me from them."

"Oh, my poor boy! I didn't say that!" Vlad answered with fake concern. "I came to rescue you from Pariah Dark, but I was too late!"

But, of course, the man was blatantly lying. He had radically changed his tactic to keep the boy off-balance. If Daniel was unsure if he had heard things right or not, he would learn to depend on whatever reality the man was feeding him at the time.

Indeed, Danny's mind was so full of cobwebs that he knew he couldn't trust his own thoughts. He would have to rely on his father to help guide him through them like he said he would.

Vlad could barely keep from laughing in triumph. He could tell by the look on Daniel's face that he was keeping the boy's mind off-balanced like he planned. He pressed forward. "You remembered that you did fight the ghost, and you were able to destroy him and then you did the unthinkable…"

Danny's eyes widened when he could detect the dread in his father's voice. He swallowed thickly and hesitantly asked, "W-What d-did I do?"

"You…you absorbed Pariah Dark's central core, which instantly destroyed your human half! It made you go mad for several days and you became…evil. You destroyed almost everything around you; and at first, I didn't know what to do!"

Vlad barely contained his excitement again when he could see that he had Danny hooked! After all, it was always very hard for the boy to lie or cover up his feelings…He suddenly frowned in irritation. Except when he was able to trick him into helping him stop Iluzisto…

The man squelched the thought. He had to keep focused now that Danny was very receptive to his suggestions. He quickly continued.

"Once you had miraculously calmed down on your own and your core became dormant, I was able to help you gain control over yourself again. And thank goodness I was able to teach you to use your power to look _as if_ you are _still human_ when your core is dormant, like now."

Danny frowned again. What did that mean? He was about to ask when a sudden intense memory flooded his stunned, exhausted mind. Something about a blue-skinned, flaming white-haired ghost that looked a lot like him, only older for some reason….He hesitated. Yet, he somehow felt that that ghost wasn't him….Did he know that ghost? Somehow, he had the wild notion that the red-eyed, fanged ghost was something both familiar and foreign to him.

But that's not what really bothered him. It was what he last remembered about that ghost…

"_You must have known all along that you would become as evil as me and that we were meant to be the most powerful ghost of both timelines..."_

_The blue-skinned ghost continued, "But, interestingly, we are also meant to co-share that dominance over Time and Existence. I'm just giving it, let's say, a jump start, just like you will make sure of your evil destiny in the future..."_

Danny cringed at the thought, though he didn't know why he had even cared one way or another. Still, even more memories pressed upon him:

_The fanged Phantom scowled and jeered, "Yes, you will become evil, and here is the proof!"_

_He activated both the ring and crown and a beam of light shot out before an image formed in front of Danny._

Danny's eyes widened in both shock and dread as the scene he was recalling unfolded like a movie he had already seen but couldn't remember in detail. Yet, he couldn't keep his eyes off of what he was seeing. After the scene was through, he felt very rattled by it and the image of the resultant ghost.

He had remembered being shown an image…an image of…

Danny gasped at the realization. That flaming white-haired ghost had shown him a picture of what _his_ ghost form would look like after his ghost side melded with Pariah Dark's central core!

"No!" Danny moaned in dread, though he didn't understand why.

"Are you alright, son?" Vlad slowly asked.

Danny swallowed thickly, looked up at him with distraught eyes and blurted out, "Am I evil, then?"

Vlad was betting that the boy would accept the explanation he was about to give only because the boy was so mentally defenseless right now. He feigned being sympathetic again and answered, "You can't help yourself, son. Your….other wicked side…is very powerful and is very attracted to doing very evil things. And after…he gets control over you and does something evil, you go through a period of amnesia right afterward, like now. But we've been working together to try to use some techniques to help you fight that side off and extend the time between your spells longer and longer."

Danny suddenly felt a cold sensation run up his spine when his father had confirmed his fears.

But suddenly, he thought he heard one of those strange voices echo in his mind again.

"_Don't listen to him, Danny! You're not evil and never will be!"_

The boy frantically looked around but the man in front of him was glancing away from him for a moment.

Now Danny was sure that he had imagined that voice and he shuddered at the thought he might be losing it again. Still, the voice sounded familiar…which actually creeped him out even more since he had no clue whose it would be. Maybe it was…

His eyes widened at that thought and he felt an odd sensation. In fact, that thought frightened him more than the chill and he desperately said, "I just felt a weird feeling run up my spine! Does that mean I'm going to turn into my…other side?"

Though Vlad was certain that the time for the boy to have those symptoms that had been wrongly diagnosed as a loss of power was over, he nevertheless carefully measured his words, "I don't think so, dear boy. But for a while before that awful encounter with Pariah Dark you were experiencing fluctuations in your power, remember?"

Danny desperately searched his mind in the hope that some memory would connect with the man's words. It never occurred to him to question as to why the man knew about that detail. Still, a murky thought was surfacing to his consciousness.

"Yes, yes," the young hybrid slowly and hesitantly replied at the vague memory. "I think I was losing my powers."

But Vlad countered, "No, son, it _seemed _as if you were losing your powers, but you _weren't._"

Danny looked at him and Vlad could tell that the boy was hungry for the answer.

The man silently chuckled to himself when remembering the moment his computer had analyzed and pinpointed the cause of what had seemed to be a permanent power loss for the boy, only for it to turn out to be something quite different…

_Maddie pointed to the monitor which was displaying Danny's body scheme; and touching the shadows images that were in the middle of the boy's upper and forearms, thighs and shins, and along his spine, she said, "See these darken areas that I had assumed were the baseline of your son's physical attributes? They are more significant than first calculated."_

_She then pushed a few buttons and a new display of Danny's body map lit up. But the shadowed areas that had been at those specific places in the boy's skeletal schema were no longer visible. Instead, only regular solid bone was there. That had meant only one thing…._

Seeing that Daniel was giving him his undivided attention, Vlad finally voiced what his computer had concluded about the boy about that anomaly. "No, son, you weren't losing power. You were having a _growth spurt_ during that time, which ended shortly _before _your encounter with Pariah Dark and you became a full ghost. Your ghost-half's growth spurt, of course, was happening at a more rapid rate than your human-half's growth spurt. But since your human-half growth couldn't keep up with your ghost-half's rate, your ghost-half would at times go 'off line' or become dormant for a lack of a better word until your human-half spurt could catch up. In a way, that did result in a power loss, but it was only temporary and seemed to be brought about whenever you were straining to use your ghost powers. But you don't have to worry about that now. You won't have another growth spurt again since you're _different_ now; that is, you're no longer a half-ghost."

_Different._

That was another word that got stuck in the boy's mind.

"I'm different now?" he asked, but he was actually asking himself more than the man.

But Vlad replied assuredly, "It doesn't matter to me how 'different' you are right now…or the evil things you have done —or will do in the future—whenever you weren't in control of yourself… You're my son in spite of it."

Danny only heard the middle part of what the man had just said. That comment stunned the boy, and he didn't understand why that it felt all wrong: the part about doing evil things. But then, what his father said _did_ explain why he couldn't remember things. Was he evil, then?

But then, that question only triggered snippets of several random memories that filtered in and out of his mind milliseconds at a time...

He recalled killing a large hairy snow beast…ghost, some girl ghost that looked eerily like him…and hurting a lot of innocent ghosts…and killing….

Both puzzled and upset by the thoughts, he paused. Did he know those ghosts? _Should_ he know them? And then he had a terrifying thought about destroying…

Danny didn't even realize it when he randomly blurted out, "D-Do I have any friends?"

Vlad actually startled from the random outburst that it was.

Nevertheless, Vlad remained silent.

"W-Well, do I?" Danny half-demanded and half-pleaded with a trembling voice.

Vlad purposely responded with hesitation. "Please, my boy, I-I don't want to tell you. Not in your delicate state that you're always in after one of your spells…"

Danny felt his heart hitch to a near stop. And even though he dreaded hearing it even if what he thought was true, he quietly asked, "I-I k-killed them, didn't I?"

"I'm sorry, son," Vlad lied in complete sympathy. "In one of your spells…You see, you embrace evil so much that you are easily angered and more ready to kill…You have no friends…"

"_You have no friends…"_

Those words might have well been a pile-driver hammering into his heart. How _could_ he have friends when he was so despicable?…His eyes widened when another memory randomly drifted into his consciousness…

A bald man with a pasty clown-like yet unhappy face and eyes the color of fire was waving some kind of staff with a glowing red orb on top of it. When Danny's mind focused more on the orb, he felt dizzier and an urge to do something very wicked…

And he somehow felt that the bald man had told him, too, that he had no friends because he was a _ghost_…

But then, as if it were a balloon pricked with a pin, the thought burst from his mind and Danny jolted slightly. Now he didn't know how to feel. He suddenly felt cold and numb as the news began to encroach upon his stunned mind. In fact, Danny was so confused and dumbfounded he didn't know what to think and that was because for all intents and purposes, his logic was gone….

Perhaps his father was right. He suddenly paused and frowned in puzzlement. For some odd reason once again, even thinking of this man as his 'father' didn't sound right.

That thought was only fleeting, however, since his grief over all of the malevolence he must have done had now gripped him yet again. He just had to accept that…he was evil, even when it hurt for a reason he couldn't understand.

But then Vlad spoke again, and Danny turned to look at him.

"Now, my dear boy, let's not dwell on that right now, alright? Rest is the most important thing for you after one of your spells. And you must be famished, especially since it's almost time for lunch. After that, we will have to practice the techniques I've been showing you to help you gain more control over yourself. So, let's get something to eat, shall we, hmmm?"

But Danny didn't really hear what the man had just said. He was still reacting to the realization that he was evil…Still, he couldn't understand why he was feeling hopelessly remorseful about being wicked; or why he could feel the pressure of tears brimming under his eyes.

But then he thought that perhaps he was really mourning for the person he _must_ have been before he had…destroyed Pariah Dark.

Vlad, meanwhile, could clearly see that the boy hadn't moved and was on the verge of tears again.

He decided to wait a few more minutes before he would suggest anymore to him. And he was betting on the boy's natural altruistic tendencies to further twist the boy's mind and secure having him as his evil son…

Finally, Vlad asked, "Daniel?"

Danny quickly wiped the tears that had nearly trickled out anyways and looked at the man.

Vlad continued, "I can understand your pain, my boy. But eventually you're going to just have to tough it out because I need your help."

The man could read the silent question spill out of the boy's eyes and he said, "There is a very urgent problem that I need to tell you about."

The billionaire paused once more to see if the boy would take the bait.

Danny, meanwhile, was suddenly irritated. He didn't need any more bad news!

"Can't this wait for later? I am tired and hungry," he slightly whined.

Vlad feigned alarm and he answered, "I-I'm sorry, son! I-I don't want to anger you. But that is why this matter is so pressing. B-But please don't get angry!"

The fear he felt in his father's words shook the boy. He didn't want to get angry and lose control!

"I-I'm sorry, father. What's wrong?" he finally said almost submissively.

"If you insist, Daniel," Vlad carefully replied. "Because of your…condition, and for the sake of everyone else's safety whenever your…condition worsens, we had to come up with a way to make sure that no one angers you. We had to do it, you understand, or else you would not hesitate to kill them if they angered you. That must be the result of having your and Pariah Dark's personalities merge…."

The older hybrid paused for the effect and when he could see how resigned the boy was in taking in his words, he added, "But really, my boy, even when you have already killed so many people, it was for their own good, you understand. They would only suffer a pain worse than death knowing and dreading what you are."

In reality, however, Danny was barely comprehending what the man was saying. But for some reason, he did agree that whatever had to be done to keep others from getting harmed by him would have to be done—though at the same time, it made him uncomfortable. But what choice did he have? After all, he was evil…

Vlad was ready for the final part of his master plan. "And so, fortunately, you helped me build a special device that would allow us to control everyone. That device worked perfectly in helping replicate ourselves almost to an infinite degree. We now control all of Amity Park with our overshadowing the citizens. Surely you must remember this, son?"

The man, of course, was lying as he had for everything he had been telling Danny so far. However, he was only half-lying about the device in Central Park. It boosted _Vlad's_ ability to replicate into several shadow versions of himself like he had done to become mayor, and thereby overshadow anyone the device detected in the vicinity.

In fact, the _only_ people in Amity Park who were ever given the original belladonna poison—'the sleeping sickness'—were Danny's loved ones and their families. After all, Plasmius had wanted to rid himself of any rivals for Danny's attention so that the boy would have to depend on him—just like he had in that alternative dimension when he eventually became his evil alternate self—only, Vlad was going to make sure that the boy become his obedient and evil son without that complication of tearing the man's ghost-half out of him. And from how the boy was acting, he had accomplished that goal because the boy now believed that he had killed his friends at least.

Good.

Now certain that Danny's loved ones and their families were out of the way—permanently—Plasmius would have no more interference with his plans, which were now well on their way.

The first step had been more than easy and mostly accomplished even before he had started with Daniel. And in fact, he was now in control of the rest of Amity Park. Its citizens had come under the control of Vlad's silhouette replicas, thanks to the device that also served as Central Park's new 'water fountain'. It had boosted his natural ability to split into shadow replicas but had increased that ability exponentially so that he could multiply almost infinitely without the duplicates' losing power—at least if only for a certain circumference at first. It had really drained him of a lot of his own ectoplasmic energy to make that possible at first, but not any more…

Vlad had that made all of this possible because he made sure to first overshadow most of the citizens during the official dedication of the 'water fountain' over a week ago. Once he had done that, he had kept everyone at Central Park to begin immediate work on building a new, more sophisticated version of that first device he had embedded in the water fountain. Others who had come looking for their families who were initially at the 'fountain's dedication' were easily overshadowed shortly afterward and immediately put to work as well.

True, he had to have a portion of the citizens to keep tabs on the people who weren't able to work on his project; namely, the very old and young. He had set up temporary tents to house the more useless citizens before carting all of the workers back to a few selected homes for sleep and then transporting them back to their work before the crack of dawn.

Now that this had been a success and the new, more powerful device was completed, its energy was self-sustaining and kept what shadow clones intact without his having to concentrate on them.

But even still, that was not enough! Vlad had planned to use Danny's nearly bottomless and more dynamic well of energy to infuse it into his machine to make it even more powerful so that soon, Vlad and the boy would have control over the rest of the state, then the country, and, ultimately the whole world. With that much manpower and resources at his command, Vlad could make countless more of similar devices to boost his and the boy's replication abilities.

Those devices would be necessary only in the beginning. Daniel and he would supervise the establishment of puppet governments. They would also have a brigade of human worker bees to maintain and build other devices if necessary in order to allow the boy and he to replicate without effort and at will if needed to control those rebels that always seemed to naturally arise.

The rest of the human masses could be as controlled as easily as sheep once his plans came to their fruition. And after he was through with conquering the Human World—with the boy by his side —the older hybrid was sure to set sight on ruling the Ghost Zone shortly thereafter!

Yes, there was a lot more work to be done, but the foremost right now was securing Daniel as his very witting _son._

Meanwhile, Danny was still mired in his confused, anxious feelings. In fact, his mind was so dulled for the first time in his life that he was completely defenseless psychologically and the utmost susceptible and vulnerable to suggestions. The only thing that made any sense to him so far and at the moment was the man's words. It would explain a lot: why he had amnesia about being a ghost, how he had become a ghost from what had happened between him and Pariah Dark, and why his father was explaining all this to him…

The boy choked back the tears that suddenly began to form around his eyes and; his senses clogged even more at the next thought. The man had to be right about him…He had embraced evil. He _was_ evil…

But then, he startled at the sound of his name. He looked up at Vlad but the man wasn't looking at him at the moment. Danny began to wonder if he had just imagined hearing his name…

In fact, he fell into even more confusing thoughts when, he started again at the next words that seemed to hit him out of nowhere:

"_Danny, please listen to me! You're not evil and never will be!"_

The young hybrid frowned. Somehow, that imagined voice sounded very familiar. And what about that other voice he had heard earlier?

Danny shook his head with trying to throw out those tangled thoughts. He knew he must be hallucinating. But the thought wouldn't let go. In fact, now that he was more focused on it, those voices sounded like…his…friends? Friends? But he had no friends! He was a ghost! Still, the thought nagged him. Were those voices from his friends?….but they were dead —and he _had killed _them! Maybe they were cruelly haunting him, like all of his other scrambled thoughts…

But it was precisely because the young half-ghost's mind was also still so confused that he wasn't even aware that he even had a telepathic link nor that it was open, much less his being able to keep its connection closed. Nor could he know that Sam had never stopped trying to contact him…

"_Danny! Snap out of it! Vlad has you and you know that it can't be good!"_ that still oddly familiar female voice firmly insisted.

He felt a sudden and intense anger stir within him. He was getting tired of all these chaotic thoughts and feelings! Curse that Pariah Dark for making him like this!

"Daniel?"

Danny jolted out of his thoughts when he thought he heard a _real _voice. He silently turned toward the sound with a questioning look on his face.

Vlad smirked in satisfaction only to himself when he saw the look of bewilderment on the boy's face. Hiding his excitement, he quietly said, "Aren't you coming to get something to eat?"

Still very susceptible to suggestions, Danny could finally feel the pangs of hunger. He did feel starved. But he was still also very agitated about the state of his mind. Even so, he might as well get something to eat. Maybe that would calm the anger and turmoil.

Just as Danny turned to follow the man, however, he stopped and frowned in confusion. His eyes must be playing tricks on him as much as his mind was playing tricks on him. He could swear that the room in which they were in was actually beginning to blur! Maybe he was getting dizzy from hunger.

But in actuality…

* * *

><p>Skulker had been watching the scene in the simulation room play out during the entire time. Though he didn't like the mixed emotions boiling within, he nevertheless felt compelled to see all of this through mainly because of that last encounter he had with the young whelp….<p>

Still, it seemed that everything was going according to Vlad's plans.

Skulker suddenly scowled. Vlad was indeed a master of manipulation. He was sure that the man could even sell ice to the Eskimos if need be!

The hunter should be amused by that, but this time, he wasn't. He just didn't like what he was seeing…It looked like the whelp was falling right in line, just as Vlad wanted it.

That simply _still_ didn't bode well with the cyborg ghost. Nothing seemed to have satisfied him ever since….since his fight with the whelp. Even working on that device for Plasmius didn't distract him from his personal conflict. He couldn't put a finger on why he was so restless; but he knew he hadn't been himself since then…

And the main reason for that was for almost his entire afterlife, he hadn't faced the truth about himself or his…feelings. He hadn't known how misguided a ghost he had been. He really didn't know what authentic honor, truthfulness, loyalty and even friendship were. He thought he had known and had those…ideals, but he was becoming more aware that he held them for the wrong reasons…And ever since his 'planned fight' with the Ghost Child—and for once in his afterlife—he was aware of what felt like a…conscience.

Still, he even rejected that notion; and for a while, he was sort of himself…But then again, he couldn't admit that he truly hadn't been himself since that time. And it didn't get any better when he smelled the pup that very last time, because what he had detected he had not expected…

And all that did was confuse him once again about his perception of honor, loyalty and friendship…Wait! He had that friendship thing covered, didn't he? He was still friends with Plasmius…even when he was mad at him…because the older half-ghost had been so obsessed with this latest plan that Plasmius had been more…selfish than ever before, even to the point of putting his plans over their…friendship…

Suddenly, the ghost almost felt that he could taste how sour that thought was, especially when finally admitting it to himself made it more acrid as well…Not only that, he never did like what Plasmius had planned about the whelp. And he didn't like how Plasmius had **ordered **him to check on the pup this last time because that was the first time the older hybrid had done that. Before this whole plan, Plasmius had always _asked_ for his help…

Skulker frowned in dissatisfaction as his thoughts came full circle. Sometimes Plasmius could be so uncaring when it came to his plans. But no matter what, the man shouldn't have treated him like that. He paused. And he shouldn't be treating the whelp the way he had been, either. Perhaps…perhaps Plasmius needed a hard lesson on what would happen if he didn't treat those he cared about the way he should…

He tried to throw that thought away, but it was harder than he thought because it was harder for him to rid himself of evil thoughts, since he was so practiced in that than not…

But he put more effort into it. He perchance briefly glanced out of the simulation room and at the younger hybrid to try to distract himself. And seeing the whelp for that brief second was enough for him to finally slide into a more natural thought: his ghostly obsession. And suddenly, his mind was filled with that obsession. He had to know that it was still the only thing that distinguished him from all the other level six ghosts…He had to know if he was right about what he smelled about the whelp…If he was wrong about that as he had been about a lot of the other things about which he had just been thinking, then…

His nose suddenly wrinkled at the thought and then it snorted at an odd smell and he turned toward it. He grunted when he saw that Vlad's cat had come in…Funny. He didn't remember the door of the control room being open….

Little did he know, however, that Maddie the computer had purposely opened the door to let the four-legged creature into her doom….

The robotic ghost shrugged off his distraction and turned back to the stealth window of the control room.

Not even a few moments later, however, Skulker twisted back around with a gun already out of his suit and ready to fire at all the unexpected noise that had suddenly erupted behind him.

The hunter's eyes widened at the scene.

Maddie the hologram was attacking the cat!

Skulker frantically searched the room and saw that the door was closed! He didn't remember closing it, either!

But right now, that wasn't important. The cat was hissing in threat before deftly jumping away from the computer's efforts to grab her.

"Hold still, you filthy fleabag!" the computer generated image commanded as she dove at the cat once again.

Now Skulker wished he had finished the computer's logic chip first! He was about to step toward the control panel of the mainframe when the cat jumped right on top of it and started inadvertently push all sort of buttons in yet another effort to avoid the hologram!

But then, much to his shock, the hologram violently shoved him to the floor in her effort to attack the cat!

In the struggle, the ghost shield was accidentally deactivated and the room's lights were instantly snuffed out before the cat hissed in a startle from the sudden pitch blackness.

Though Skulker could see just fine through the darkness, his eyes were immediately drawn to the changes in lighting that was emanating from within the simulation room.

He gasped at what he saw; but right now, with his now being involved in —and trying to stop — the havoc still within the control room, there was little he could do about it at the moment…

* * *

><p>"Daniel? Didn't you hear what I said?" Vlad repeated to the crushed, exhausted human boy. "Let's get something to eat before we begin our next training session."<p>

Danny, however, still didn't respond. He was too caught up in his emotional turmoil.

Suddenly, however, the lights within the faux bedroom began to flicker wildly and the scenery began to twist and turn in and on itself.

Moments later, Danny froze in place. He must be getting dizzier from hunger! But then, not even a heartbeat later, the atmosphere quickly melded and he was suddenly _in a cave_ and face-to- face with…a gigantic ghost! His eyes widened even when he still hadn't realized that he was looking at Pariah Dark!

The gigantic ghost suddenly said, "Give me that crown, child! It is mine and mine alone to wield!"

But Danny didn't see any crown!

Danny's face puckered in sheer confusion….Was he having another spell that Vlad told him about?

The large ghost then continued to speak, but its voice was more garbled this time, "You are no match for me…child, especially since…you have no ecto-skeleton to aid you… But it's time… for you to pay for stealing my crown and ring and giving… it to that other ghost I just…. eliminated!"

Seeing and hearing this ghost was a shock in and of itself. But what Danny was especially stunned about the fact that the gigantic ghost had reached out to the air and wrapped its hand around _nothing_ before it had just spoken.

Even so, Danny stepped back slightly to make sure to avoid that hand.

But then, Pariah Dark's body suddenly twisted violently out of existence; and in the next second, _another_ ghost appeared. Only this one had its back to him. And Danny could see that it had white, flaming hair and was wearing a white cape.

The boy frowned when he felt as if he knew this ghost. But he still hadn't realized that he was looking at Evil Dan.

However, what was even stranger was that the ghost began to speak while still _facing away_ from the boy, "How was the ride, Danny? I hope it was a rough one!"

But then, Danny's eyes shifted slightly to the right of the ghost and he gasped again.

H-His father! He was very, very old and injured—and was hanging from the ceiling by shackles. The battered man looked deathly pale and his head was buried in his partially exposed and lacerated chest.

Danny shook his head at the major déjà vu. But then, he quickly scanned around him and saw the _real _Vlad standing to his left! And the man's eyes were wide with shock!

Then how could the man be in _two_ places and in two states of condition _at the same time_?

However, in the very next instant, the outline of Evil Dan's body shifted convulsively before it, too, reformed into…

A craggily egg-head like ghost with only one large eye for a face!

What turned out to be Iluzisto cackled triumphantly, "Finally, I get my revenge, crossbreed!"

But the former Observant was looking at one of the stalagmites of the cave when he had said that!

Suddenly, his staff immediately swelled in a purple glow again as its power increased.

But he aimed it at _nothing_ before the former Observant gleefully added, "And there is no escape from my lair in the _Oblivion_!"

Danny unconsciously stepped back once again, now that he was overwhelmed with new emotions at seeing these ghosts once more. How were they here? Hadn't they been destroyed?

He startled as the next thought and several memories rushed at him and hit him between the eyes.

_Hadn't he destroyed Pariah Dark?_

_Pariah Dark! __**That **__was the name of that large ghost that was grasping at nothing moments before._

However, before Danny could put that piece of information together, he could see all sorts of images of past scenes he had sworn he had been in flit by. He actually began to panic at first because he thought his mind was coming unglued again in another spell. But then, he frowned when his eyes shifted all around the rapid changes in scenery and snippets of some of the ghosts, and he spied….his father!

If Danny was hallucinating, how was it that his father was not only in _all_ of these hallucinations, but that he was in the _same place_—though in the near distance to him— amidst all of the scene changes? But what struck the boy the most was that the real Vlad was reacting as much as he to the scenes unfolding haphazardly in front of them!

Before Danny could even comprehend what that could mean, the room convulsed in and on itself once more and suddenly, one by one, several of the ghosts that he had encountered in the past suddenly appeared and started to speak, only to just as suddenly disappeared before another appeared in the former one's place.

The words he did catch from a ghost sounded a little familiar, like he had heard them before. And each of them looked like they were in the same place that he had recently encountered them when he was…

Danny jolted at a memory that had jumped out at him. Each of the ghosts looked exactly like they were and in the exact same place that he had recently encountered them when he was…_supposed to be in the Realm Beyond Time!_

He startled at that memory and it joggled his brain toward sorting all of this out rather than further confuse him. However, his attention was drawn to yet another different ghost, who had begun to utter a word before his body seemed to stretch out of existence, only to retract back into…

A one-eyed spirit similar to the one he saw earlier. And at the moment, he didn't know that it was Justeco!

But now, the spirit was now within the bedroom that the boy was about to leave, and not in the Dimensional Room as all the other times the boy had seen the spirit lately!

Both mesmerized and flabbergasted by the abrupt changes, Danny blurted out, "W-What is going on?"

Vlad, meanwhile, was just as upset at what he was seeing, especially since this was not in the plan! He cursed under his breath for not having overhauled his computer before he started this plan. But it was all too late at this point. Now, he had to think on what he could do to fix this.

Still, what was going on?

But, of course, he couldn't know that Maddie the computer was in the midst of attacking his cat and the cat was jumping all over the control panel in an attempt to avoid the wrath of the hologram and trying to escape.

Vlad hurriedly looked over at Daniel. And when he could see that the boy was mesmerized from the changing scene, he knew he had to take advantage of the boy's confusion.

Still in his human form, he nevertheless flew toward to the stealth observation window—which was quite distant enough from the boy for him not to hear— and quickly hissed through his wrist device, "Maddie! What's going on? Put Daniel into _delta_ sleep right now!"

The man grunted in irritation that the computer had obviously not heard him. Nor could he know that the boy's microchip had also been disconnected from the mainframe during the current scuffle in the control room—which was also the reason why the ghosts weren't in sync for interaction with his microchip.

Knowing that his quick chance was gone, the older half-ghost turned around and landed on the ground a little distance away from the still-slightly discombobulated boy. At least, Daniel hadn't noticed that he had been momentarily absent.

Vlad slowly began to approach the teen, all the while searching his dulled mind for a way to explain himself out of this mess…

In the meantime, Maddie the computer was still too focused on trying to catch and eliminate the cat—which was wreaking even more havoc within the control room.

In the next instant, however, the white feline angrily hissed and lunged at the solid hologram. The cat's momentum was enough to throw the computer off balance and the hologram stumbled into the main control console again, thereby pushing even more buttons.

Skulker at first had been too shocked by being shoved by the computer and then by all the changes within the simulation room.

He cursed under his breath when the cat was thwarting all of his effort not to rescue it, but to get if off of the control panel! But since he wasn't used to hunting _real_ cats, he quickly realized that it was harder to do! Not only that, but the blasted female hologram kept getting in his way! And she was stronger than she looked!

That only just triggered his ghostly hunter instincts and he was now more bent on getting the cat than correcting what the computer was doing. Even still, the cat averted him as deftly as the computer.

At one moment the hologram had grabbed the cat, but the animal had dug its nails into the console while screeching in anger. Maddie the computer yanked even harder, only to have the cat inexplicably let go of the console and dig its claws into her holographic flesh.

Not at all affected by the cat's impalement, the hologram immediately jerked her arm downward as if she were flicking an insect off of her. Maddie the cat lost her grip from the hologram's violent yank and was propelled to the console once more, all the while pushing even more buttons! But when Maddie the hologram tried to seize the animal again, the cat lithely pounced onto the floor. But then, it screeched in protest when one of the long cabled arms of Skulker's robotic armor jutted out and snatched it right up into its three-pronged claw!

The Ghost Hunter immediately yanked the door open with another of his cabled arms and tossed the cat out before slamming the door tight.

By the time Maddie the computer's circuits had desisted with her plan of action with the cat, she realized what had had happened. She instantly pushed several buttons to rectify her malfunctioning...

Vlad was just a few feet from Daniel when, suddenly, the simulation room darkened before light trickled back into the scene. The scene had changed back into the bedroom that the boy had been in before this craziness!

The silence that followed was deafening.

Vlad slowly let out the breath he hadn't realized that he had been holding when the simulation room was going crazy from what was happening in the control room.

With as much control as he could muster, he stepped even closer to the boy—which, fortunately for him, looked as if he only had 'really' retraced his steps from the entrance of the room. He calmly said, "So, son, are you coming to get something to eat or not?"

Danny looked toward the voice and he could see that Vlad was heading right to him—as if he had merely walked back from the entrance of the room!

Had he imagined all of this after all? He was in even worse shape than he could fathom.

"Are you all right, son?"

Somehow, that word —son — grated on Danny's nerves to the point that some of his real memories converged all together and jolted his murky mind.

Those memories seemed to rapidly clear, but before Danny could fully piece it all together, however, his gut suddenly tightened before he felt his spine and central core heat up even as the poker-faced man drew nearer.

The boy frowned at the sensation…Why did he get all _hot_ all of the sudden? That suddenly angered him. It was bad enough that he was so confused about everything; but now he was starting to get physically sick? But then, that rash of heat quickly subsided and he fell back into the quagmire of his mind…

Even though Vlad didn't know what had happened in the control room except for the obvious fact that somehow Maddie's malfunctioning had worsened, he cursed himself for not completely fixing his computer—and for his own malfunctioning just now! If he hadn't been so tired himself…But he threw that thought away. He had to try to keep his cool, especially since he was still able to think of a way to manipulate the situation for his purpose.

But when he saw the raw wildness in the boy's blood-shot eyes, he hesitated slightly before he mentally chided himself to collect himself…

"Now, listen to me, son," the man calmly yet firmly said. "You've acted this exact same way more times than I can remember. It's your way of dealing with trying to control those awful spells of yours. You often hallucinate that you're back in wherever you had been sent to by the Observants during one of their terrible scenes to torture you that, even when you're safe here with me, my boy! Oh, how I wish I could take those away from you! But you don't want to lose control, do you? Otherwise, else you will become completely helpless in one of your evil spells. I don't want you to do that!"

Part of Danny reflexively didn't believe the man, but most of him wanted to believe it. It was the only way to explain all of turmoil that was still wreaking havoc within him—and possibly pull him out of it. The conflict within confounded him enough to prevent him into acting out on his impulse to change into his evil self and blast the man.

Vlad, meanwhile, had interpreted Daniel's hesitation to mean that the boy had acquiesced to his words. He calmly continued with a slight smile on his face, "I can still help you through this trying time, my boy, like I've been doing for a while now….In fact, through it all, I've learned so much about you…so much about the both of us, really!...For instance, have you ever wondered how at times you can get so much energy so quickly? I'm referring to what you call that wonderful 'inner strength' of yours, hmmm?"

Danny's attention was now totally connected to the man. After all, if the man wasn't sincere, why would he be telling him something that might help him?

Vlad saw that he had captured the boy's interest and calmed him once again. The boy was so prone to letting things go to a flaw!

The older hybrid smiled slightly once more for the effect and continued, "While we and all the other ghosts can recoup our power and energy with ghost food or directly from the Ghost Zone's atmosphere, we are both the only ghostly beings who can actually _regenerate_ our own energy without needing food or the Ghost Zone. True, eating ghost food or being within the Ghost Zone helps us regain our energy faster, but we don't need much of those things to regenerate our own power and energy. We are unique among ghosts about that…"

"Have you ever wondered why, Daniel? It's because of how we became half-ghosts…"

Danny frowned with confusion. He thought his father had said that he was a _full_ ghost now… .

Vlad instantly saw the boy's face change and he was quick to counter—even if it were all still a bunch of lies since _only_ half-ghosts could regenerate—"Now, I know what you're thinking, son. Just because you're no longer a half-ghost doesn't mean you have lost your regenerative power, nor does it negate how and why you have that power. In fact, it's stronger than ever; and the proof is how you have the power to look human right now."

Though he still couldn't help but be bothered about what had just happened in this room, Danny's eyes softened with more acceptance and the man confidently continued, "Now hear me out, my boy. I have to explain how you _first_ became a half-ghost as well as how I became a half-ghost for you to understand why my core is hot and yours is cold and how that will affect us in the future."

He paused again and when he was that he had the boy's undivided attention, he continued, "As you know, I contracted ecto-acne, which is, as you also know, a ghostly disease within me. When I need more power, my ecto-acne antibodies stir up quickly and you could say that my core gets feverish with power within moments after they are activated, as if my core were reacting to the disease again —which, technically, it is. After that, the disease subsides, but is never really gone or else I couldn't generate more power, you see. And that's also why I have a hot core."

Vlad momentarily paused once again and was pleased to see the interest in the boy's eyes. But then, he prepared himself to make sure he would be more careful in wording this next part. "But _you_, my dear boy, have a _cold_ core because when you first became a half-ghost, it was because of a violent event. You were electrocuted with ectoplasmic energy within that…ghost portal, which is best likened to being exposed to nuclear cold fusion within a nuclear chamber. In fact, that is what your core is made up of: cold nuclear fusion….But what's amazing is that it hasn't been affected by your recent…change and that must because your original ghost-half must have been the more powerful core of the two you now have."

Suddenly, Vlad got so excited about revealing this next part to the boy—since he hadn't understood the phenomenon himself until just recently after he and his computer had analyzed all of the data they had collected on the boy during his 'fights'—that he almost forgot himself.

He almost giddily added, "Don't you understand, then, son, that it is very possible that we can _still_ be a powerful team like we always were before your accident with Pariah because I think you may be able to separate both of your ghost halves' power at will? I've already seen that you can do it. Don't you remember that, my boy?"

Trying to throw that nagging feeling about what had happened in this room and do as the man requested, Danny frowned in concentration. He sort of recalled…shooting green and blue energy. Was one of them from his own ghost-half and the other from his Pariah Dark ghost-half? But, of course, he didn't know that Vlad was blatantly lying. However, he had no reason to doubt the man since he was making the only sense of everything that was going through his mind since he had woken up.

Danny finally yet hesitantly said, "I-I think so. I remember being able to create green and blue energy."

Vlad couldn't be more happy that the boy thought his two own energies were produced only by his 'two' ghost-halves.

He replied, "That's right, son. And when you use your green energy with my red energy, it's almost like matter and anti-matter combining. The dynamic energy of both of our powers—your cold fusion and my feverish energy—form an energy that is neither both nor either. That is why our combined ecto-plasmic energy is gold rather than red, green or a combination of those two colors! We will be _invincible _as half-ghost father and son!"

Danny didn't even respond at the man's pause because he was still taking everything in and trying to comprehend it all. However, he was also becoming too exhausted to try to comprehend it all, though he was trying hard to do so.

Nevertheless, the last part of what the man had said finally penetrated the tormented, unfocused mind of the teen.

"_Half-ghost father and son!"_

"'Half-ghost'?" Danny queried as his eyes narrowed in sudden, unexplained suspicion and growing agitation. His mind was faltering again as his fatigue was mounting. None of this made any sense all of the sudden; but then again, most of his thoughts right now made no sense. But he wanted to sort things out and he finally added, "But, father, you said I was _full-_ghost now."

Vlad tried not to get sidetracked at feeling triumphant at hearing the word 'father' or at having slipped again in his words. Though privately chagrined about the slight quiver in his voice, he still pushed on, "As I said, my boy, you _were_ a half-ghost up until you encountered Pariah Dark."

The older hybrid turned back and walked to the faux guestroom door and replied, "So, son are we going to get something to eat? Even if you seemed not to be hungry, I'm famished!"

Danny, however, was still frozen in place with all of the conflict inside. Once again, the man's words seemed to be the only things making sense…But something inside was still unsettling. It even angered him when he couldn't put a finger on it.

Danny frowned in confusion again even as his felt a very strange feeling…His mind was so twisted and he was so desperate to sort it all out that he gave into it.

His soul cried out in anguish to the heavens. _What was he supposed to believe?_

Meanwhile, Vlad slowly walked back toward the boy. He really was hungry and was growing impatient with trying to coax the discombobulated boy along. But then again, he knew it would be worth it.

But then, something odd happened when he approached the boy again. His eyebrows rose in surprise at the boy's reaction…

Danny hitched in a gasp when a wave of heat ran up his spine before a cold rush chased up after it, quickly devoured it and then seemed to spit out its cold ashes. He jolted back at seeing the last remnants of frost eke out of his mouth. And…how strange…Somehow, he felt as if he could feel that his father was a level nine ghost…His eyes widened when several things began to filter into his brain and snap into place. Could he now _sense_ his father's presence? That was impossible! But if he could, then what….

A memory bolted into and shook his mind…the memory of the very beginning of this whole ordeal…before he was captured by the Observants and….and when he was attacked in his room by an unknown entity who had caused the _exact same sensation_ that he was feeling as the man continued to near him! He was sure now that he had also felt a similar sensation during a couple of his encounters with ghosts _other_ than Vlad—but _not the same_ as this one!

Danny gritted his teeth when he could feel the rage within him stir as his mind began to clear slightly enough to begin to piece together his fragmented memories.

More fragmented memories of what had happened to him before his temporary break from reality flashed before him. He seemed to think that he must have fought nearly every ghost in the Ghost Zone…And some of those fights began to make some sense—and have some kind of pattern— in his convoluted mind…

As if his mind was clicking in place, he asked himself several curious questions... If he had fought every ghost while he was with the Observants, why hadn't he ever encountered _his father_ while he was with the Observants? After all, he was a ghost like the others…Surely they wouldn't have forgotten about him….He paused. For some reason, he knew _very well_ that the Observants didn't like Vlad…Unless…

Like lightning, the boy felt a jolt in his brain. Things were beginning to come together at an alarmingly rapid pace. But what was worse, a lot of negative emotional responses to them were also rising.

Again, those broken images he had seen just moments ago because of the stimulation room's going crazy replayed in Danny mind. The images, as before, were like shock after shock to the boy's brain, and suddenly, his mind seem to snap back together—from the beginning to the end of this entire ordeal— and it all now made sense…

The very last thought seemed to rivet his senses.

"_You_," Danny slowly growled accusingly as his face contorted into an angry scowl. "You're not my father! And all of this is a lie!"

"Y-You were the one who attacked me at my home! _You_ brought me here…"

The distressed boy paused slightly before glancing around him. He…he suddenly recognized this place! He hotly added "…to your simulation room…._You _were the one who was behind all of this….You had to be since I never faced _you_ in all these putrid fake torture scenes!"

"Now, now, Daniel!" Vlad calmly said with fake concern on his face. "You're wrong, son. You must be having one of your spells again. Why else would you be hallucinating and seeing the surrounding change again when you're still in your bedroom? Let me…"

The shock of it all was not only driving the teen toward complete and utter exhaustion mentally and physically, but also toward a nearly blind rage.

Danny suddenly growled out, "How did you know that the scenery ever changed? I didn't say anything about that!"

Right after that, the teen didn't even realize that he had fisted his hands in anger.

Vlad cursed under his breath. All that hard work! All the plans! Wasted!

The stress from his own fatigue and possible failure consumed Vlad and he felt something snap in his mind. Still, the older hybrid managed to fake his fatherly concern. "Oh, no, Daniel! I tell you that your hallucinations are starting again; let me…"

"NO! Stop talking! I don't believe you," Danny angrily growled.

As his mind's puzzle pieces finally began to fit together, the teen's eyes widened with the realization. "Y-You're my enemy…Y-You're Vlad Plasmius!"

Danny reflexively willed his transformation rings to wash over him and his hands filled with dark green ecto-plasmic energy. …

And as the young hybrid felt his power surge within, he felt a surge of uncontrollable hatred fill his mind. This man had been responsible for all of his suffering and all of his confusing thoughts and feelings. It was time to make him…pay!

However in the next instant, Danny paused with another mental distraction. The cold rush he just felt from transforming felt very, very familiar. Was he now a monster hybrid of himself and Pariah Dark?

Perchance, his eyes wandered over to that same full-size mirror that he had seen earlier. Danny blinked twice when what he saw looked at was….the only memory he had of himself. Was this how he looked as a full evil ghost?

But he wasn't a full ghost! _He was a half-ghost!_

That thought actually fueled his hatred and rage rather than his doubt.

Without another word, Danny angrily charged at Vlad.

But the man was able to access his powers enough for him to teleport just enough to avoid a collision with the boy's fists.

Danny grunted in both fury and frustration as he frantically searched for his enemy.

Once Vlad had appeared, he had already transformed into Vlad Plasmius and shot a powerful dark pink ectoplasmic energy beam at the teen.

Danny yelled as the ray bit into him and plowed him into the farthest wall in the faux bedroom. The boy slid down the wall in a daze.

But Danny gasped when he saw another of Plasmius' energy beam headed right to him!

The boy peeled himself away from the wall, but not in time for part of the ray to hit his leg.

The younger hybrid hissed in pain but immediately took flight toward the older ghost.

He soared over to the man as he screamed, "YOU! You did all this to me! I HATE you! I'm going to make you pay! I HATE YOU, YOU MONSTER!"

On they fought, each of them matching blow-to-blow. And Danny tried to ignore the fact that his fatigue was mounting by the millisecond. He didn't know how long he could hold on, but he didn't care because he was so full of hatred right now that it blinded him.

But in reality, each of them were tiring much more quickly than either of them knew… And little did either of them know that Vlad was now close to his own snapping point.

* * *

><p>"<em>I know you said you were sure that Danny's in there, Sam, but I can't detect Danny's signature at all,"<em> Tucker mentally informed her just as the door to what turned out to be the one to the simulation room swung ajar.

Sam furrowed her brow in concentration. She had to admit that she hadn't recovered from her latest ordeal with the _Angelus_, but she was certain that Danny was in that room because of all the intense and conflicting emotions she was feeling from him every time she 'talked' to him mentally.

But neither of the teens could know that they were both right! Tucker indeed could not detect his best friend's signature because it had _changed_ because of his growth spurt and resultant gain in power. True, the changes were very subtle, but they were enough that Tucker's PDA did not recognize it or alert Tucker of the similarities.

Squaring her jaw and gritting her teeth, she told him mentally_, "If he's not in there, then we'll just push on. But in the meantime, let's be ready for anything, okay?"_

After saying that, she lifted up the ecto-gun Danny's father had given her while her male friend readied his ghost gun.

Suddenly, however, they heard a lot of noise coming from the room they were about to enter!

And they sounded like ectoplasmic rays!

The two teens glanced at each other for only a fraction of a second more before they both knew they were in the right place. They hurriedly opened the door and entered…

…Only to have to dodge several random dark green and dark pink ectoplasmic rays that had suddenly come their way!

The two teens instantly yelled and jumped away just in time while the set of ectoplasmic energy shot through the open door and burned a hole in the hallway's wall behind them!

But in the confusion, Sam and Tucker had sprung in completely opposite directions of each other. Nevertheless, they reacted quickly and aimed their guns toward the fighting half-ghosts!

"_Danny, get out of the way!"_ Sam desperately yelled only to her boyfriend's mind when neither she nor Tucker could get a clear shot of Plasmius in the midst of the fray.

But she could instantly tell that her remark had hit a solid mental rock because of all of the emotions roaring within her boyfriend.

After a few more intense and frustrating moments, Plasmius was finally able to hit Danny squarely and send him crashing into the ground. The fanged older ghost panted slightly when he realized that the fight was rapidly draining him. If only he had paid attention to his own needs…but what all those thoughts did was to drive him to desperation. He had to be victorious!

As Danny lay momentarily stunned, Sam and Tucker took aim at the older hybrid.

But then suddenly, each of the teens startled when they simultaneously heard through their Fenton phones:

"_Sam! Tucker! Where are you? I found my wife!"_

Jack Fenton was calling them!

That was enough of distraction for Plasmius to finally see them! He couldn't believe his eyes! Daniel's friends were somehow _alive_? He had been sure that his sleeping formula had been potent enough to do them in!

However, the older half-ghost was only momentarily surprised;and seeing that Daniel had not fully roused and his friends were inexplicably distracted, he hurriedly pressed several buttons on his watch-like wrist band. It didn't matter how those annoying teens had survived! He would use them to his advantage now….

Meanwhile, Skulker gasped when the machine he had installed in the control room all of the sudden roared to life!

An instant later, Plasmius felt a surge of new power within him. His original plans to have Daniel as his son had only been delayed, not thwarted. Now he would finish this!

He landed near the momentarily incapacitated younger hybrid and quickly produced two shadow replicas of himself, which promptly soared over to Danny's friends and overshadowed them!

He immediately laughed just as the silhouettes penetrated the two teens, "Fools! Do you really think you can save him when you can't even save yourselves?"

Sam's and Tucker's eyes immediately flared a solid red. In fact, the older hybrid didn't know that he could do that to Sam only because she was still weak from all of the ordeal she had suffered. Had she been her usual self, the man would have failed. But as it was, the two teens were helpless and couldn't answer the now frantic messages blaring in their ears from Danny's father.

In the meantime, Danny was slowly pulling himself off of the ground after Plasmius' last assault. His strength was precipitously crashing because his fatigue was rapidly overwhelming him. He could hardly see in front of him now that his head was spinning. Still, he scrunched his brow in confusion.

Was the older hybrid laughing? And it sounded triumphant! Suddenly, that laugh might have well been fingernails scraping down a chalkboard! With an irritated grunt, the boy threw himself upward in unsteady flight—only to halt in mid-air. His eyes widened when a flood of memories seemed to sweep in front of his still hazy vision. He saw, and, more importantly, _recognized_…

Sam and Tucker!

But then through his still blurry vision Danny could see that his friends' eyes seemed to be on fire and they were standing perfectly still.

Danny tried to soar over to them, but he lost altitude instead. He was weakening. In desperation, he tried to duplicate in order to send it to his friends' rescue. But he immediately saw that he couldn't do that, either.

He landed roughly on the ground near the older hybrid, but he didn't stumble to a fall. Still, he glared at the older hybrid.

Finally, the older hybrid chuckled, "You have always been too obvious in your reactions, Daniel, and so I can tell that you remember them! Good, because they're mine now and I can do anything I want to them!"

With a mere thought, Vlad commanded the two helpless humans.

The two teens suddenly grasped their throats with their own hands and fell to the ground and began to writhe in agony. Plasmius had ordered his shadow replicas to choke them!

Then the fanged half-ghost conjured up a pink bubble that he quickly threw at the two overshadowed teens. It quickly swallowed them up and held them firm in his power.

As Plasmius commanded the bubble to bring Sam and Tucker closer to him and the younger half-ghost, he addressed Danny. And his frantic tone was on the verge of hysteria as Vlad snickered, "I'm more powerful than you could even imagine, Daniel! My machine in Central Park initially let me overshadow everyone in Amity Park except your family and friends. I had other plans about them."

The older hybrid smiled more wickedly and continued, "I tried to kill them before, Daniel, and I'll kill them right now if you don't join me! And know that it will be _all your fault_ if you make me kill them…So, now, Daniel it will be so easy for you. And I'm sure you won't do anything foolish, dear boy. After all that you've done in all of those fake trials—whether it was from mine doing in the end or if it had really been from those moronic Observants—you're _very capable of doing evil_ and you know it! You're not the pathetic little hero you always try to pretend to be! You know that you actually _enjoy _all that ghostly power just like I do! And you _love_ knowing how easy it is to hurt your enemies—and even your loved ones as that 'Evil Dan' proved! Join me and we'll rule the world!"

Danny could see the wildness in the man's eyes and could tell that he was desperately serious. He would kill his friends.

Danny also knew he was completely spent in strength and he knew he wouldn't be fast enough to keep the man from hurting his friends. Though his mind was suddenly slipping into the disarray again from the turmoil, he clung to the thought that he couldn't let the older half-ghost kill his friends.

Danny sank to his knees in front of Vlad and whispered, "Leave them alone. I will do as you say!"

With his red eyes now blazing in near madness, Plasmius coldly said, "That's not good enough, Daniel. I want to make sure that you will obey me and fully embrace your evil side from now on."

The older hybrid glanced at Sam and Tucker before he turned back to Danny. He, of course, knew the story of Evil Dan. There was only one way to turn the boy to evil…

Through tight lips that still managed to flash a grotesquely wicked smile, he commanded, "That's still not enough, Daniel. I want you to prove your loyalty. Kill the girl… or I'll kill them both."

The man knew that if the boy was at fault for his friends' death, he would turn evil.

Danny blinked in a mixture of disbelief and confusion. Did he hear the man right?

"Make your choice, Daniel!" Vlad screeched in demand as he stepped dangerously closer to the boy; but the man didn't even realize he was shaking at this point and the air around them was getting hotter.

The words seemed to rattle Danny's soul and from the deepest pit of it roared up a terrifying hatred for the man, a feeling that was both strange and alluring…And since Danny had not really recovered from his original nervous breakdown, the culmination of all the stress he had felt from all that had already happened, his now complete fatigue and all the emotions tearing at him in this intense moment was too much for his already compromised psyche.

Once again, his mind could take no more. He was done fighting the deep fear of becoming evil when he should just embrace it. He began to embrace the pull of evilness, ready to quench its eternal thirst to conquer yet another soul. And in the process, his mind quickly rent from reality; and blind rage filled the void.

In a blink of an eye and stirred by that rage, the boy reflexively dug into his inner strength. His body lit up in bright green energy and his wulf claws violently sprung out before he lunged at the older hybrid.

And since Vlad was also not himself, he wasn't prepared for Danny's reaction. Before he knew it, he was grunting in pain and instant dizziness as the boy's sharp talons impaled his central core!

"_Danny, no!"_ a female voice suddenly clamored in the boy's lost mind.

Another, though male, voice desperately chimed in, _"You can't, dude!"_

The fact that Vlad's mind had quickly drifted from the mounting loss of strength at the violent assault, he had instantly lost the ability to maintain his overshadowing Sam and Tucker. Neither could he keep the red bubble around them any longer.

The two teens had barely recovered when they gasped at seeing what their half-ghost friend was doing! Both of them were very dizzy; and Tucker soon lost his telepathic connection with his friends…But, somehow, Sam had managed to keep a link to her boyfriend…

In the meantime, and in spite of his rapidly failing mind, Plasmius still reflexively tried to analyze the situation. He now knew that Daniel had been able to tap into his inner well of energy which the boy had called his 'inner strength'. And since the boy was now slightly higher in power than he, that meant that the boy's strength was not only brought back to that level, but probably also got a boost from the energetic jolt. And so that meant that at the moment, the man was completely helpless now that his central core was under attack.

Still, he only weakly held at the boy's wrists as he stared at the teen in shock and fear. He couldn't believe it. Daniel… The boy he wanted as son… _His little badger_… was killing him!

"Daniel…" he choked out as he searched his mind for a way out, only to find that it was slipping from consciousness at an alarmingly fast rate.

Still, he heard the boy address him. But then, Vlad frowned in confusion. That voice…it sounded so evil…

"You want me evil, Plasmius?" Danny wickedly growled, though he didn't sound like himself at all.

In fact, Danny's voice was aggressively loud and actually echoing throughout the entire room with the intense power surging through his veins at the moment.

Danny began to pull his wulf claws apart. If the man wanted him to embrace his destiny to be evil, this was the way to do it!

"Do you, old man?" he angrily demanded in that still booming voice when Vlad didn't answer him. "Then let me show you how it's done!"

Once again, he slowly began to separate Vlad from his ghost half, all the while ignoring the screams of agony erupting from the weakened older hybrid…

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Skulker and Maddie the hologram had been watching the events unfold in the simulation room after the fiasco with the cat and the programs.<p>

What was Vlad going to do now?

At first, it seemed as if the older hybrid had craftily snaked his way through this latest snafu…

But then, something went awfully wrong!

The whelp's friends had somehow managed to not only survive Plasmius' sleeping-death potion—but even more incredibly—they were somehow here!

Skulker's first instinct was to interfere, especially when he could see that the two humans were armed and trying to get Plasmius in their sights! But, even more oddly, the two resourceful humans were not succeeding for once!

The Ghost Hunter turned to the hologram but then he frowned in disapproval. She was so in the grip of her uncontrollable emotional chip that he could now readily see what she was doing. She was rapidly pushing buttons and glaring at one of the monitors. She had transferred her private program onto one of the main monitors and had resumed her hunt for the cat!

He was about to say something when the machine he had devised for Vlad suddenly came on.

He hurriedly looked into the simulation room just as the man's shadow replicas overshadowed the two humans.

Now what?

He felt compelled to keep watching. But when he finally saw the younger hybrid come unglued and embed his claws into the older one, Skulker gasped loudly in shock.

His utterance immediately caught the attention of Maddie the computer. She quickly shifted her eyes to Skulker, then the monitor, then to the simulation room.

But when she did a double take on what was happening in the simulation room, her circuits riveted in computation.

"Oh, no!" Maddie the computer yelled at seeing her love being hurt. She immediately turned back to the main console and began, "I will put that young hooligan back to…"

Not even a core beat later, her form began to scrabble violently before it disappeared when the mainframe was put into sleep mode by none other than…

Skulker!

Almost instantaneously after he had essentially shut down the computer, the simulation room reverted back to an all-white atmosphere.

Skulker's face was filled with conviction as he stared at his half-ghost friend. His mind was now made up. And he knew what he had to do… Or, rather, what he would _not_ do.

"You made your decision, Vlad," he said soberly as he continued to be mesmerized by the scene unfolding before him. "Now you'll have to take the consequences for hurting those you claim to care for!"

But underneath, the cyborg ghost was torn by all the emotions roaring within his central core. He found himself drifting over to the stealth window and before he knew it, he was pressing himself against it. He could not make himself act, yet….he felt a feeling he never had before…It was strange, but comforting for some odd reason.

And all of that feeling had to do with what he had discovered about the whelp when he had last smelled him.

And it was because of that feeling that he could not do as he wanted. He couldn't interfere to save Plasmius because he needed to know something more important even than that.

If he interfered, he would maybe save the man; but —and more importantly —it would mean Skulker would fail _himself_.

Still, even as he continued to watch and held on to _that feeling_ he had never experienced before, he could not help but pray that he was making the right choice.

* * *

><p>Suddenly, however, Danny stopped moving when he thought he heard a female voice clamor in his head again. And for several moments, time seemed to have slowed to a near halt. Somehow, he could tell that the voice was struggling with its words as if it were both desperate and barely able to project itself.<p>

'_You promised not to turn into that evil thing, Danny!"_ Sam cried telepathically.

Danny frowned in confusion. Who was calling him? And whoever she was sounded weak.

And in actuality, Sam's own strength was almost spent. But, of course, she was very desperate; and so she was willingly pushing herself to her own limit.

Still, she could sense that her boyfriend's mind had slipped gears when she could hear him mentally asking himself, _"I promised? What did I promise?"_

"_You promised not to turn into that evil thing!"_ Sam urgently repeated before she frantically added, _"Don't kill Vlad or you're going to become Evil Dan!"_

Once again, Danny's brow furrowed in hesitation. He didn't understand why he was hearing all this, much less from a female voice! But it didn't matter if he was hearing voices or not because he _was_…evil.

He pushed his claws further into the older hybrid's ghostly flesh. Ghostly and human blood alike began to seep out of Vlad's wound and coat Danny's wulf claws. Yet, Danny was neither aware of that or the fact that when he pulled his hands away from each other, which resulted in his tearing Vlad's human-half away from his ghost-half, another gasp of agony erupted out of the now helpless Vlad. In fact, the older hybrid's his life force was bleeding out.

"_Danny, no!"_

"_Leave me alone!"_ Danny suddenly yelled to the voice in his head!

"_Danny, don't do this!"_

"_Danny? My name is __**Dan**__!"_ Danny angrily hissed at the voice in his head!

"_You're __**not**__ Dan! __**You're better than that!**__ Please don't do this!"_ Sam desperately pleaded.

"_I said: Leave. Me. Alone!"_ the boy growled in anger as his green eyes flared wildly.

Sam immediately felt their connection cease! And she was too weak to even get up, much less try to reconnect. She collapsed completely to the ground. Her heart leapt in fear and she started to weep uncontrollably... Her boyfriend was going to become Evil Dan within the next few moments and there was nothing she could do about it!

But something happened that both she and Danny didn't expect….Her intense feelings had spilled over into the boy's consciousness.

Danny swore he could hear a girl weeping in distress…and that girl was his….girlfriend? He furrowed his brow in confusion. But that was impossible! He had killed her!

But how could he have when he was certain her intense desperation was tugging at his heart at this very moment?

Suddenly, his eyebrows rose at an unexpected memory. It was when he and Sam were having problems a few months back and he had the notion at one time that she was untrue to him…

This time, he felt the answer from the depth of his heart as it suddenly wrestled his mind for control. And it was a definite 'No'! She had always been there for him….Like now! All of a sudden, he felt guilty about even thinking that of her! After all, she, like everyone—like _him_ — knew that the battle between good and evil was never-ending. But he also knew that it was because of her convictions, her focus and her true character, she—like him—had always been able to weather the tempest of evil temptations that was constantly being thrown their way.

Sam!

No, she was alive…and for the first time in their relationship, he felt so many emotions flowing from her to him due to her empathetic ability. He couldn't deny any of them: an intense love for him in spite of what he was doing, and a hope and fear so fiercely emanating from her that they seemed to penetrate his soul. He finally understood that she wanted with all her heart for him to stop what he was doing…

He blinked in confusion. What _was_ he doing?

And in the next instant, it seemed as if time had screeched to a hard stop as all sorts of conflicting thoughts attacked Danny's being all at once.

Whenever any of his evil thoughts forged foremost in his mind, he separated his wulf claws and pulled Vlad and his ghost half further apart. Whenever a more virtuous notion demanded his attention, his movements stopped.

But then, he heard the echo of a broken heart weeping. Sam's broken heart!

And that was enough of a jolt to stir something within him…

Danny seemed paralyzed with inaction as Vlad's ghostly and human blood continued to ooze out of the older hybrid. But Danny was still empathetically connected to Sam…Her pain was his…

Then suddenly, an ember of a feeling sparked deep within his bosom, a tiny spark of light sputtered in the deepest pit of his soul. And with every tear that he heard falling from Sam's face, that flame grew steadily toward a roar with the new thoughts bombarding his mind...

What is within a man that keeps him true to all that he holds dear even as he denies them all in a moment of hopeless anguish?

What is within a man that safeguards him from utmost despair even as it eats at his soul?

At first, Danny didn't care to know the answer to either.

But a tiny flicker of sanity—or was it hope?—pushed itself into Danny's consciousness. Something stronger within himself stopped him from continuing to pull Vlad's ghost half from his human half with his wulf claws when his anger, hatred, and temporary insanity urged him to continue.

The boy frowned at all the confusing thoughts vying for his attention. He had felt this kind of…hope before. When he was about to be wasted by Iluzisto. It was that spark of hope that had encouraged him to fight on though reason would have said to give up.

And it was at this point that everything came together: what Vlad had said about his central core, what he had felt at that most hopeless point in front of Iluzisto and what he was feeling right now.

And what the boy realized, which was rapidly clearing the cloud of insanity away, that _that_ small ember of hope, fortitude and determination was both a part of who he was and was at the same time beyond him.

And really, it was a part _every_ human person had that put them above the animals and into the realm of the unexplained…But what made Danny different—yet the same as all the other noble and heroic persons who had ever existed—was that he was always open to all the virtues, always took strength and even comfort from them, and most importantly, when he needed them most—like right now—what he clung to when he felt the seduction of evil at the point of despair.

He knew now that he could not have understood that if he wasn't nourished by the need for a connection with a greater force beyond, yet totally within him, and if he wasn't nourished by…love.

Danny had found the anchor of his soul. But it didn't burden him because it was stuff made of gold which had been tested in fire from all of those unjust trials, the same stuff that was —and still is —what true heroes are made of…

Danny suddenly clung desperately to that anchor as he pulled himself fully out of the quagmire of his tormented mind.

The wildness in his eyes began to ebb as he silently mouthed his thanks to the heavens. Yes, he had been reckless, and had even done evil during this artificial trial set up by the hapless older hybrid within his power. But in the end, he had always striven to learn from his mistakes and make amends as well as rise above his weaknesses and do his best to do the right thing.

Danny suddenly stopped when his mind snapped completely back to reality and he finally comprehended the look of helpless humanity in Vlad's eyes. The boy gasped when he realized that he was killing the older hybrid! True, in many ways, Plasmius deserved it.

But this was not who he was.

However, along with completely calming the boy down, that thought drained him of the adrenaline rush that he had had moments before he had Vlad within his power.

Danny felt weak all over and he wasn't even aware that he had retracted his claws and that Vlad had collapsed to the ground right after that.

The boy stumbled back at all the dizziness with all the mental and physical fatigue before he, too, stumbled completely to the ground.

Both of the hybrids panted for several minutes while trying to recover from his own kind of ordeal that they were dealing with only moments before.

But Vlad was the first to recover because he felt a boost of energy from the upgraded machine in Central Park! He could now tell that its energy was self-sustaining as well as able to actually give him more power when he needed it. And now, the energy that he was practically inhaling into his central core riveted his ecto-acne antibodies, which immediately healed his wounds and surged him with renewed energy!

Now incensed that the boy had nearly killed him, Vlad flew over to the hapless boy and grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up.

Danny was so weak that he couldn't even focus his gaze on the older hybrid at the moment and had a hard time understanding what the older hybrid was saying.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance, boy! Since I can't have you as my son, I should destroy you for what you tried to do to me just now!" Vlad sneered as his red eyes flared in anger.

The older ghost swung his free arm backward before he threw it forward and made contact on Danny's jaw.

The boy ricocheted off of the blow and was thrown several feet from Plasmius and ended up crumbled on the ground.

Danny struggled to get back up but he lost his balance and landed hard on his right side!

"Ow!" Danny groaned when he realized that he had fallen what felt like some kind of a stone.

Confused as to why a rock would be here, he reached down and his hand brushed over the lump that was… in his pants pocket? He frowned as he reached into his pants pocket and curled his hand around the smooth, hard object attached to a small chain. He had forgotten all about this! And he had it all this entire time? And why was it that he was now aware of it after all this time?

He pulled it out and clutched it completely within his left hand.

He pulled himself up to a half-kneeling position; and looking defiantly at the older ghost, he growled, "I will never be your son, and I would never want to be as long as you're evil, Plasmius!"

But Danny was interrupted by Vlad's angry words, which were growing louder by the millisecond as the older hybrid quickly approached the boy once more.

"But I won't destroy you because killing you would be too good for you! And you can't possibly defeat me now, Daniel! If you can't be my son, you'll be my slave after I've beaten you to the point where you'll beg me to let you serve me in exchange for your life!"

The older hybrid quickly produced and sent a large bolt of his pink electrical energy toward Danny.

The boy screamed in pain as his body convulsed from the angry energy.

He slumped completely to the ground, curled himself into a fetal position and panted in pain.

Thank goodness that he had still managed to keep his fist around that stone even when he knew he was just about physically spent.

Once again, he yelled haplessly when Vlad drove even more of his electrical power into him.

Nevertheless, Danny gritted his teeth, twisted over onto his abdomen and anchored his hands into the ground in an effort to get up.

Vlad scowled at the boy's tenacity. He quickly duplicated and his three clones immediately attacked Danny before the boy could even get to his knees.

Danny grunted and yelled in agony as the three duplicates mercilessly pummeled him. The poor boy couldn't get a swipe in as one of the clones lifted him up and tossed him into the air while another of the clones zapped him with a red energy ray.

Danny felt his body unwittingly ricocheting off of the energy's punch before his jaw met the fist of the third Plasmius.

Finally, all three replicas completely surrounded Danny before the force of all three sets of fists slam the young hybrid into the ground.

Barely conscious, Danny looked at the original Plasmius with unfocused eyes when he heard the older hybrid sneer, "You are defeated, Daniel! You can't duplicate at all, much less duplicate as much as I can now that my machine in Central Park will give me infinite power so that I will be able to overshadow even more people! Right now, my power to overshadow people is spreading to include the state, and soon the world will be under my control. If you don't agree to become my slave, Daniel, maybe I can convince you!"

Suddenly, Sam and Tucker, who have been trying to recover themselves all this time, were overcome by a couple of Vlad's silhouette replicas once again. They began to gasp and writhe on the ground from struggling to get air into their lungs.

Danny knew that only an army of himself could match Vlad's strength and all his shadow duplicates at this point. He instantly tried again to duplicate, but couldn't. His face puckered in worry. He needed an…army. And the one he was suddenly thinking about he hadn't encountered in Vlad's charade. And that only meant that Vlad _didn't_ know about them!

"You can't outmatch my ability to duplicate, boy!" Vlad cackled even when he could see that Daniel had been trying to duplicate even when he didn't even have the strength to get up.

Still, and even though he was at the brink of total collapse, Danny clung to the anchor that had saved him from killing Vlad and becoming Evil Dan. Stirred with that hope, Danny wrapped his hand more firmly around the hard, round object in his hand, quickly closed his eyes in concentration and focused his thoughts before he defiantly replied to Vlad, "And why should I try to duplicate when I can do something better?"

Danny didn't care if he was setting up himself for more physical punishment even when he knew he couldn't take any more. He nevertheless pulled himself up to an unsteady stand before straightening his body to his full height. He pulled out the amulet given to him as a present from one of his mysterious friends—a friend he was now convinced Vlad knew nothing about—and what he had absentmindedly slipped into his pocket just before Vlad had attacked him in his home before this whole affair had started. He quickly raised it up in defiance at the man.

Vlad laughed. The boy has certainly gone over the edge after all!

"What is that, Daniel? You're going to defeat me with an over-sized cheap rhinestone?"

But the red-eye ghost's eyes widened when the amulet suddenly seemed to catch green fire for a moment before it drained out and became clear as once before.

"No, jerk!" Danny replied with grit, "I might not have the strength to fight you right now, but I have a greater strength—one you know nothing about! They're called friends, Plasmius! And you will never defeat me while I still have friends!"

"What are you blathering about, boy?" Vlad snapped, sure the teen was just stalling. But Vlad glanced at Sam and Tucker and scoffed, "Do you mean these insignificant fools? I have to admit, though, that they certainly were resourceful enough to have survived this long!"

All of the sudden, Danny partially fell to the ground when he was growing dizzier by the millisecond from exhaustion.

Vlad, meanwhile, suddenly released Sam and Tucker; and they immediately started to cough in an effort to draw in more air.

Vlad smiled wickedly and added, "But killing them is too good for them, too, Daniel! Let them —and you —see firsthand what I do to those who refuse to be my slaves!"

But Vlad was surprised when Danny smirked in return and said, "You think you've thrown every ghost I know at me… But that's where you're wrong, Plasmius. You forgot a few…"

He locked his eyes on Danny, and they glowed brighter in anger. The boy was mocking him and rubbing it in that after all his efforts, he had really failed to break the boy!

Vlad snarled, "You understand that you leave me no choice, Daniel!"

Suddenly, several of Vlad's shadow clones formed and quickly flew toward the younger hybrid, Sam and Tucker.

"And you leave me no choice, either, jerk!" Danny hissed back as squeezed the amulet harder and dropped his head slightly in concentration to send a final desperate telepathic signal.

But Danny's eyes widened and he gasped when one of Vlad's shadow duplicates entered his friends before the rest charged _at him_!

It was too late! He didn't have the strength even to raise up a shield, much less resist being overshadowed!

But just at the moment when all of Vlad's shadow clones were about to penetrate the boy, several very large green-and-black-candy-striped ectoplasmic energy beams struck the shadowy duplicates and destroyed them!

Danny grinned in relief as he weakly whispered to his arch-enemy, "Vlad, meet the Spectre… My friends."

Vlad gasped in alarm as the entire room darkened before a huge black cloud suddenly phased into the simulation room. Not even a heartbeat later, the ebony mass seemed to violently break up and individual Spectre soldiers quickly formed and immediately counterattacked all of Vlad's silhouette duplicates.

They had been summoned by Danny's desperate telepathic plea that had been relayed through the amulet! The teen had been so outspent physically that he knew he had needed that army to defeat Vlad and his shadow clones. And so he had called on that army —and its leader, his friend who had given him that amulet — and they had come!

"What the…" Vlad blurted out; but he still reflexively reacted.

Vlad thrust several red ectoplasmic rays at a bunch of shadow ghosts who had first formed, but they effortlessly opened holes in their shadow bodies and were not harmed.

Even more shadow ghosts formed out of the black cloud and shot black-and-green candied-striped rays at the Vlad's duplicates and still others rays headed toward Sam and Tucker!

Vlad's duplicates were instantly destroyed and the silhouette duplicates that the older hybrid used to overshadow Sam and Tucker were ousted from the two teens, who immediately began to fall to the ground from the strain. But a few other shadow ghosts caught the young humans before they could fall completely. And, amazingly, a few seconds later, the two teens had fully recovered!

Meanwhile, Vlad continued to attack the Spectre, but he used his electrical rays this time, which plowed into some of the shadow ghosts, who screamed in pain just as they dematerialized and were forcibly sent back into the Ghost Zone.

Now enraged, Vlad's aura darkened before it began to churn and meld into his tornado-like power! Several Spectre soldiers were swept right into it and thrust out of the simulation room before their forms, too, destabilized and unwittingly phased back into the Ghost Zone.

Even in the midst of the chaos, however, even more shadow ghosts arrived. But they, too, were taken by surprised and quickly overwhelmed by the hybrid's angry power.

And then, just as Vlad was about to will his cyclone to destroy Danny, a shadow ghost with green flaming hair and green claws and a blazing green amulet swinging on a golden chain around his neck emerged from the black armada of shadow ghosts. Without hesitating, he thrust a twisted yet very thick and powerful green-and-black energy ray at the older hybrid.

Though his vision was becoming indiscernible, Danny could see that Spirto, Danny's shadow spirit friend and leader of the Spectre, had finally arrived and attacked Plasmius!

Vlad gasped but was unable to avoid the powerful beam. He yelled out in pain as the ray engulfed and penetrated him. He crashed right into the floor after being knocked completely senseless.

A few seconds later, the red ecto-tornado phased to a fizzle before it dissipated.

Now relieved that his friends were safe and Plasmius was defeated, Danny no longer tried to fight off his overwhelming exhaustion. Even if he hadn't really willed them, he didn't even try to resist his transformation rings when they appeared and quickly engulfed him. And just as he was human again, the young hybrid's vision darkened, his head fell heavy to the ground, and he let himself be swept into complete blackness…

* * *

><p>Skulker had never moved from the window this entire time. He couldn't believe all the twists and turns of all of the events that were happening.<p>

Yet, at the end, he was neither at peace or as troubled as he had before. He didn't like seeing the Ghost Boy so out of control, but he felt he would not interfere because he had to prove something to himself…

In fact, he _hoped _he was right….

As he continued to watch the events unfold, his…anticipation increased when the boy stopped ripping the ghost half out of Plasmius for some odd reason…

He could not know, of course, that Sam was desperately trying to reach the boy's true nature.

But, again he hoped that the boy had stopped for the reason he had guessed at.

And that was because, in fact, Skulker hadn't actually vocalized _the truth_ about the boy to Plasmius when he had last smelled him. He had also let the older hybrid jump to conclusions that the boy was completely broken.

Even now, the Ghost Hunter was still glued to the window, uncertain of what was going to happen. His instincts were still screaming at him to interfere, but his emotions yelled louder at him not to do anything. After all, since he had been having problems with his emotions for quite a while now, his obsession over his hunting abilities had slipped into control over his judgment more than anything else for the last several minutes…

"You made your decision, Vlad, now take the consequences, as I will take mine from my decision!" he grumbled to himself as he continued to watch the scene.

After all, Vlad had brought this on himself and if the boy destroyed him within the next few minutes, then his special power to detect a ghost's condition and _true nature_ would be wrong for the first time in his after-life.

He had to know…

But also, for the man's own good, he needed to learn a hard lesson.

After several more intense moments, Skulker could almost feel a weight lift off of his shoulders.

He was right!

The Ghost Boy was everything that he had smelled several minutes before: noble, honest, loyal and… all things that made...a hero! And, of course, all rolled up into one big fireball of a whelp!

The cyborg immediately swept those emotions away. A hunter could not be distracted. He was just glad that he could still prove that he could still depend on his special power, that's all. Besides, he really didn't know how he felt about it all! But then, the robotic ghost gasped when Vlad had recovered and regained his strength and was now attacking the pup!

The whelp was obviously nearly spent in strength even though Skulker could tell that the Ghost Child was still trying to fight!

And now, Vlad was conjuring up more of his shadow clones and was going to make the Ghost Child and his friends his slaves like all the other humans in this city!

But…what was this?

The whelp was still defying the man!

If Skulker wasn't so worried for the pup, he would have smirked at the Ghost Child's tenacity!

But then, all of the sudden, just as several of Plasmius' shadow clones were about to overwhelm the exhausted Ghost Child, an odd-looking portal suddenly appeared at the simulation room's ceiling before an odd green-and-black-candy-striped ectoplasmic energy beam shot out from it and destroyed the older half-ghost's silhouette duplicates!

How could that be when….

The Ghost Hunter instantly stifled the rest of the thought when he could clearly see on the main console that the ghost shield must have been accidentally turned off during the computer-cat fight!

But when he glanced back through the stealth observation window, Skulker's eyes widened when the simulation room darkened before lots of _shadow ghosts_ suddenly took shape and appeared!

He thought that there were only two shadow ghosts: Johnny 13's sidekick and Spectra!

Skulker's hunter instincts were immediately triggered by this unexpected development and he immediately began to access his arm PDA in order to scan the ghosts…

But just as he was about to push a command button on his armband, a Spectre soldier with a small green yet blazing amulet swinging from his ebony neck phased into the control room!

It was none other than Geist, who was now one of Spirto's top officers! With his face firm with battle, the shadow spirit readied his extended claws.

Skulker's eyes widened when green-and-black energy pulsed out of the Spectre's claws as violently as a bull trying to escape his pen!

Aiming his claws and wicked energy at the Hunter Ghost, Geist asked in demand, "Are you friend or foe of Danny Phantom?"

Skulker thought about it for a split second before he countered, "Who asks?"

One of the Spectre's eyebrows shot up in surprise but he wasn't threatened by this obviously inferior ghost because the shadow-of-the-flesh –which is what the Spectre called 'ghosts'—was unarmed and not taking a defensive stand.

Finally, Geist challenged back, "Who demands?"

"I am Skulker, the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter!" the cyborg boasted. "And who are you and why are you here?"

Geist was not impressed and kept his guard up as he replied, "I am not obligated or at liberty to tell you anything but my name if need be. Geist of the spirits known as the Spectre is speaking to you at the moment, shadow-of-the-flesh. And you still have not answered my question. Are you friend or foe of Danny Phantom?"

But Skulker reacted to the first part of the news and gasped, "Spirits? Spectre? I have never heard of your kind!"

But then his hunter mind clicked. Of course it made sense that there were _four_ and not three spirit realms than he and Plasmius had thought before this moment! After all, the other three were on opposite poles from the other. This must be the fourth spirit realm! That meant it was in the southernmost part of the Ghost Zone, but exactly where? He had to know!

The cyborg immediately blurted out, "Are you from a secret realm?"

Geist was truly both amazed and curious about this shadow-of-the-flesh, especially since the ghost had shown no fear and yet was still not threatening him. Maybe it, too, was a soldier like him. Perhaps it would not be harmful to oblige him a little.

The spirit replied, "That is how we prefer to remain, shadow-of-the flesh!" He suddenly readied his talons; and as the green-and-black energy flared, he added, "But hear this well, shadow-of-the-flesh! If you are a foe of Danny Phantom, then…"

Skulker stiffened a bit at the threat and the spirit's last comment. Was he friend or foe of the whelp? He then tersely said, "I do not have any quarrel with the Spectre and my business here has been my own. Let us then part in peace, Geist of the Spectre!"

Searching for any signs of deception, Geist looked the ghost up and down for a moment. But seeing how the ghost had still not taken a defensive or aggressive stance, he answered, "Let it be as you say, Shadow-of-the-Flesh Skulker; and let us hope that we do not meet under this kind of circumstance again."

"Indeed," Skulker slightly grunted back before he pushed a button on his armband controls.

A portal opened and Skulker flew into it with a conflicted central core…

Meanwhile, one of Geist's eyebrows shot up in surprise at how the shadow-of-the-flesh had conducted himself and at the ease in which the shadow-of-the-flesh had opened a portal.

"Hmmm…._Skulker_," he mused to himself, making sure he made a mental note to remember the name…

* * *

><p>In the meantime, Jack Fenton continued to frantically search for Sam and Tucker, all the while calling for them through their Fenton phones.<p>

He just knew they must be in trouble since they hadn't answered back!

And was it because they had found his son—and Vlad—that they were in trouble?

Jack swallowed the worried lump that had suddenly formed in his throat and increased his speed. He had already decided to check the upstairs first since he had found his wife on the eastern part of the mansion. Maybe his son—and now his friends—might be in a similar room in the opposite direction.

He loped up the stairs two at a time and turned to the left when he got to the top. With his ecto-rifle ready to blast Vlad if he should be meet him on the other side of the door, he tore into the first room; and when it was empty, he immediately headed to yet another room.

This was empty, too!

"Just how many rooms does that creep Vlad need?" Jack growled under his breath as he continued to painstakingly search room-to-room for the missing teens.

Finally, after several more minutes, he stopped and tried to reach Sam or Tucker on their Fenton phones again.

The large man sighed when they didn't answer for the umpteenth time and just pressed onward.

Finally, he was through and retraced his steps. When he got to the intersection where the upper western and eastern wings met, he hesitated a bit.

Could Sam and Tucker be searching on the upper eastern side? After all, he hadn't even completely searched that side because he had forgotten all about it once he had found his wife.

After several more moments of indecision, the man turned to the stairs and headed down. He told himself that he would check the same section where he found his wife after he had searched the western downstairs rooms…

Still gripping his ecto-rifle firmly, Mr. Fenton immediately plunged into the first room that came his way.

Once again, it was barren of any kind of living being!

He headed down the long hallway and frowned when he could see that there were no doors so far.

But then, he spied something moving just ahead! But it was a blur.

The man wrapped his finger around the trigger of his ecto-rifle and held his breath.

He could feel the beads of sweat already form on his brow in anticipation as he locked his eyes on that area where he had seen something.

Hugging the wall, Jack slowly inched forward…and then further…and further…

Then suddenly, there was a hiss and Jack startled slightly before he saw a…

…white cat! And it looked extremely agitated as it flew under his legs and then behind him and down the hallway.

The man twisted his head slightly as he watched the cat disappear from the hall as it headed _anywhere_ far, far away from where she had been several minutes before. She had been very rattled from the fight with the computer and then having Skulker practically throw her out of the control room.

Jack breathed slightly out in a mixture of relief and frustration. Though he really hadn't known what to expect when he had first seen the cat, he was hoping it would have given him a clue about the kids.

Little did he know that the cat _had been_ the clue and that Jack was only a few yards from the very same door that Sam and Tucker had found to the simulation room!

But he didn't know about all the chaos happening within the simulation room at the moment mainly because Vlad had made sure to make that room sound-proofed.

Still keeping his weapon ready, Jack continued to creep further and further down the hall.

And then he spied what would turn out to be the door to the simulation room.

"_Well, at least I'll find out one way or another if I've found another empty, over-decorated room,"_ he mentally muttered to himself as he approached the door.

Suddenly, however, the area where he was darkened before an odd-looking portal suddenly rent open in front of him.

A large shining black cloud erupted from the portal but it quickly seemed to pull itself apart. In an instant, several solid ebony creatures formed from the cloud and were headed right to him!

Jack instantly stepped back and braced himself against the wall. He had never seen anything like it before. But each of the ebony beings looked like ghosts which had no real form! He could not know that they were really part of Spirto's army of shadow ghosts who were order to cover this side of the simulation room.

Now worried that Vlad had sent these ghosts to attack him, Danny's father raised his weapon.

But then, suddenly, the shadow ghosts swept past the man and phased through the door and into the simulation room.

Jack blinked in slight confusion. They didn't attack him?

He turned toward the door and gritted his teeth.

"Well, they have to be here for some reason," he said to himself as he grabbed the door knob and readied his weapon again.

He quickly turned the knob and when he could instantly tell that it was unlocked, he rushed in….

* * *

><p>Just as Vlad had crashed to the floor, Sam and Tucker pulled themselves away from the two Spectre soldiers that were guarding them and ran to their now unconscious half-ghost friend.<p>

"Danny!" Tucker anxiously called out as he knelt by his best friend and grabbed him by his shoulders and briefly shook him. "Are you all right, dude?"

Tucker stopped trying to rouse Danny once Sam also knelt down next to them. But when he glanced at her, his face fell.

Sam, too, frowned.

Each of the teens were worried because they could clearly see how badly their friend looked. He was paler than usual, and completely unkempt, which included not having shaved for a while —even when Danny's beard was very sparse.

Just then, Spirto landed next to the trio.

Sam and Tucker looked at him with pleading eyes.

The Spectre leader activated the Amulet of Ombre before he reached over and gently inspected the unconscious boy.

"Danny of the House of Phantom is completely exhausted, my friends," Spirto informed them a moment later. "He is not seriously harmed, but he will take time to heal those physical wounds."

"But what about any _mental_ wounds?" Sam quickly asked before she bit her lower lip.

Once again, the Amulet of Ombre flared slightly just as Spirto touched Danny's forehead.

A heartbeat later, the Spectre leader replied, "I cannot say for certain, though I know that he has suffered greatly. If you wish, I can take him back to the Spectre Realm and…"

The shadow ghost leader cut himself off and frowned when he noticed a slight bump behind the boy's left ear.

"What is this?" he asked himself as he phased a few shadow fingers through Danny's skin and plucked out the black microchip.

Both Sam and Tucker's eyes widened with surprise and worry.

Spirto brought the small device up to his eyes and twirled it briefly within his fingers as he inspected it.

Tucker then said, "That looks like some kind of microchip…But what was it doing in Danny?" The boy winced at the thought and then asked, "Uh, can I please see it after you, uh, make sure it's clean?"

Spirto shrugged and made the microchip go intangible before he handed it to the bespectacled boy, who gingerly, yet readily took it.

Tucker also briefly eyed the device. He would get to the bottom of it later. But just as he was about to put it in his pocket, his eyes drifted toward the back wall of the simulation room and he noticed an odd yet brief reflection.

That must be where the control room was!

He hurriedly whispered to his female friend, "Hey, Sam. I got an idea. I'll be right back, okay?"

Sam nodded and watched her friend walk right up to the back wall of the simulation room, all the while punching on his PDA.

Suddenly, a shining green portal opened up and Tucker didn't hesitate to walk right into it…

Spirto glanced at the departing boy. He wasn't worried about his friend since he knew that his soldiers had secured the entire mansion. He then repeated, "As I was saying, I can take our friend back to the Spectre Realm, and…."

Just then, the door to the simulation room flew open and loudly banged into the wall before Jack Fenton burst in!

Danny's father's eyes widened in alarm when he could see several shadow ghosts in the room. But before he could shoot at them, he gasped when he saw Sam kneeling on the ground and looking up at a shadow ghost with green flaming hair, who was hovering over her! And where was Tucker?

Somehow, the kids must be prisoners of those ghosts!

He was about to shoot Spirto when Sam jumped up and fully thrust herself in front of Spirto and yelled out, "No, Mr. Fenton! They're friends!"

Jack had automatically lowered his weapon when the girl had put herself between him and the shadow ghost.

Glancing nervously at the Spectre soldiers who had suddenly closed in on him, Jack quickly made his way toward the teen and Spirto.

But then, the man finally spied his unconscious son, whom had been first blocked from his vision by Sam's and Spirto's bodies.

"Danny!" he blurted out in fear as knelt beside his son and scooped him partially into his arms.

"He will recover, Sire of the House of Phantom," Spirto said as his amulet glowed more intensely while it translated his native language into English for the man.

The spirit knew he didn't have to do that for Sam and Tucker since they already understood the Spectre tongue from all of the Spectre energy that they had absorbed when they had been in the Spectre realm.

Jack gently put his son back on the ground, stood up and looked back at the Spectre. And even though he was glad to hear the news, he didn't understand why this ghost had said that. He blurted out, "How can you tell…and who are you anyways? You're not the same shadow ghost I, uh, caught in my house a year or so ago."

Jack was referring to the fact that he and his wife had caught Sombre, who was Johnny 13's shadow ghost friend and Spirto's brother, trying to steal the Prophesy scrolls from Danny about a year ago. They had promptly sent him back into the Ghost Zone.

Spirto frowned slightly in confusion, since he obviously knew nothing about that incident. Still, he replied, "I am sure I am not, especially since we are spirits and not ghosts."

Jack's mouth gaped open. Now he really felt stupid. This must be the Spectre and he must be looking at their leader! His son had told him about them and the other two races of spirits —the Observants and the Far Frozen Folk —but he had never met any of them before —well, except for that one who had been in Danny's room last year. But that didn't count because he didn't know it had been a spirit. But now here was lots more of them and their leader! He could barely contain himself from the sudden excitement.

But then, Spirto bowed slightly and continued, "Allow me to introduce myself….I am Spirto the Splendid of the House of Phanto, Son of Ombre, Son of Asara and Larua, and by mercy, Prophesy of the Spectre! I have heard much about you, Sire of the Danny of the House of Phantom!"

The man blinked vacantly in sudden awe.

But then, Jack's eyes drifted over to his still unconscious son, he snapped out of it and blurted out, "He usually doesn't take this long to recover!"

"I can still bring him back to my realm to recover if you wish," the Spectre leader offered yet again.

Jack looked at the spirit and replied, "Thank you. I know he will heal faster in the Ghost Zone than here, but we'll take care of him. He hasn't been home for far too long."

The spirit nodded and agreed, "I understand."

"Thank you again, Spirto," Sam gently added.

"Yeah, thanks, dude!" Tucker suddenly piped in.

Taken by surprise, Jack, Sam and Spirto sharply twisted toward the voice.

Tucker laughed nervously and said, "Sorry to scare you like that. I'm back."

"Duh!" Sam dryly said.

Spirto looked directly at the two teens and added, "Please keep me abreast on our friend's recovery. And if you need the Spectre again, you know how to call me, my friends."

"We will!" Sam and Tucker replied in unison.

Suddenly, the group heard a loud groan!

The humans startled and turned toward the sound.

Vlad was stirring!

But Spirto wasn't the least bit aplomb. "Do not worry, my friends, he cannot harm you now."

Moments afterward, Spirto nodded to the Spectre soldiers who had been guarding the older hybrid. They immediately floated slightly away from the man.

Now that the human trio got a good look at Vlad, they could easily see that he was in his human form. But they could also obviously see that the man was mumbling uncomfortably under his breath and wringing his hands anxiously. Not only that, but his steel-blue eyes were wide with fright at seeing all of the shadow ghosts around him!

Though Jack felt a surge of anger stir from finally seeing his former friend after what he had done to his wife and son, he still asked, "Not that I really care, but what did you do to him?"

Sam smirked and quickly answered, "Unless things have changed, there's no _doubt_ that Vlad would even know what's going on right now."

"You are correct, Lady Sam of the House of Manson," Spirto replied with his own smirk. "He will be completely confused and unsure of himself for quite a while. And that is because I struck him with a particularly large seal."

"I don't know what a 'seal' is, but I sure hope it hurt!" Jack chimed in.

The man couldn't help but be a bit happy about what had happened to Plasmius. After all, he had to admit that he was also a bit disappointed that he missed the opportunity to take any revenge out on the man. He knew that was wrong, of course, but he couldn't help but think that right now.

"Unfortunately, it did!" Spirto replied. "But he will eventually recover his faculties, though I do not know how long that will be."

The trio of humans glanced at Vlad, who was mumbling incoherently to himself with a look of utter timidity and uncertainty on his face.

"Not long enough as far as I'm concerned," Jack grumbled.

He had seen enough and was ready to go home.

Though Sam was surprised to see Danny's father in such a state, she had a sudden awful thought. "But is that really a good thing, Spirto?"

One of the Spectre leader's eyebrows shot up in surprise. The human female must know that it was the only way to stop such a powerful ghost as Vlad Plasmius since Danny was too exhausted to do it alone.

"What?" Tucker erupted in disbelief. "Do you mean you'd rather still have one of Vlad's shadow ghosts in you, Sam? I still feel all icky after that!"

"Vlad's shadow ghosts?" Jack suddenly asked. "He used them on…?"

The large man stifled himself at his next thought.

Sam, Tucker and Spirto all wondered why the man had stopped in mid-sentence when they all startled in the next moment at the man's outburst —especially when it made no sense, like all the other times the man would get too excited.

"Wait!" Jack yelled. "Amity Park!...the tents…the fountain! I saw some shadowy things hit that guy and almost hit me! He did it!"

But when the man looked at the others again, he realized that he had just babbled on again. He chuckled nervously and said, "What I mean is that I think that Vlad must have somehow overshadowed most of the citizens of our town; and somehow, that horrible looking device on top of the water fountain must have something to do with it."

Tucker piped in, "Well, if it's like that machine in the control room —which, by the way, has the name 'Plasmo-Shadow-Booster' in huge letters on it —"

"So like Plasmius," Sam dryly interjected before Tucker grinned in agreement and continued.

"Then maybe it's possible he had another machine like it somewhere. It would explain why we didn't see any people around the city."

"You might be right, Tucker," Jack quickly replied before he explained to his companions what he had seen at Amity Park just after he had bought some groceries.

Spirto had only heard the first part of the story before he turned and nodded to one of his officers, who promptly flew off with several Spectre soldiers.

Once Jack was finished, the others paused in thought.

"Well, if it's true, then we will have to destroy that device as soon as we can," Sam anxiously commented to the man.

But then, she remembered her worry over Vlad's getting attacked with Spectre energy and added, "But before we do, I still wanted to ask you something, Spirto."

But when she turned to look at the spirit, he was distracted by one of his soldiers, who was telling him something only he could hear.

When the two spirits were through talking, Spirto finally said, "Forgive me, my lady. What is your question?"

The girl smiled weakly and replied, "Do you think it's a good thing that Vlad has absorbed a lot of Spectre energy? Uhm, after all, he is a half-ghost and, ah, after we got hit by Spectre energy, we…changed. That might mean that Vlad will understand your language and who you are."

Spirto smiled slightly and agreed, "You are right, my friend;…that is, under normal circumstances…But I already anticipated the safety of my race. I willed my seals to not only confuse the half-shadow-of-the-flesh you call Vlad Plasmius, but to also make him forget all that had happened since the time we Spectre arrived."

Sam frowned in worry after that but not because of Vlad.

But Spirto interrupted her thoughts.

"Forgive me, Lady Sam of Manson. But your own Spectre power is so intense at the moment that I could not help but read your mind."

Sam immediately blushed but didn't object.

The Spectre leader smiled crookedly in slight embarrassment before he continued, "I thank you all for telling us that the humans with which you share your Realm of Amity Park were at risk. I had sent some of my soldiers earlier in search of them. My lieutenant Geist informed me only moments ago that we have now freed them of the shadow clones of the half-shadow-of-the-flesh you call Vlad Plasmius —not that his shadow clones were as attractive as Spectre, you know!"

Sam and Tucker smirked at the spirit's dry wit, but they remained quiet.

"The innocent humans have also recovered and the large machine that emitted the ghostly energy has been destroyed. And as you know, all of the humans will not remember anything that has happened to them, since that is the effect of Spectre seals on them."

Sam immediately relaxed and looked to Tucker, who had an odd grin on his face.

Taking that as he cue, Tucker hurriedly said, "And speaking of destroying, I have all but done that to Vlad's computer!"

"What?" both Sam and Jack exclaimed in surprise.

Tucker nodded in triumph and smugly reported, "That was what I was doing a few minutes ago, Sam! I've always wanted to hack into Vlad's computer out ever since the 'Iluzisto thing'. So, I was able to access the files and I have downloaded them all on this little baby.

He patted his PDA for emphasis before he continued, "I also wiped all the computer memory banks clean."

He then paused slightly before he grew more serious. "And we'll be able to see what happened to Danny and maybe know how to help him."

Jack was very happy to hear the news about the computer. He replied, "I would say that Vlad will be back to 'square one' on many different levels, then. That should nip his future evil plans in the bud."

"_For now_," Sam and Tucker both mentally quipped before they looked at each other when they heard each other's thoughts. After all, their adrenaline and Spectre energy were still running high.

"I do not understand what you mean," Spirto remarked. "But I would guess that Vlad of the House of Plasmius has been thoroughly defeated?"

"You can say that!" the trio of humans chimed together before they all chuckled a bit.

Everyone fell quiet for a few moments after that before Jack finally broke the air.

"I think we should go. Danny needs to get home and my wife is needing some attention, too."

He was about to lift Danny up into his arms when Spirto spoke again.

"My apologies again, Sire of Danny of Phantom. One of my soldiers found a lady human while searching for all humans and took her safely to her abode. I am told she was grateful —after being assured that we meant no harm, that is!"

Jack smiled weakly and as he scooped his limp son gently into his arms, he replied, "Thank you again."

"Yes, thank you!" Sam and Tucker said in unison.

The spirit smiled before he informed them, "Then, it is time for the Spectre to return to our realm. Farewell, my friends. If you need us again, you know how to call."

The Spectre Prophesy then raised his amulet, which immediately seemed to catch fire, though the flame was green. In an instant, Spirto was surrounded by a multitude of Spectre, who had tiny amulets around their necks that were also blazing in green. The horde quickly melded into one large ebony cloud.

Spirto smiled warmly at Sam, Tucker, Danny and Jack before he nodded his farewell.

A heartbeat later, a glowing black-and-red portal the color of the Spectre Realm's atmosphere formed and opened up. It seemed to immediately suck the Spectre into it before it quickly disappeared in a flash.

Jack, Sam and Tucker waited only for a moment after the portal to dissipate before Jack said in awe, "Wow! That is one powerful spirit race! And you two are allowed to call him just 'Spirto'?"

"Yeah," Tucker replied. "And we're lucky that Spirto is such a cool dude. After all, we think the Spectre might just be the most powerful spirits in the universe."

"Is that so?" Jack quipped. "Maybe, or maybe they're just their own kind of angels."

They paused a moment with that thought before Jack held the still senseless Danny more firmly and said, "C'mon, kids. Let's go home and take care of our families. And, oh. I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance yet to tell you that I found a cure to that sleeping sickness. I'll tell you all about it after we cure them…"

Sam and Tucker smiled in a mixture of awe that he had found the cure and in relief and elation that their families would probably be all right.

"Then, what are we waiting for?" Sam hurriedly said. "Tucker?"

"Way ahead of you, Sam," Tucker smugly replied just as he activated a portal with his PDA.

Danny, Jack, Sam and Tucker readily stepped into the glowing ring and they all were at Fenton Works in less than a heartbeat….

While leaving a very anxious and incoherent Vlad in complete doubt….

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, my friends, that is the climax. I hope you liked it and was everything you hoped it would be…And, really, you didn't think that our hero would be evil for any significant amount of time, did you? I sure didn't think he would be evil that long! He's too much of a hero to me! Also, if really know me, you know that this is not the complete end yet. I always have an epilogue to my stories. However, I'll be on vacation next week, so I won't be able to post it until the third week in June…gee, June already?**

**And for those of you who haven't paid attention to the Fdantomos Ecto-Scale, here is the COMPLETE list! I hope you enjoyed seeing where Vlad thinks your fav ghost lands on the list! **

**Don't forget to throw me some wickedly wonderful thoughts about this chapter in that box below. You know that I love to hear your thoughts! **

**Until the Epilogue, dear readers!**

**The Official Fantomos Ecto-Scale**

**LEVEL 1—**_**Omegas—**_**shapeless ghosts and brainless ones. Also known as **_**Malfortas. **_**Simple nuisances but very easily defeated.**

**LEVEL 2 GHOSTS—still nuisances, and still very easy to defeat, but require some alertness to defeat. They usually have more intellect (more or less) or have slightly higher powers than the **_**Malfortas.**_

**Level 2-**_**Iotas**_**—Derek and Sarah**_**—**_**truephan's original characters from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**Level 2-**_**Theta—**_**Dairy King.**

**Level 2-**_**Eta—**_**Matilda****— truephan's original character from her story, **_**Sleepover Nightmare**_

**Level 2-**_**Zeta**_**—Klemper (and friend Chilly-Billy)**

**Level 2-**_**Epsilons—**_**Box Ghost and Box Lunch**

**Level 2-**_**Deltas**_**—Norbert, Ruben and Willie, Vlad's three fez-wearing vulture cronies**

**Level 2-**_**Gamma**_**–Cujo**

**Level 2-**_**Betas**_**—Mutant Animals from the episode**_**, Maternal Instincts**_

**Level 2-**_**Alphas—**_**All other ghost animals in the Ghost Zone**

**LEVEL THREE GHOSTS—easily defeated, but are a bit more aggressive, intelligent and/or conniving than ghosts of lower levels of power.**

**Level 3-**_**Zeta**_**—Lunch Lady**

**Level 3-**_**Epsilon**_**—Youngblood and his skeleton sidekick**

**Level 3-**_**Delta**_**—Sydney Poindexter**

**Level 3-**_**Gammas**_**—the Circus Gothica ghosts from 'Control Freaks': Lydia, Tom the dwarf, Elastica and Goliath (the strongman ghost)**

**Level 3-**_**Beta**_**—Kitty**

**Level 3-**_**Alpha**_**—Bullet**

**LEVEL FOUR GHOSTS—not too much power. Easily defeated, May be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons, would be moderately easy to defeat. Or they may have good powers, but aren't too bright.**

**Level 4-**_**Zeta**_**—Amorpho**

**Level 4-**_**Epsilon**_**—Razilo—truephan's OC from her story, **_**TrueHeart**_

**Level 4-**_**Delta**_**—Johnny 13**

**Level 4-**_**Gamma**_**—Ember McLain**

**Level 4-**_**Beta**_**—Bertrand and Molly Mockingbird**

**Level 4-**_**Alpha**_**—Wulf**

**LEVEL FIVE GHOSTS —Moderately easy to defeat. The ghosts have special abilities, and are more powerful than lower leveled ghosts, but their powers have major flaws and once those flaws are discovered, they can easily be defeated.**

**Level 5-**_**Gamma**_**—Johnny 13's friend, Shadow**

**Level 5-**_**Beta**_**—Technus**

**Level 5-**_**Alpha**_**—Hotep-Ra**

**LEVEL SIX GHOSTS- Slightly difficult to defeat. These ghosts may be difficult only because of their own weapons or special abilities. If they had no weapons or special abilities, they would be moderately easy to defeat. Another indicator**: **they are made more powerful than ghosts of lower levels because of their higher intelligence and less obvious flaws.**

**Level 6-**_**Epsilon**_**—Desiree**

**Level 6-**_**Delta**_**—Danielle**

**Level 6-**_**Gamma**_**—Ghost Writer**

**Level 6-**_**Beta**_** —Walker**

**Level 6-**_**Alpha**_**—Skulker**

**LEVEL SEVEN GHOSTS—Difficult to defeat. Would have been evenly matched with Danny at age 14. They usually have only one way of being defeated and can be defeated only after discovering that flaw. Also, Danny could only defeat them at age 14 after he picked up new skills to defeat them.**

**Level 7-**_**Epsilon**_**—Undergrowth**

**Level 7-**_**Delta**_**—Nocturne**

**Level 7-**_**Gammas**_**—Aragon and Dorothea**

**Level 7-**_**Beta**_**—Vortex**

**Level 7-**_**Alpha**_**—Behemoth**

**LEVEL EIGHT GHOSTS—Very difficult to defeat because they are relatively more powerful than Danny Phantom at age 14. In fact, he might not be able to defeat them without outside help.**

**Level 8-**_**Epsilon**_ **—Spectra**

**Level 8-**_**Delta**_** — Skulker 9.9**

**Level 8-**_**Gamma**_**—Fright Knight**

**Level 8-**_**Beta**_**—Pandora**

**Level 8-**_**Alpha**_**—Dazzler—pearl84's original character from her story, **_**Checkmate. (Thanks again for letting me use him, pearl!)**_

**LEVEL NINE GHOSTS AND SPIRITS—Much more powerful than Danny Phantom at age 14 and any one of them could have possibly killed Danny if not for a combo of factors, such as outside help, luck, and using his talents to their utmost. Most spirits are level 9 –and rarely do ghosts get to this level. But occasionally—even if rarely—a few ghosts or spirits can gain even more power.**

**Level 9-**_**Thetas**_**—Kvargvid and Jiva. Kvargvid is pearl84 and truephan's original character from their story, **_**Seeing is disBelieving. **_**Jiva is truephan's original character from**_** Shadow of a Doubt.**_

**Level 9-**_**Eta**_**— Frostbite**

**Level 9-Zetas—The Observants**

**Level 9-**_**Epsilon**_**— Iluzisto**

**Level 9-**_**Delta **_**— **_**Angelus-alvus **_**from **_**Sfero de Ĥaoso**_

**Level 9-**_**Gamma**_**—Werewulf Danny**

**Level 9-**_**Beta**_**—Clockwork**

**Level 9-**_**Alphas**_**—Vlad Plasmius and Danny Phantom**

**LEVEL TEN GHOSTS AND SPIRITS—Virtually invincible to almost all ghosts. Only by sheer guts, tenacity and use of powerful weapons did Danny Phantom survive fighting them at age 14. Level Ten ghosts are a rarity.**

**Level 10— **_**Gamma **_**Evil Dan Phantom**

**Level 10—**_**Beta**_** Pariah Dark**

**Level 10—**_**Alphas**_** Spirto the Splendid and the Spectre These are original characters from truephan's story, _Shadow of a Doubt._**


	53. Chapter 53 Epilogue—Aftershock

**A/N: Well, everybodee, *sniff*, this is the end! I hope it ties up some loose ends for you. Here is the Epilogue. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Gold Tested in Fire—Epilogue—Aftershock<p>

Maddie Fenton was slowly recuperating from her bout of the ecto-bends thanks to her husband's help. Nevertheless, the woman had also insisted on addressing their unfinished business; namely: to rescue the Mansons, Foleys and Grays.

For once, Sam and Tucker didn't worry about having the elder Fentons help their families. After all, they had to admit that Danny's folks had done a bang-up job of curing _them_ of ecto-acne over a year back. Besides, the Fentons had also assured the two teens that their method of helping their loved ones would _not_ include spinning them around that gyrating table!

Instead, Jack—with Maddie's inpute since she couldn't actually do that much yet—carefully administered that antidote for the 'sleeping sickness' that Jack had made while the Mansons, Foleys and Grays were still in their Ghost Zone 'cocoons'. That way, the Fentons felt that they would recuperate faster, since the antidote was made out of ghostly materials.

Danny's parents had been particularly worried about Sam's grandmother at first, but thanks to a quick decision to pump her with fluids via intravenous therapy—and then taking her to the hospital—the old woman began to respond satisfactorily. In fact, Sam had told them that Millie would be released within the next few days.

Finally, all of Sam's and Tucker's families and the Grays finally began to rouse and their 'cocoons' were dispensed with before they could fully waken. The Fentons knew it would still take quite a bit of time for them to fully recuperate since they had been without food and water for so long. In fact, once Sam's and Tucker's families and Valerie and her dad were aware enough to try to make some sense of things and they had found out what day it was, they had convinced themselves that they must have been suffering from some kind of bug—even though that was really hard for them to believe because not only did they feel completely rested, but had voracious appetites!

But what they didn't know was that Jack's antidote had actually given them a much needed burst of energy as well. So, except for Sam's grandmother, all of them had nearly miraculous recoveries.

In the meantime, of course, the Fentons had also checked over their still unconscious son. They had to give him fluids intravenously as well; otherwise, they concluded that he was alright except for the fact that his brainwave patterns were slightly askew. They hoped it would be because he had beens completely exhausted and not because of any mental scars.

They had also placed their son in his own 'cocoon' created by an out-pocketing of the Ghost Zone similar to the ones they had placed the Mansons, the Foleys and the Grays in. Maddie and Jack knew that Danny would heal much faster by drawing directly from the energy within the Ghost Zone. And during that time, it also had the bonus of nourishing him through a sort of ghostly osmosis process…

The citizens of Amity Park had also fully recuperated from being overshadowed by Vlad's silhouette duplicates and had amnesia from it—as all humans had after being overshadowed by any ghost.

Of course, the people couldn't figure out why Central Park was in such a mess; but then again, they knew that being in the most haunted town in the world did come with its share—really _more than_ its share of—the very bizarre. The town immediately set to work at cleaning up the area—even without the direction from an obviously missing mayor…

In the meantime, Sam and Tucker had almost fully recovered themselves after getting some nutrition and sleep—though for Sam, at least, it wasn't all that restful, especially since Danny had virtually been in a coma for the past three days from utter exhaustion. So, to keep from going crazy with the wait, the two teens set to do some work while their half-ghost friend recovered…

One of those things was to review a lot of the tapes of Danny's trials and tribulations that Vlad had recorded—a creepy habit that the creep made sure that he did in all of his dealings with their best friend. Tucker had extracted all of that from the computer shortly after Vlad had been defeated.

Tucker had also easily figured out that the microchip that Spirto had removed from behind his best friend's ear had been used to sync Danny's brainwaves with the simulation room so that Danny had actually thought everything that had happened to him had been real—even when it wasn't for the most part.

The two human teens had no idea just how much punishment Danny had taken and how long he had to endure it until they went through almost all of the files, most of which took place while they had been poisoned.

Their heart really went out to him.

They had also found out the name of the poison that Vlad had used on them: Formula 286 psi-1_A_, as well as other bits and pieces of the billionaire's master plan that had been completely foiled.

In addition, Tucker filled Valerie in with the details soon after that. He had invited her to come wait with him and Sam until Danny woke up, but she felt she needed a few days herself to fully recuperate and make sure her dad was okay. After making sure she was okay with his going, Tucker made his way back to Fenton Works.

Finally, Sam and Tucker went to work painstakingly analyzing and dismantling the phone devices that Vlad had installed in all of the homes of the people that Vlad had poisoned before he had even captured Danny.

The two teens had already dismantled similar devices on the Manson, Foley and Gray phones before those families had stirred; and they were now working on the final one in the Fentons' living room…

"Wow," Tucker breathed out as he studied the readings his PDA was reporting on the phone device. "I have never seen parameters like this before! The technology behind it must almost be as futuristic as my, heh-heh, PDA!"

The boy pushed a few more buttons as his PDA scanned the phone device.

"How many times are you going to say that, Tucker?" Sam growled as she watched on.

Tucker smirked goofily and quipped, "Well, technically, this will be the _last_ time since we've already gotten rid of the other ones—even though it was sweet figuring that all out no matter how long it took!"

Sam glared at him slightly and replied, "Okay, then. Then, I'm going to say for the _last _time that I don't care about how much technology Plasmius has or uses or whatever! All I care about is getting rid of this spyware and then seeing how Danny's doing!"

Tucker glanced up briefly and caught that glare. He gulped a bit before saying, "You know I'm worried about Danny, too, Sam. But can't a guy admire another guy's cool stuff?"

Sam scowled a bit before crossing her hands over her chest in annoyance.

This time, however, Tucker didn't cringe even when he could swear she was looking right _through_ him yet again. He knew she was just worried about Danny; and really, so was he. But then, he jolted a bit at his next thought. Not only did he _know_ she was upset, but he _sensed_ that she **wouldn't** carry out the threat that her body language was seemingly conveying to him. Then he _did_ swallow a gulp at the next strange sensation. She wouldn't carry out her threat _this time_, at least. He didn't know why he knew this just from glancing at her, but he somehow knew.

But then he shrugged and continued to run a scanning program on the device like he had done with the others before he would disable and remove it from the phone.

A few minutes later, when he was through reviewing his PDA's conclusions about the phone device, he wryly said to his female friend, "Even though I know you don't care, Sam, I'm going to tell you that this is some of the most sophisticated stuff I've ever seen. I'm not even sure if I will be able to figure out the technology for quite a while, even with the help of my just-as-sophisticated-but-much-cooler PDA."

Sam just frowned in disapproval of his seemingly flip—and repetitive—remark.

Once again, Tucker ignored her as he said, "Still, it's a shame that Vlad used this kind of technology to help keep Danny. Just think of how much money he could have made putting it to good use."

"Knock it off, Tucker! That creep put it to _his_ own kind of 'good use'," Sam sarcastically said. "Do I have to _remind_ _you_ that he did use that 'sophisticated stuff' to keep people like Jazz from finding out what was going on? Not to mention that he was keeping Danny and his mom hostage and playing cruel mental games on our best friend—and bent on bumping us and our families and friends off?"

This time, Tucker did cringe. He had to agree with her. At the time, he had also _sensed_ that, somehow, even if the feeling was somehow dulled and distant. "Yeah, right, Sam. Okay. Enough said about the technology. Now what are we going to do?"

"Wait for Danny to wake up," Sam worriedly said as she plopped down on the living room couch.

Tucker immediately frowned when once again, he could sense her apprehension. She had no idea what kind of mental shape Danny was going to be in once he woke up….

* * *

><p>Jack and Maddie Fenton were sitting at their new dining room set drinking hot coffee when they heard some moaning!<p>

They both turned to the device.

Though Maddie had originally objected to the idea, she was now glad that her husband had suggested their using Danny's old baby monitor so they would be immediately alerted when their son finally stirred.

Jack could feel the pit of his stomach tighten in worry. After all, Sam and Tucker had told them about the tapes and had showed them a few clips. And there were those upsetting brainwave scans…

"Danny must be getting up!" Maddie excitedly said just as she reflexively shot up from her chair, only to groan in wooziness.

Jack was already at her side and steadying her when he insisted, "Hold on, sweetcakes! You're still weak too, ya know. Besides, don't you remember that we both agreed that it was better for Danny to have his friends there when he first woke up?"

Maddie bit her lower lip and regretted her decision momentarily. She had wanted to be the first one there when Danny woke up, but she was only feeling better herself just since this morning. But she knew her husband was right. She wasn't strong enough for her son's sake to take whatever reaction he might have after everything that had happened to him...

Especially when she had only been able to stomach watching just a few of those 'trials' that her son went through thinking he was protecting her. It had deeply upset her—and it was still gnawing at her. She just couldn't believe all of the horrific things her son had endured. And so, she knew deep down that she didn't want to be there when Danny first woke because she didn't know how _she_ would react to how he might be. After all, she had to admit that he didn't need someone becoming hysterical if how he reacted was badly…

Still, the woman was hoping that all would turn out fine with her son as it had been with his friends' families and the Grays. Her wonderful husband's antidote was actually more effective than the formula that Tucker had found in Vlad's computer files.

Nevertheless, Maddie's heart fluttered in both anxiety and anticipation even as she walked with difficulty to the door connecting the kitchen to the living room and gently called out to Sam and Tucker.

The two teens hadn't even heard the rest of what the woman had said as they darted up the stairs after she had informed them that she thought that Danny was waking up.

* * *

><p>Danny frowned when he heard…nothing! Yet, he could tell that he was lying on something soft and had something draped over him. He shifted a little; and though he felt as if for once in his life since he had become half-ghost that he had had a good night's sleep, he groaned again before he began to open his blue eyes.<p>

And then he gasped when all he could see was green and black swirling all around him. Was he in the…Ghost Zone?

The thought threw him into a slight panic. Maybe his nightmare wasn't over!

Suddenly, however, he startled slightly when the green and black atmosphere dispersed instantly after Tucker deactivated the protective bubble in which Danny had been placed when his father and friends had gotten him home.

"About time you got up, sleeping beauty," a familiar female voice dryly said.

Though Sam seemed to say that in her usual goth persona, underneath, she was both relieved and worried that her boyfriend was finally awake. She could already feel conflicting emotions stirring within him. Still, she didn't say anything else for the moment.

"Yeah, dude," Tucker began, only to slightly snicker, "Your snoring could wake the _dead_!"

Sam rolled her eyes but said nothing.

Tucker then teasingly added with a weak smile, "And you're beating me in the record of how many hours slept in a row and I don't think I'll ever be able to match that!"

Though Tucker was trying to be light-hearted; underneath, he, too, was anxious about his friend.

After all, both of Danny's friends had seen enough of the recorded encounters he had with all the ghosts in the Ghost Zone to know that his reaction could very well be totally off the wall. Not only that, but they could plainly see that their half-ghost friend's eyes weren't focusing well yet.

Danny tried to blink the blurriness out of his eyes. Hearing his friends' voices had momentarily calmed him. And then he realized that though he was still very groggy, overall, he felt very rested. In fact, he now remembered having a gazillion dreams—even up to the time he finally awoke—but he couldn't remember any of the details, especially when all of the dreams seemed to bleed into each other…

However, he suddenly gasped in panic again when he thought he did remembered one of his vivid dreams—something about his friends being in danger….and imagining lots of _other_ things.

His voice cracked a bit when he suddenly bombarded them with lots of frantic questions. "S-Sam? T-Tucker? A-Are you for real? Where am I? Why are you here? What happened? Are you all right? Are you really for _real_?"

Tucker waved his arms to signal his friend to calm down as he replied, "Whoah! Slow down, dude! We know you've kinda been in another world, especially being totally out-for-the-count for the past three days, but…"

"I've been sleeping for _three days_?" Danny gasped in disbelief and alarm as he jumped to sitting position. But he immediately felt dizzy and uttered, "B-But, I feel…well, okay, I guess…Uh, _are you really for real_? And you're not kidding me about the 'three days thing' like the last time, are you, Tucker?"

Tucker genuinely shook his head before he glanced at Sam. When their eyes met, he smiled and nodded his head at the same time in understanding before she threw her thoughts to her boyfriend. They had already discussed how they were going to handle this…And they knew it was the best way to be absolutely clear on things…

Danny jolted a little when he felt a slight pressure in his head before he heard the reassuring voice of his girlfriend only in his mind.

"_You're not dreaming, hallucinating or the victim of any cruel Plasmius mind games, honey. We have a lot to tell you; but right now, we're just happy that you're awake and…"_

"_And not acting all spazzed out right away_!" Tucker unexpectedly chimed mentally in.

Both Sam and Danny startled a little at their friend's sudden telepathic comment and Sam mentally and physically frowned and said, _"Tucker!"_

"_Well, I __**am**__ glad,"_ Tucker defensively said. _"Besides, Spirto said…"_

"Spirto!" Danny blurted out loud in slight panic yet again as a flood of memories seemed to envelope his mind an instant later. "N-Now I remember, a least a little bit!"

Tucker and Sam jolted slightly at their friend's outburst, but they waited to see what their friend would do. They were not relieved when Danny closed his eyes and suddenly fell completely quiet.

As the young hybrid's mind wrestled with the emotions that had immediately kicked in shortly afterward, his two friends immediately saw the change in his face.

Sam could also feel the radical and frequent shifts in his mood…

Though she reflexively wanted to help him, she and Tucker had already agreed not to rush him in these first crucial moments after he had awaken.

But then, Danny opened his eyes and his two friends couldn't hide their own sympathy when they could see that they reflected a different kind of blueness than their color.

Nevertheless, Sam managed to quietly say, "Hey, let's go tell your parents that you're up, okay? That is, if you want."

_His parents!_

He hadn't seen them in what seemed like forever! But when he was suddenly aware of feeling worried more for his mom, he anxiously blurted out, "Are they all right?!"

"Their fine and our families are fine, too," Tucker began. "In fact,…"

"Something was wrong with your parents, too?!" Danny anxiously interrupted his friend.

Sam's eyes threw darts at the dark-skinned boy; but Tucker hurriedly said, "Well, uh, kinda! But not anymore. Everyone is okay and so is everyone in Amity Park…" He suddenly smirked and almost crowed, "Except for Vlad, that is!"

Danny frowned in confusion. Why did his male friend say it like that?

"What do you mean, Tucker?" he finally asked.

Danny was now certain that he clearly didn't remember all that much. He frowned in concentration; and in the very next instant, a flood of some very bad yet vague memories—including some evil things that he had done—filled his mind.

But his thoughts were interrupted by his male friend.

"Don't sweat about that right now, okay, dude?" Tucker added as he weakly smiled and assuredly and sympathetically placed one of his hands on his best friend's shoulder. "We're going to tell you everything. But for now, how about if we go see your parents?"

Danny thought about it a moment and then slowly nodded in agreement. He started to get up; but he immediately lost his balance.

But he didn't fall.

His two best friends were immediately at each of his sides supporting him.

"Thanks, guys," Danny humbly said. "I really don't deserve to have friends like you. I mean, after all, you don't know what I've done, even if…"

He suddenly stifled himself. He was too ashamed to admit not only of the failures he remembered, but the evil he vaguely sensed he had done. He suddenly startled when his mind cleared a bit more. He hadn't even realized that he had thrown his friends off balance for a second with his startle before all three were stable again. But he was especially upset when what Tucker had said earlier about Vlad riveted his mind. He had been in a fight with the older hybrid, but now he couldn't remember what had happened!

"V-Vlad!" he stuttered in a panic, now afraid that he had committed the worst of tragedies. "D-Did I-I…?"

"No, you didn't, Danny, because you couldn't," Sam assuredly and softly replied. "And we know everything that happened to you, Danny. But if you don't want to talk about it right now, we understand."

"Yeah, we're cool, bro," Tucker sympathetically piped in.

Danny sighed. He did and didn't want to talk about it. At least, not now. Though he felt that he had essentially recuperated physically, mentally, however,…

But then the young half-ghost's mind radically shifted gears and he pulled slightly from his friends and almost yelled out, "You said I was out-of-it for three days, right?"

Both of his friends nodded.

Danny then continued, "Then I don't understand it. I don't remember when I ate the last time and yet I feel as if I haven't missed a meal, either!"

"How about we let your dad explain it, okay, dude?" Tucker softly suggested. "And like we said, we're going to tell you everything that you want to know—when you're ready."

Danny reluctantly nodded his consent and the trio of best friends finally made their way downstairs and to the kitchen….

* * *

><p>Maddie Fenton's heart fluttered in both anxiety and anticipation as the multiple footsteps she had heard were obviously drawing closer to the kitchen.<p>

Finally, her amethyst eyes met his crystal blue ones and she relaxed a bit. She could tell in that quick glance all that she needed to know since she—like all good mothers—seemed to tap into that special bond that they shared with all of their children. She could tell that even though her son wasn't completely himself, he would be all right in the end. At least, that was what she hoped.

Nevertheless, she didn't jump up to embrace him just yet even when her motherly instinct wanted her to, but she also didn't want to cause any kind of a scene right now in case she lost her balance again. After all, she was still weak. But more importantly, how _he_ was doing far outweighed any of her desires at the moment.

Jack, however, was already on his feet and approaching his son. He stepped back a bit, however, when he realized he wasn't having to crook his neck downward as much whenever he looked at his son.

He immediately said, "Say, Danny, I know we haven't seen each other for longer than I would have wanted…But, uh, have you grown, son? You seem taller or something."

Danny abruptly froze when another memory seemed to slam right between his eyes….

Vlad was talking to him…

"_No, son, you weren't losing power. You were having a growth spurt during that time, which ended shortly before your encounter with Pariah Dark and you became a full ghost. Your ghost-half's growth spurt was, of course, happening at a more rapid rate than your human-half's growth spurt. But since your human-half's growth couldn't keep up with your ghost-half's rate, your ghost-half would at times go 'off line' or dormant for a lack of a better word until your human-half spurt could catch up. In a way, that did result in a power loss, but it was only temporary and seemed to be brought about whenever you were straining to use your ghost powers. But since you're different now, you won't have another growth spurt again."_

The young half-ghost stumbled over his next words, "Y-Yeah, something…and different."

He really didn't know how he felt about it. After all, he had experienced all kinds of 'growing pains'.

The group fell silent for several moments. Danny's family and friends had hoped that Danny wasn't going to have any permanent mental scars from this whole thing. But from how he had just made that comment, they weren't so sure…

Finally, Maddie finally broke the silence.

She addressed her son, "How about something to eat, sweetie? It's nearly lunchtime anyways. And of course you know that Sam and Tucker are welcomed."

Tucker grinned since he was very hungry because Sam hadn't let him eat anything since they had gotten up and met here.

"Here, sweetcakes, let me get lunch started for everyone…Uh, so that you can _sit_ and talk to Danny without any interruptions, okay?" Jack hurriedly said just as his wife was beginning to stand.

Maddie's eyes widened when she understood that her husband was warning her about trying to stand without his help. She sat right down and replied, "Thanks, honey."

Jack smirked slightly and hurriedly began to fix some sandwiches.

She turned to her son and asked, "So, sweetie, I'm so glad you are feeling better, uh, aren't you?"

"I'm fine, mom. How are you?" he automatically replied.

Maddie hesitated for a moment. She could tell that he must not have known that she was Vlad's prisoner, too. That worried her because she also knew that he wouldn't have gone through what he did if he didn't think she was a prisoner…But he _did_ think she had been a prisoner…of the Observants.

Still, she didn't want to bring that up and—more importantly—didn't want to upset him. But she had to say _something_…

Finally, she simply—yet nervously—replied, "I'm fine. So, I hope you were comfortable in your Fenton Wraith Wrap, uh, were you?"

Danny scrunched one side of his face and cluelessly asked, "The wah-wah, whatta?"

Maddie's face lit up when her son's reaction was more 'normal' that it had been when he had first come into the room and she excitedly repeated, "The Fenton Wraith Wrap!"

She then proceeded to bombard him with all the details on how she and his father had devised the invention…

In the meantime, Jack, who was still working on preparing lunch, could tell that the conversation had gotten better—especially since he was always 'all in' when it came to his and his wife's inventions. In fact, he had reflexively tuned in so completely that the next thing he knew, he was slathering mayonnaise on his other hand!

The large man grunted in slight irritation and promptly washed his hands and returned to making the sandwiches without his hand as a garnish!

But then, Jack was almost through when he stopped. He was going to fix Sam her sandwich…when he could see...

He pulled away from the countertop, and went over to the girl. He could see that his son actually looked a little interested in his mother's explanations and was glad that he wouldn't distract them from the moment.

He bent slightly over to his side and discretely whispered to the girl so that only she could hear, "Uh, I'm sorry, Sam, but we're out of peanut butter. But if you want, I can…"

"A cheese sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes will be just fine, Mr. Fenton," Sam whispered back with a weak smile.

It was high time that she had a more sensible diet—just in case she should need a reserve in strength. She now knew all-too-well that any shift in balance away from the strict regimen of vitamins and supplements that she had to take on her ultro-cyclo vegetarian diet to keep her healthy meant that her endurance and strength would be as useless as it had in helping her boyfriend in a dire situation like he had just endured. She never wanted to worry about that again.

The man smiled gingerly and went back to finish.

Finally, all were eating a hearty lunch of sandwiches, potato salad, fruit, and brownies.

But oddly, they all ate in silence.

Danny ate the most, but it wasn't because of any growth spurt like he was having before. He ate because he was very hungry!

After they were through, they all went to the living room.

Danny didn't notice that his father had carefully hid the fact that he was actually supporting his mother. Instead, the man looked like he just had his arm around her waist as they sat down as one unit on the couch.

The three teens took up the remaining seats and all of them lay back slightly and remained silent as they enjoyed the 'comfort of a full-stomach' moment.

But then, the phone rang and Jack hurriedly answered it.

The rest of room tensed because they could easily tell by the look on the man's face that it was an unexpected call…

"Yeah, Maurice, he's here…"

Jack's face twisted to all kinds of interesting positions as he reacted to what Tucker's father was telling him. In fact, Jack barely got another word in within the next several moments:

"S-Sure…Oh, I didn't know…Yeah, we like….S-Sure…All-right….Are you sure you and Angela are…Oh, okay….Oh hi, uh, Ang—S-Sure…Uhm, I'm not sure…Well, if you insist…tonight….at six? Oh, okay…Bye!"

Now a bit worried, Tucker immediately asked, "What did my dad say, Mr. F? Is he okay?"

"Oh, _is_ he! He sounded downright hyperactive! And your mom kept interrupting him and adding her two cents every few seconds," Jack replied with a perplexed look on his face. "And they told me that there's a big football game scheduled for tonight. They are really hyped about it and they knew we were fans, too; and so, they insisted on coming over and having a tailgate party here without the tailgate, of course."

"But why didn't you just say no, Jack?" Maddie mildly protested. "It's not because we don't want to see them, it's just that Danny may not be up to it right now."

Jack scratched the back of his head in slight embarrassment before he replied, "Well, sweetums, I did try to get out of it for Danny's sake, but Maurice was just so excited and, well, I just didn't get a chance to even ask Danny, much less, say 'no'. Gee, I can tell that the antidote to that poison worked a whole lot better than I had hoped! Hmm…wonder if it'll give you more zing than ghost coffee, then?"

The man gasped and covered his mouth when he realized his gaffe. If he hadn't been more in a 'food comfort' mood than the others, he might have been more careful.

But as it were, it was too late.

"What _poison_? They were poisoned?" Danny suddenly asked in worry.

At first, no one said anything.

But then, Danny continued with a little irritation in his voice, "Look, everyone, you can tell me what happened. I'm not going to break…"

He suddenly stifled himself. He had been broken…hadn't he? And he almost…

But his thoughts were interrupted when Tucker excitedly chimed in, "That's great because I've been wanting to spill it ever since you got up!"

Jack, Maddie and Sam held their collective breath in worry until Danny actually smirked slightly at his best friend's response. He could always depend on Tuck to be square with him in the end.

That, however, was enough of an ice breaker for everyone to start telling the young hybrid what had happened to them while he was Vlad's prisoner…

But as Danny listened, he felt his heart constrict with conflicting emotions yet again…Vlad had stopped at nothing in this recent scheme of his. Why? And why had he had crossed the line? Didn't he know…

The boy shook his head with both frustration in and incomprehension of the man's actions. And when the others saw that, they grew quiet, especially since they really didn't think about how Danny might respond to what they had been talking about. But they could soon see that the young hybrid had actually tuned away from the conversation…and he was nervously wringing his hands….

In the meantime, Danny was indeed lost in his thoughts and didn't even notice that the conversation had trickled to an end.

He still couldn't understand why the man was still obsessed with him and his mom, especially to be willing to do such hateful things all in the name of 'love'. He suddenly felt that the least the man deserved was what Spirto had done to him—if not more…

Yet, the boy suddenly regretted the evil intention behind his last thought…He had no right; after all, he wasn't much better since he almost...

He tried to throw the thought away and another thought crept into his recovering mind.

Tucker had said that he had wiped out Vlad's computer files and memory chips and had stored their contents in his futuristic PDA. And his best friend had even showed a few snippets of those recorded encounters that Danny had remembered _too _vividly…

Though a part of him was relieved that they weren't real, Danny was still as upset at seeing them as he had when he had been 'living' them. After all, Vlad had succeeded in breaking him—even if it were temporary. And the man had almost succeeded in getting an evil son…

Danny felt his throat tighten with guilt again. Though he didn't remember most of it since he really was out of his mind at the time, he knew that he had a strong desire to kill Vlad when he had him in his power….He frowned…but something stopped him…His mind was still blurry about that…

He sighed when he could feel a headache come on, so he tossed away any further thoughts about it. After all, he really didn't want to deal with the disappointment in himself and with his anger, and hurt…

"Are you alright, sweetie?" Maddie finally asked her son. She couldn't stand the fret in his face.

His parents and friends had been getting more worried the longer Danny remained disengaged. And they could plainly see that he had never stopped wringing his hands.

"I'm alright, Mom. But I also hope that you're okay. Vlad was such a jerk!"

Everyone tensed again because Danny had growled that out and they could feel the anger and resentment in his words.

But then, Danny finally felt the group's tension. He also realized that he was probably giving off painfully obvious vibes that he still was not all that well…in fact, he really didn't want to talk about it anymore.

Nevertheless, he sighed, "Look, everyone, I'm sorry. I guess I'm still kinda tired…"

And wanting to radically change the subject and move on, he added, "Uhm, shouldn't we start getting ready for the football game, Dad?"

His companions got the message right away that they were through talking about what had happened to the young hybrid.

Jack hurriedly glanced at the clock and saw that his son was right. He excitedly replied, "Yes! I can't believe that we've been talking for hours! And, oh, my! Your parents will be here any second, Tucker! Time to get our snacks ready."

The man promptly left the living room and headed toward the kitchen.

"I'm all in!" Tucker chimed in. "I'm sure my mom is going to bring my favorite dish: food!"

Everyone but Danny chuckled softly as Tucker left to follow the man.

And even though, the Maddie and Sam had been uncomfortable with the radical change in conversation, they and Jack and Tucker had all agreed to let Danny be in control of it for now. Besides, having at least two of the males act more normally might help Danny out; and in the end, the game might be even a better distraction for the young half-ghost.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. The Foleys were right on time and since Sam knew that Danny's mom wouldn't be able to get up without help, Sam quickly let them in.

As the Foleys and Sam made small talk, and they steered toward and then into the living room, Danny continued to sit with his hands clasped and on his lap.

Underneath, Danny was already regretting seeming to be interested in watching football because he really didn't want to do that—or do much of anything else for that matter.

Maddie looked briefly at her son with worry; but then, she smiled, greeted the Foleys, and motioned for Angela to sit next to her and chat.

While the adult women talked and Tucker's father turned on the television to search for the correct channel, Sam finally sat down next to her boyfriend.

He looked up and when their eyes met, Sam sensed something.

A heartbeat later, Danny heard her ask him mentally. "_Want to talk?"_

"_Well, I know __**you**__ don't want to watch football_," he quipped back to her mind.

"_Duh!"_ she telepathically replied. But then she quietly added, "_So, do you, uhm, want to go up to the Op Center? The sky is supposed to be clear tonight and I'm sure the star gazing will be great."_

"_Sounds good,"_ he quietly replied.

Just then, Jack and Tucker came in with extra snacks and the other adults roared in approval.

Sam took that as their cue. She grabbed Danny's hand, and they silently skirted out of the room and slinked up to the Op Center and to the outside deck attached to it.

There was a slight chill in the air. Since she could feel the heat behind the door, she shut it, sat down and leaned against it.

Danny sat down right next to her.

At first, neither of them spoke and just gazed up at the stars. The twinkling heavenly bodies seemed to wink right back at them.

Finally, Danny turned to her and softly said, "I don't know if I'll ever be the same, Sam."

Sam could feel a hint of sadness in his voice. She looked right into his blue eyes and quietly replied, "Yeah, I know. And I'm all right with that. And just so you know, I can understand that a little because I'm not going to be the same, either."

Danny frowned. "What do you mean, Sam?"

Sam could have popped her forehead. They were talking about _his_ problems, not hers right now. She didn't want to start telling him how much trouble she had had controlling herself and her emotions since she had woken up from being poisoned —and that she was _still_ having some problems with that since she hadn't figured out how to control them and her empathetic abilities that had awakened with this ordeal. She was especially worried about the fact that her empathetic abilities seemed to be too automatic right now. She hoped that once she had fully recovered, she would work on trying to train herself to bury them away under her goth persona once again—for her own sanity.

She hurriedly said, "How about we talk about that later, okay? Right now, I'm willing to listen to whatever you want to say, okay?"

He smiled weakly. He already knew that but it was still good to hear it from her again. And he could depend on her to help ease his turmoil, even a little.

"Thanks, Sam," he simply replied.

But then, he looked back up at the stars and didn't say anything else at the moment.

Though that surprised Sam, she wasn't going to rush him…

Both of them knew that they weren't this awkward, but then Sam _could feel_ that he wasn't quite ready yet…She suddenly wrinkled her forehead in concentration…She had to start practicing controlling her empathetic powers _now_….

When she had some success, she took in a slow breath and quietly asked, "So, what will you do about it?"

He knew she was referring to his first comment to her and he truthfully said, "I don't know. I guess it'll take a lot of time to think things out."

"Sure," she softly replied before they were silent yet again and resumed gazing up at the stars.

After a couple of more minutes, Danny —still staring up at the stars —hesitantly continued, "You know I did some bad things. But worse than that, I _wanted_ to do some bad things."

Before she could respond, he twisted to face her while scooping up her hands in his. He firmly yet gently squeezed them and looking straight into her amethyst eyes, said almost pleadingly, "But you don't think I would ever want to…to hurt or…"

He could not finish his thought, but Sam did.

"Kill me?"

Of course Danny knew that she had seen the recordings of his encounters, he was almost afraid to tell her that she was right to assume that.

Fortunately, however, his girlfriend continued, "No, Danny. I believe with all my heart that you'll never be able to kill me or anyone else. It's just not who you are. Otherwise, you would have killed Vlad when you had the chance and when you were…beside yourself. Try to focus on that, okay?"

He nodded slightly and found himself uttering, "I promise."

Those two simple words seemed to echo within his entire being, right down to his central core, right down to his soul….He had always taken promises very seriously, and he had promised not to become evil….But he had still done some evil things…

Sam could tell that he had fazed out of the conversation again, but she didn't mind this time.

Finally, she could see his eyes focus back on her before he inquired, "But how can you be sure, Sam?"

"I just am," she simply replied.

After all, she had _felt _his soul several times during his last ordeals…

But then the girl felt she had to reassure him a bit more and she added, "As I told you before, you're not evil, Danny, and you'll never will be. You're a good person and better than most…But, like all of us, you'll always have to struggle with the good and bad. Yeah, sometimes you failed, like we all do. And you had a harder time trying not to fail in what Vlad did to you. But most of that wasn't your fault because it was a big set-up all along."

"Thanks for giving me an 'out', Sam," Danny quietly replied.

She was quick to counter him, "I'm not. Some of the bad stuff was your doing. But what's important is that even when you…did the wrong thing, you've always learned from those mistakes and haven't repeated them. Not too many people can say that. It's all part of the deal, Danny." She then smirked wryly and added, "Still, sorry to break it to you: you're not perfect…except for your kisses, that is."

He smiled crookedly. In her own way, she was comforting him. He pulled her closer and gave her a gentle kiss.

The girl immediately knew he had relaxed a bit and that gave her more joy than she knew what to do with.

When they parted, she continued a bit more seriously, "I'm glad I got you to smile a little. I'm so used to that smile that things seemed empty without it, especially for the last few days and since you woke up."

"I-I'm sorry…" he began; but she immediately put her finger on his lips and said, "Don't. It's okay."

Of course, Danny knew that. But, he used to be able to shake off things that bothered him so quickly and easily; and he couldn't do that right now. Still, he was going to have to try; and one way to do that was to also make sure that he focused on doing what was right even more than he usually did.

He smiled crookedly again at that thought; and then sat back against the door and put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders.

He was surprised when he finally noticed that she felt cold. She hadn't complained.

He smiled again. He was very lucky…and he felt the weight shift slightly off his heart…

Just then, however, the door behind them bumped into them and shoved them forward a little.

The young couple quickly got up and the door fully opened this time —so quickly, in fact, that it banged loudly against the outside wall!

"Sorry!" Tucker sheepishly blurted out, as he gingerly shut the door. "I was hoping I'd find you two out here. I thought the door was stuck at first, and so I gave it a good shove this last time."

"So we noticed!" Sam dryly quipped.

"Hey, Tuck, it's okay," Danny said with a weak smile. "You're not going to watch football?"

Sam teasingly added, "Or eat?"

"Nah! Your parents and my folks are beginning to act as crazy as the fans in the stands," he said with a grin. "And it was getting embarrassing!"

The beret-wearing boy was also very happy to see his best friend smile a bit more in response. He so knew that Sam was instrumental in that.

Still smiling, he turned to Sam and added, "And don't worry, Sam. You know that I ate more than my share!"

Sam smirked and Danny actually chuckled slightly.

Tucker didn't miss a beat. "Besides, I'd rather hang out with my two best buds any day. How's the star gazing?"

At first, neither Danny nor Sam replied because, in all honesty, neither of them had actually been paying attention to the stars during the entire time they had been up here.

Nevertheless, Sam replied, "Why don't you find out for yourself?"

She immediately sat down against the closed door as before and Danny did the same before he wrapped his arm around her once again.

"Okay," Tucker replied as he plopped down next to his best friends.

The trio sat in silence and really did study the stars this time, since all of them could oddly sense that just being with each other helped comfort their still slightly restless hearts….

* * *

><p>The scene with the trio of best friends suddenly seemed to shrink in size until it was captured within a large glass orb —which, in effect, it was, since their scene was framed within Clockwork's Time Viewing Orb; and was being watched by Clockwork….and Justeco and Konsilisto!<p>

"I _still_ cannot believe that Vlad Plasmius sank so low as to make us the villains again, Clockwork!" Justeco huffed indignantly as he anxiously floated back and forth in the time spirit's Focal Room of Chronology.

"Agreed! And it is definitely not fair play," Konsilisto piped in.

The advisor had been wringing his bony green hands in anxiety while the events surrounding the Ghost Boy had unfolded before him and his brother.

Clockwork, who was in his adult form, kept his poker face on and dryly replied, "All is fair in love and war' as the humans say."

Justeco's eye wrinkled in continued irritation as he quipped. "And Vlad Plasmius certainly did that with a twist! He really cannot understand that love does not mix with war as he tried to do with the younger half-ghost."

One of Old Man Clockwork's eyebrows shot up in surprise but he said nothing.

"And Vlad Plasmius almost succeeded, Clockwork!" Konsilisto fretfully began, only for his twin brother to complete the thought with his eye also conveying apprehension.

"That concerns us, Time Master."

"Why should it?" Clockwork the Child nonchalantly said, "The boy didn't become evil."

"True enough," Justeco agreed, though he was not appeased. "But the torture that Danny Phantom endured was dangerously great. We fear that he will never be the same."

"And will he then be more likely to become his evil self after all?" Konsilisto added with his knotty hands still clasped in worry. "Danny Phantom almost fulfilled the same destiny as his evil alternate self. It was too terrifyingly close, Clockwork!"

The adult Clockwork didn't answer the two Observants right away. Instead, he looked intensely at winding his Time Staff just as the Time Viewing Orb darkened completely.

Justeco's eye twisted slightly, which suggested embarrassment, as he acknowledged, "Of course, we know that you cannot say either way, Clockwork; but I cannot help but be…concerned."

This time the oldest form of the Time Master turned toward the two spirits, smirked slightly and dryly replied, "Don't tell me that you have a soft spot for the boy?"

"Of course not!" Justeco huffed.

"Ridiculous!" Konsilisto quickly added as his green pupil narrowed in indignation.

Justeco continued, "It is just that….you know, we still have to guard against any possible threats to Existence just as you protect the Time stream from the same."

"Indeed," the young Clockwork simply said.

The trio was quiet a few moments more before Justeco just about busted out, "I _still _cannot reconcile that Vlad Plasmius used our images to do his evil bidding!"

"Plus, the older half-ghost continues to have Okulo's Orb, Clockwork!" Konsilisto protested.

"I don't know why you two keep repeating yourselves," the adult form of Clockwork sighed. "You know that I'm not going to do anything about it."

The Time Master suddenly morphed into an ancient version of himself and floated to a wall. But on his way to it, he sidetracked slightly and grabbed a couple of his Time Medallions from off their display board. He proceeded forward; and the faint outline of a door became evident and glowed more and more brightly the closer and closer he got to it. But he didn't go into it. Instead, he floated over to one of the large windows that adorned his Focal Room of Chronology; and the door's glimmer dimmed more and more the further he got away from it and closer to the window.

Justeco, of course, had been eyeing the Time Master the entire time and he immediately queried, "Where are you going, Clockwork?"

"Nowhere in particular… It is time for my rounds to inspect the time stream to make sure there are no holes in it caused by any calamity," the now young-looking time spirit casually replied.

"I see," Justeco commented, though he was still suspicious.

But just as the youngest form of Clockwork raised his Time Staff and opened his mouth in anticipation to call out the command to go, Justeco hurriedly interjected, "Please tell him that we are still friends, all right, Clockwork?"

"And that we…believe in him," Konsilisto nervously added.

One of Clockwork's eyebrows arched slightly, though the Observants could see that the time spirit's reaction was clouded in mystery as usual.

Nevertheless, the adult Clockwork didn't say anything in response to Justeco's comment, though he couldn't help thinking, _"Sometimes I forget how observant those two are!"_

All the same, he kept mum, raised his staff, pushed the top of the small clock on top of the staff, and commanded, "Time Out!"

In a split second, the Time Master disappeared within a swirling circle that had an embedded clock hand whirling clockwise.

* * *

><p>Skulker stood just outside his abode deep within his lair. His eyes were glued to the distance.<p>

_Kablam!_

Another target pulverized.

_Boom!_

Still another blown to smithereens.

The cyborg ghost had come here not only because the Spectre soldier had let him go, but he had to blow off some steam…And the only way he could do that effectively was to practice hitting targets. After all, a great hunter had to force himself back into focusing after getting upset about…things.

But as he aimed at the next target, Skulker wasn't feeling any more focused…or better.

Nevertheless, he pulled the trigger…only to growl in irritation when he had completely missed this time!

Blast it!

Though he hated to even think about it, Skulker had to admit that he wasn't anywhere closer to thinking of himself as a ghost worthy of any kind of respect after his deliberate refusal to help his only friend—and from the almost sadistic cruelty he had dished out to the Ghost Boy. He had been just as guilty as Plasmius in causing all of that mental anguish and near destruction of the boy's personality and…character. Granted, his special detection power did hold true once again: for Danny Phantom didn't fail in the end, when it really counted….and proved himself to be a true hero…

The Hunter shot at another target and this time, it clipped the outer edge…

Not good enough!

He grunted in irritation and checked his site, just as his mind wandered again…

He had even gone so far as to talk a little to Ember about it. Not that it really helped…She was more interested in planning her upcoming concert…Why did he even bother? True, they weren't dating anymore—at least in this phase of their relationship—but they were still sort of friends. His face puckered in dissatisfaction. He guessed he must have been desperate! After all, he usually talked to Plas—

He stifled himself as his mind refocused on the task he was actually doing. The site on this weapon was aligned perfectly!

But then he grumbled to himself again in irritation and made himself say it: he usually talked to _Plasmius_ about his…challenges…But in reality, he couldn't do that anymore because he had betrayed him…

He hadn't let the older hybrid's computer help the man when it looked like he was in huge trouble and then, on top of that, he didn't interfere with the possibility of the whelp killing his only friend, either.

That thought troubled him even more…If he couldn't even be loyal enough to the only ghost— or, half-ghost—friend that he had, then how could he be loyal to anyone or…anything worthy?

He aimed and shot at another target, only to miss again.

The Ghost Hunter grumbled at his sloppiness. But it wasn't because of his shot….

Before his encounters with the Ghost Child, he hadn't ever had _any_ conflict about _any_ of his decisions...

But that was then and this is now….

He couldn't blame his decision not to help Plasmius on impulse because at the time his instincts were screaming at him to help his friend.

He paused and reloaded his ghost weapon as his mind continued to hunt for any kind of rationalization to calm him…

He really had made the right choice in not helping Plasmius. After all, Vlad had really stepped over the line. He was all-too-willing to put 'stipulations' on their friendship in order to get his way…That was no way to treat a friend.

Friends should treat friends like….like Danny Phantom treated them. The cyborg snorted at his next thought. Even how the Ghost Child treated his _enemies_ was better than how Plasmius had behaved toward him and how he had treated the whelp during this entire scheme of his...And in the end, the cyborg ghost's special detection power was right and the whelp did the…right thing and didn't do or become…evil…

The robotic ghost's eyes widened at the realization. Did that thought just come from him? Did it actually cross his mind that Danny Phantom was _better_ than Vlad Plasmius?

The Ghost Hunter tried to shake the thought out of his head. He couldn't think that because Danny Phantom was _his enemy_. He aimed and shot blindly at the target and missed. He grunted in frustration and re-inspected the sites on his weapon.

But, if he was truly being honest with himself, he would know that thinking that Danny Phantom was as good a hero as he had smelled _was_ the truth—and so then, at least the boy was worthy of his admiration. After all, how could he not have softer feelings toward the pup when he still could not reconcile the fact of how….despicable the man had been to _all_ of those he claimed to _care_ about?

Skulker frowned. Did Plasmius really understand what it was to care about someone?

Suddenly, Skulker didn't want to think about it any longer. He had not helped Plasmius because for once, he had given into his own obsession over the older half-ghost's own obsession. Plain and simple. After all, he was a ghost and that's what ghosts did: give into their obsessions. And he could admit to himself that finding out if his unique ghostly power was still…unique and accurate was the most important thing to him at that time—and always.

The ghost hunter shot at another target and it exploded into smithereens this time. But it didn't make him feel any better…

He flew over to the end of the range and began to mount new targets. His thoughts were still not boding well in his mind…

If only Plasmius hadn't concocted this lamebrain scheme of his…if only the man hadn't been so obsessed with having the pup as his son and the whelp's mother as his wife…if only Vlad hadn't demanded him to do his bidding…if only he hadn't lay aside the cyborg ghost's feelings and wants…then maybe he would have acted on instinct when Vlad had been attacked and…killed the Ghost Child…

But that thought of the possibility that he might have killed the whelp actually mortified him. The Ghost Child wouldn't have acted as he had done if he hadn't been so stressed out on many levels —physically and mentally—and all by Plasmius' doing. No other human could have survived having no food, water and even REM sleep for as long as the whelp. Most ordinary humans would have gone insane—or even died—within a few days of having at least no REM sleep. It was that vital to the health of a human mind...But then again, the pup was no ordinary human…

The Ghost Hunter finally paced out his distance turned, aimed and fired. He hit two targets, but each was definitely not a bull's-eye…

But that was because the cyborg ghost still didn't have his mind on that task…

And Danny Phantom was no ordinary ghost, either. Most ghosts would have caved in long before the pup would have; and even that didn't happen in the end, because the Ghost Child never really did break—and probably would never have even gotten to that point during that crisis if Plasmius was playing a fair game.

_Fair._

Skulker swallowed a ghostly lump. Neither he nor the older hybrid had given the Ghost Child a fair fight. They had purposely stacked the odds heavily against him so that the whelp would break and become the _puppet_ of the man in the end…It was indeed a dastardly thing to do…and not worthy of a _true_ hunter…

After all, _the game_ was the most important part of the excitement. If hunting were just a matter of coming up to a prey that had been tied up the entire time, then…it wouldn't be…fair.

The Ghost Hunter frowned in disappointment—_self_-disappointment at his very next thought. That is _exactly_ how his and the pup's encounter had gone down. The Ghost Boy had been beaten nearly to an inch of his after-life by Walker and then he was tied down in that helpless state and completely unaware that he had just been made secured enough for Skulker to arrive. True, the part about being so abused by Walker was not in the plans. But to go on and agree to face the pup when the whelp couldn't possibly win, that was _below_ being unfair…

Skulker bit his lower lip at the realization. Not only had he been unfair to Danny Phantom, but —worse than that—he, the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter, had allowed himself to hunt the way that had _pleased only Plasmius_!

Suddenly, however, the cyborg ghost grunted in irritation and he impulsively shot at two more targets and completely missed them.

But then, other thoughts took over…Even if he had told Plasmius the truth about what he had detected about the whelp the very last time he had smelled him, the older hybrid wouldn't have listened. Skulker had seen the wildness in the man's eyes on that last day—or maybe even before—and he knew by that look and _his _smell that the man wouldn't have accepted the truth until he had driven the pup completely mad…or killed him.

That thought also didn't bode well with the cyborg ghost…Maybe it would have been better if he had been _wrong_ about what he smelled about the Ghost Child…Plasmius would have deserved to be…

The Ghost Hunter unexpectedly stifled himself and let his weapon fall to his side for a moment. For some odd reason, he felt he shouldn't feel that way about the older hybrid. It would also be…wrong…

Especially after all they had gone through for all those years they had been friends.

_Friends_.

His thoughts came full circle. Was he still friends with Plasmius? He must have been since he did go back and check on the man after he had been attacked by the Spectre…And he made sure to give orders to his ghost staff to look after him until he could come back to his senses…because Vlad had extended that privilege to him…

Instead of pondering on that, Skulker suddenly reached into one of his pockets and pulled out the Fantomos Ecto-Scale list of ghosts. He had already scribbled in 'The Spectre' on the bottom of the list. After all, except for a couple of small casualties on the Spectre's part, Plasmius and his shadow clones had been no match for those…spirits.

Spirits. They were certainly one-of-a-kind…

_One-of-a-kind_…

Danny Phantom was…one of a kind…even more unique than Plasmius…and—more importantly—more worthy of his…loyalty.

He grunted and suddenly threw the list down, aimed and shot at one of his targets…and missed.

Now…he wasn't so sure how he felt about Plasmius—and even Danny Phantom—or _himself_…

* * *

><p>Danny, Sam and Tucker were still on the outer deck of the Op Center gazing at the stars. Except for a few exchange of words, they had remained silent for the most part.<p>

Tucker then asked, "Hey, Sam? Why don't we tell Danny…?"

Danny frowned when Tucker stopped so abruptly. And Sam didn't seem to have noticed that he had stopped. He knew she had to hear their friend, and she would have said something right away about his stopping in mid-sentence.

But then, when he turned to ask Sam, his eyes widened. She was frozen in place even when it was obvious from her look that she had noticed what had happened to Tucker and had tried to respond.

Danny then quickly turned to Tucker and saw that his mouth was open, as if someone had taken his picture in mid-sentence.

Suddenly, however, Danny felt a rapid cold rush up from his central core before a frost of cold breath was visible from his mouth. In that same instant, he was also aware that a level _nine_ ghost—or spirit—was near.

He quickly searched for the source when a circular blue portal quickly appeared before a clock hand spun around it.

A split second later, the adult Clockwork appeared in front of the young hybrid.

Danny reflexively jumped to a stand and wasn't at all aware that he had fisted his hands as the last memory of the spirit—though underneath he understood that it had all been contrived by Plasmius—shot through his brain. He immediately noticed that the large _CW_ medallion was now swinging on its chain around his neck from his violent change in position. He felt the tears already forming from all the hurt he had felt in that encounter—even if it wasn't real. But it _felt_ real…especially when…

But then, the boy slowly relaxed his hands when he realized that he had tightened them so much at one point that they had been shaking.

At first, neither of the two spoke.

Finally, old man Clockwork remarked without emotion, "I see that you have recovered, Danny."

That seemingly callous remark grated on the boy's nerves all of the sudden and all of the hurt he had experienced and felt swelled anew. He tried to squelch his emotions but still felt the beginning of his tears form. Nevertheless, he managed to tersely reply, "No thanks to you, Clockwork. I hope I gave you and the Observants hours of entertainment."

The youngest form of Clockwork bit the inside of his lip when he could hear the bitterness in the boy's voice. But before he could reply, Danny stepped closer to the spirit and continued.

But unfortunately, the more Danny talked, the harder it was for him to stay off his emotions... "Why didn't you help me, Clockwork? You knew how unfair everything was…Y-You k-knew that what happened to me was t-t-too much…I-I almost, I almost…"

The boy couldn't admit how much evil he had done nor how he had almost committed what would have been his most tragic decision. He didn't want to admit that he could have become Evil Dan after all…

Suddenly, Danny lunged toward the spirit. But instead of striking Clockwork, he fell against his mentor before embracing him and crying unashamedly into the spirit's gown.

Old Man Clockwork could feel a tear form in the corner of the scar under his left eye as time ticked on. And the spirit realized at that moment that it had been a very long, long time since he had _felt_ for another being…

The spirit hesitantly yet slowly hugged the boy back, and his embrace was one of comfort, though he did so in silence. He knew how much this entire ordeal had affected his young protégé. In fact, that was exactly the reason why he had come…

It seemed as if the boy had cried for hours but it had only been minutes when the boy's heart-breaking sobbing had finally ebbed to a soft whimpering.

The youngest form of Clockwork knew that what the boy needed was more than just a mentor—he needed a sympathetic and encouraging one...

Finally, Clockwork said with a tinge of tenderness in his voice, "Yes, Danny, you _almost_, but more importantly, you _didn't_…And you should know by now that I didn't need to help you. You did it yourself, as I knew you would."

Danny pulled himself completely away from the spirit and looked up at him.

The adult version of Clockwork was barely able to put on his poker face when he saw the continuing turmoil in the boy's still-moist eyes just as Danny asked, "How did you know?"

Clockwork simply replied, "Because you promised."

_Promised._

The word seemed to jump from Danny's ears to his heart before it then swirl around his mind and soul, soothingly caressing them and yet also gently reminding him how bound he was to it and, more importantly, how loyal and true he was to it.

"I did promise," Danny quietly admitted, though he couldn't look Clockwork in the eyes.

"And heroes always keep their promises," the young Clockwork softly added.

"Yes," Danny was barely able to acknowledge because he was still upset.

The two paused again for a few moments before Danny finally looked right into the spirit's red eyes and quietly asked, "Please tell me one thing, Clockwork. And I don't care if it is true…Am I destined to become…Evil Dan? I-I mean, this was the _third _time that I had to face that putrid destiny. Will there be more?"

At first, the mature Clockwork didn't answer the teen.

Danny frowned in disappointment and said, "I understand that you can't tell me, though it would have made it easier for me to…get over this crud that I went through."

Old Man Clockwork replied, "Yes, it would be easier, Danny. But really, unfair."

Danny blinked with confusion before young Clockwork continued, "You —and every human and _even ghost_ —are here for a purpose that even I am not privy to. And part of the plan for our purpose is for us to understand that each and every one of us has an 'Evil Dan' within us that is always eager to lure us toward our doom. But we don't have only evil choices to face every day of our existence. We cannot forget about the_ good_ choices always presented to us at the same time. It might be tough, but we _always_ have to be on our guard against evil and be ready to counter it with our good choices. So, you see, Danny, the struggle will always be there until each of us stands alone and has to answer how we measured up to the task at the time when we phase to another level of existence."

Just as Clockwork morphed into his adult version, he floated closer to the boy and added, "But what makes you different, Danny, and therefore, really makes it easier for you, and therefore a bit unfair to others, is that you have the pure heart of a true hero."

Danny shook his head in denial because he still felt guilty about all the bad things he did before Clockwork actually poked him in the chest and said more firmly, "Don't get me wrong. You aren't perfect, but you have a quality anchored within you that you have honed well from your desire to do good above all else. It has already proven that it will sustain you and prevent you from giving into evil willingly—and help you make amends if you do." He then allowed a tiny smirk on the edge of his lips to escape and added, "And I know that you will never forget your _promise_ that you would not become evil."

The fact that Clockwork's words mirrored Sam's helped calm Danny more.

The young Clockwork smiled a bit mischievously and continued, "Besides, you still have not lost the ability to let things slide and move on without forgetting the lesson. That's pretty good for a teen, you know."

A slight corner of Danny's mouth raised briefly in reply.

But then, the adult Clockwork reached into one of the hidden pockets of his cape and pulled something out before he said, "However, if you still think you might need some help…."

Danny's eyes widened and he blurted out, "That's Okulo's Timeless Magic Orb!"

Clockwork lazily twirled it in his hand and replied without emotion this time, "Yes. I…re-borrowed it back from the other half-ghost. You also know that it could help mend any mental scars that you still might have."

Danny smiled weakly and replied with a shake of his head, "No, thanks. I'll just have to think things through, that's all. After all, I don't want to forget the lesson, you know…"

The slight twinkle in young Clockwork's eyes betrayed his delight but he said nothing.

After another brief pause, and even though he really felt the urge not to care, Danny quietly asked, "How is Plasmius?"

The spirit smiled underneath. Indeed, the boy had a very kind heart in spite of all the hurt it was still suffering from. He replied, "Still very confused about a lot of things, which is why there was no opposition from him for my taking Okulo's Orb back. After all, it doesn't belong here. It belongs in the Realm Beyond Time."

_Realm Beyond Time_.

Danny felt a bit of flutter of pain in his heart when those awful memories rushed at him yet again at the sound of those words.

Clockwork morphed from his adult to his elderly side and noticed the change in the boy's face. He casually remarked, "By the way, Justeco and Konsilisto were a bit beside themselves over this whole affair."

Danny's eyes brightened as he blurted out, "They were?"

Clockwork couldn't help but smirk as he answered, "They wanted to let you know that they found this whole thing very improper —especially when they were portrayed in such a bad light."

Danny smiled crookedly and replied, "I'm surprised you would do that for them, Clockwork…But tell them thanks, okay?"

One of young Clockwork's eyebrows hitched slightly. He did slip on rare occasion. But he was glad he did because he could tell that the boy was feeling better.

The spirit's form quickly melded into a mature one before he said, "It is time for me to go. I have dawdled too long. Tell Sam and Tucker hello for me."

But before Danny could say, "I will", he froze in mid-word…

"…about our telepathic link? He didn't seem to notice earlier," Tucker finally said, completing the sentence and thought he had started before Clockwork had arrived.

But then, since the bespectacled boy had to look across Danny before he would see Sam, he noticed right away that Danny didn't look right. He frowned in confusion and asked, "Uh, dude?"

Sam lifted up the CW medallion that was now around her neck to show Tucker and said instead, "Clockwork?"

Both teens turned to their front and spied the spirit right away.

The trio said nothing at first; but then, the young Clockwork said, "I will not take much time to say what I came here to say. I have already talked to Danny. Now it's you two's turn."

The two teens looked intensely at the spirit and didn't dare ask any questions at the moment. Not that they didn't want to; it's just that they felt they had to wait to see what Clockwork would say.

When the spirit saw that he had their undivided attention, he continued, "I know I really don't have to say this, but I wanted to make sure I told you both by yourselves. It's important for you two to be patient and more understanding with Danny for at least a little while. He will need to depend on you two more than ever."

"Will he be okay?" Sam dared to ask.

"All I will say is that it might seem very hard in the near future, but you will know what to do." He purposely turned to Tucker and added, "Now that all _three_ of you share that gift, that is."

Tucker grinned but before he could comment, Clockwork commanded, "Time In!" before a portal formed, a clock hand turned, and the spirit disappeared within it.

As soon as the last sparkle of the portal poofed in the air, Danny said, "I will."

But then, the young half-ghost blinked in confusion and blurted out, "Clockwork?"

"He's gone," Sam quickly replied.

"You saw him?" Danny asked.

"Yeah," Tucker replied. "He told us he talked to you."

"But you know Clockwork…He didn't tell us anything," Sam piped in. She didn't want her boyfriend to think that the spirit had talked to them about what he and Danny had discussed and she didn't want Danny to think they had to tell them.

"Except that he knows about what I wanted to talk to you about," Tucker continued. He, too, understood what Clockwork's real message was. He and Sam were to be very supportive of Danny —as they always were —and keep each set of conversations only between the respective parties and let Danny lead when it was time to talk about the specifics.

"What's that?" Danny asked.

Tucker and Sam proceeded to tell Danny in more detail about the discovery of Tucker's telepathic ability and how it had helped them to find him in the end.

Danny was awed by the story since he had been so upset that he hadn't even noticed that fact when he first saw his friends after waking up. Not only that, but his friends had never discussed it with him and his parents when they had talked earlier in the day. He understood why, of course, since they, like normal teens, didn't necessarily want to discuss everything with their parents.

Nevertheless, his friends could tell that Danny was obviously pleased with the news as he mused to mostly himself, "How about that. So it seems that Tucker now has some of this telepathic stuff, too, huh?"

Of course, his friends heard his musing and Tucker replied, "Yeah, kinda neat, though it doesn't look like I have as much of that as you two do. I'm glad of that."

Then the bespectacled boy gasped, "But then, does that mean that _Sam_ will be able to pick up on my secret, wild thoughts? Definitely against the 'dude code'!"

Sam and Danny laughed before they looked at each other briefly and slyly smiled when they were aware of the same thought.

"_Hey, how about a video game?"_ Sam mentally asked Tucker with a smirk.

"_Yeah, the Revenge of the Dead Zombies, three,"_ Danny added with a slight chuckle.

"Uh, sure — hey, wait!" Tucker began before he realized that his friends had just 'invaded' his brain. "That's against the dude code! Er, maybe the dudette code, too, okay?"

The threesome laughed again before they went inside and headed to Danny's room with the hope of finally being able to begin to return to their lives…

THE END

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Wow, I can't believe that we're through! I sure hope you enjoyed the ride! **

**And I want to thank each and every one of you—especially each of my reviewers—for your support! It means a lot to me!**

**I would also like to thank my beta, pearl84, for her priceless help in keeping this story believable and actually making sense as far as grammar and the like are concerned!**

**And to : sorry, girl. Danny still wins in the end even when you get in control of the computer at times! He wins because of he's a hero through and through!**

**MsHyde: Pfft, dearie! I will still get another chance in your next story!**

**truephan: Sssure you will!**

**So, where do we go from here, gang? I do have another story in mind to continue with the way I perceive the Danny Phantom world. But I haven't written much of it yet, so it's very hard to say exactly when I will start posting. But it won't be for quite a while, I think.**

**But I hope you look out for it since I already know what its title is going to be: **_**Entanglement.**_** I also have a few more stories after that which are still in the sketching stage. But once I finish with **_**Entanglement**_**, you'll know more about those. I will tell you that **_**Entanglement**_** will definitely NOT be as long as **_**Gold Tested in Fire**_** but it won't be a super short one, either. I also have a couple of one-shot or two-shot stories that I might post before **_**Entanglement**_**, but that is just musing on my part.**

**Anyhoo, it's time to say good-bye for now. And I hope all of you mystery readers will take advantage of this last chance to send me your thoughts on this story via that box down below. I really thrive off of your thoughts, but since I don't have telepathic powers, you'll have to write them down! LOL!**

**Again, thanks for the joy you give me from reading my stuff and I hope I hear from you soon!**

**truephan**


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